BEDFORD gallery



Bedford Gallery, a program of the City of Walnut Creek, also receives substantial support from the Diablo Regional Arts Association.	public art in Walnut Creek walking tours The Bedford Gallery is now offering guided walking tours of Walnut Creek’s prime public art works located in the vicinity of City Hall. 2008 Schedule April 12 - Tour #1 May 10 - Tour #2 June 14 - Tour #3 (90 minutes, includes stairs) July 12 - Tour #1 August 9 - Tour #2 September 13 - Tour #3 (90 minutes, includes stairs) October 11 - Tour #1 November 8 - Tour #2 Tour #1 - Around the Lesher Center for the Arts, City Hall, and Civic Park. Tour #2 - Plaza Escuela & shopping areas (Mt. Diablo Blvd. @ California Blvd.). Tour #3 - Business parks near the Walnut Creek BART station. Tours start at 11 a.m. Admission is $5 and includes a free pass to the Bedford Gallery. Tour schedules are subject to change. The 60-minute, docent-led tour departs from the front of the Lesher Center. The tour can be extended to 90-minutes if requested. Tours will be cancelled in the event of rain. Special group tours are also available for groups of 15 or more, by reservation only. Remember to wear comfortable shoes and sun protection. Tour highlights provide an up-close view of works by Stephen DeStaebler, Yoshio Taylor, Bruce Beasley and others, as well as the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza by Cliff Garten and a recent mural by Josh Keyes. Bedford Gallery docents are trained by public art specialists and can offer information and insight appropriate for all ages. For more information and reservations, please call 925/295-1423. Pictured: Jacques Overhoff, Lost in the Mail, Civic Dr. @ Main St. Download a Walking Tour Map of public art in Walnut Creek. downtown Walnut Creek mural project There’s more color in the downtown Walnut Creek thanks to a new mural organized by the Bedford Gallery Advisory Council (BGAC) and Walnut Creeks Art Commission. The mural is located at the East entrance of the Locust St. Garage, adjacent to the Lesher Center for the Arts, and will be enjoyed by thousands of theater and gallery patrons, shoppers, and city employees who use the garage on a daily basis. The mural is dedicated to the memory of Susan Booth, a long time Bedford gallery employee. An artist honorarium was generously donated by a Friend of the Bedford with additional contributions from the Booth family. The paint was donated by Sherwin Williams. Josh Keyes, Treadmill, 2006 Artist Josh Keyes of Oakland was selected for his intense graphic style and images that explore the link between industry and nature. Though often steeped in satire, Josh’s paintings are also suffused with a sincere admiration of our planet. Raised in Tacoma, Washington, Keyes grew up surrounded by forests, and witnessed their decimation by the logging industry. His piece titled Treadmill comments on the intricacy of the earth as a system and the complexity of our response to the natural world. Josh earned a master’s degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. His work has been published in New American Painters and exhibited in galleries in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. What is Public Art? The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that has been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. The experience of public art makes a public space seem more welcoming; it creates a deeper interaction with the place one is visiting, working or living; it helps one remember the past; it helps one honor an ideal; it helps express shared values and concerns to future generations. Public art makes cities more livable and more beautiful. It strengthens civic identity. Creating positive, memorable images that enhance and define a city’s identity, public art boosts civic pride and burnishes the city’s image to the outside world. Walnut Creek is one of the over 350 towns and civic organizations that sponsor public art programs in the United States. Walnut Creek Embraces Public Art: Walnut Creek has officially encouraged public art projects in the community since 1982, when the City Council approved the first public art requirements and guidelines. In 1999, in order to formalize public art acquisition and placement throughout the City, the Walnut Creek Arts Commission produced the Public Art Master Plan. This comprehensive public art policy for the City of Walnut Creek standardized guidelines, enabling citizens and City staff members to better visualize, organize, and implement public art projects. Walnut Creek officially adopted its Public Art Program in 2000 when the City Council approved two key ordinances mandating funding and the inclusion of public art in new development and renovation projects. Since the Program’s inception, artwork has been installed at Olympia Plaza, Ygnacio Center, the Corners, and City Hall Plaza. Upcoming projects include artworks for the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts, the new Main Library, and Alma Park. The Public Art Program is administered by the Arts, Recreation & Community Services Department and overseen by the Bedford Gallery Advisory Council and the Arts Commission. BEDFORD gallery 1601 civic dr walnut creek, ca 94596 925/295-1417 contact us

Bedford Gallery, a program of the City of Walnut Creek, also receives substantial support from the Diablo Regional Arts Association.

public art in Walnut Creek

walking tours

The Bedford Gallery is now offering guided walking tours of Walnut Creek’s prime public art works located in the vicinity of City Hall.

