Eloise Pickard Smith Award

KATHLEEN CROCETTI - 2024 RECIPIENT

Ms. Crocetti has proven her dedication of time and leadership in the arts through both her professional and personal endeavors. While building her personal artistic career since the 1980s, she has professionally taught middle school art in Santa Cruz.

 

In addition to giving students hands-on experience in public art, Crocetti provided additional opportunities to students interested in fashion and recycling. In 2009 she started FashionTeen at Mission Hill Middle School, holding annual fashion shows for 90-100 students who created fashions out of recycled clothing and materials. In 2012, she opened the show up to countywide students and changed the venue to the Civic Center.The additional costs of this venue required Crocetti to look for additional sponsors and a production team. By 2017 over 200 students were participating in the event. In 2018 she started transitioning the event to the County Office of Education, who continues to produce the annual event.

An example of her Watsonville based projects is Celebrating the Diversity of Labor. In 2017 Kathleen was awarded the City Streetscapes Project by the City of Watsonville; sixteen mosaic medallions installed in downtown sidewalks. The images and title, were created in direct response to the community’s desire to “represent our history and our diversity.” After gathering community input, she generated over 100 drawings. The community voted on the designs and then helped fabricate the medallions. Celebrating the Diversity of Labor was awarded the 2019 Best Community Project in the 18th Annual Mosaic Arts International Juried Exhibition.

In 2019, Kathleen founded Community Arts and Empowerment (CAE) and established the Muzzio Mosaic Art Center in Watsonville where community members, including students and paid student interns, work together to fabricate public art projects.  In forming the non-profit organization, she confirms her commitment: “We believe we will be starting a movement whereby we as a community invest in ourselves, our youth, our creativity and our desire to be connected to one another in this place we call home.

 

Crocetti's most ambitious project is Watsonville Brilliante, a 12,500 square-foot mosaic located on the City owned cement parking structure in downtown Watsonville. Four 1200 square-foot panels designed by nationally known artist Juan Fuentes (who graduated from Watsonville High School), selected by community vote, will be accompanied by 185 panels designed by local artists and students. The Fuentes panels depict the agricultural community of Watsonville, and the community panels reflect the many nationalities and cultures of the people of Pajaro Valley. The Fuentes panels, and a third of the community panels, have been installed over the last three years. This fully funded, multi-million-dollar project will be completed in 2024 (as originally proposed to the City). This is an amazing outcome, considering the amount of fabrication time lost due to mandatory Covid closures. The project was completely funded through monetary and in-kind donations. The impact of the project on the individuals involved and the community who view the project is tremendous.