Local Art Project Strives To Liven Up Modesto’s Image

The poster-size black and white visages will peer out from businesses and offices on J Street between 10th and 14th streets. They are the project of artist Jessica Gomula, whose goal is stated in the exhibit’s title: Meet Your Neighbor.

“We thought it was something to liven the place up,” said Bob Barzan, executive director of the Modesto Art Museum, which is sponsoring the project through a grant from the Teichert Foundation. More than that, it was an opportunity to showcase the diverse people who inhabit downtown.

Photographs posted at participating businesses depict owners and employees. Gomula shot photos of attendees at a Third Thursday Art Walk for use in some of the vacant offices and storefronts.

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