2008 Schedule
April 12 - Tour #1
May 10 - Tour #2
June 14 - Tour #3 (90 minutes, includes stairs)
July 12 - Tour #1
August 9 - Tour #2
September 13 - Tour #3 (90 minutes, includes stairs)
October 11 - Tour #1
November 8 - Tour #2

Tour #1 - Around the Lesher Center for the Arts, City Hall, and Civic Park.
Tour #2 - Plaza Escuela & shopping areas (Mt. Diablo Blvd. @ California Blvd.).
Tour #3 - Business parks near the Walnut Creek BART station.

Tours start at 11 a.m. Admission is $5 and includes a free pass to the Bedford Gallery. Tour schedules are subject to change.

The 60-minute, docent-led tour departs from the front of the Lesher Center. The tour can be extended to 90-minutes if requested. Tours will be cancelled in the event of rain. Special group tours are also available for groups of 15 or more, by reservation only. Remember to wear comfortable shoes and sun protection.

Tour highlights provide an up-close view of works by Stephen DeStaebler, Yoshio Taylor, Bruce Beasley and others, as well as the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza by Cliff Garten and a recent mural by Josh Keyes. Bedford Gallery docents are trained by public art specialists and can offer information and insight appropriate for all ages.

For more information and reservations, please call 925/295-1423.

Pictured: Jacques Overhoff, Lost in the Mail, Civic Dr. @ Main St.

Download a Walking Tour Map of public art in Walnut Creek.

downtown Walnut Creek mural project

There’s more color in the downtown Walnut Creek thanks to a new mural organized by the Bedford Gallery Advisory Council (BGAC) and Walnut Creeks Art Commission. The mural is located at the East entrance of the Locust St. Garage, adjacent to the Lesher Center for the Arts, and will be enjoyed by thousands of theater and gallery patrons, shoppers, and city employees who use the garage on a daily basis.

The mural is dedicated to the memory of Susan Booth, a long time Bedford gallery employee. An artist honorarium was generously donated by a Friend of the Bedford with additional contributions from the Booth family. The paint was donated by Sherwin Williams.

Josh Keyes, Treadmill, 2006

Artist Josh Keyes of Oakland was selected for his intense graphic style and images that explore the link between industry and nature. Though often steeped in satire, Josh’s paintings are also suffused with a sincere admiration of our planet. Raised in Tacoma, Washington, Keyes grew up surrounded by forests, and witnessed their decimation by the logging industry. His piece titled Treadmill comments on the intricacy of the earth as a system and the complexity of our response to the natural world. Josh earned a master’s degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. His work has been published in New American Painters and exhibited in galleries in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

What is Public Art?

The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that has been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the public domain, usually outside and accessible to all.

The experience of public art makes a public space seem more welcoming; it creates a deeper interaction with the place one is visiting, working or living; it helps one remember the past; it helps one honor an ideal; it helps express shared values and concerns to future generations. Public art makes cities more livable and more beautiful. It strengthens civic identity.

Creating positive, memorable images that enhance and define a city’s identity, public art boosts civic pride and burnishes the city’s image to the outside world. Walnut Creek is one of the over 350 towns and civic organizations that sponsor public art programs in the United States.

Walnut Creek Embraces Public Art:

Walnut Creek has officially encouraged public art projects in the community since 1982, when the City Council approved the first public art requirements and guidelines. In 1999, in order to formalize public art acquisition and placement throughout the City, the Walnut Creek Arts Commission produced the Public Art Master Plan. This comprehensive public art policy for the City of Walnut Creek standardized guidelines, enabling citizens and City staff members to better visualize, organize, and implement public art projects.

Walnut Creek officially adopted its Public Art Program in 2000 when the City Council approved two key ordinances mandating funding and the inclusion of public art in new development and renovation projects. Since the Program’s inception, artwork has been installed at Olympia Plaza, Ygnacio Center, the Corners, and City Hall Plaza. Upcoming projects include artworks for the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts, the new Main Library, and Alma Park.

The Public Art Program is administered by the Arts, Recreation & Community Services Department
and overseen by the Bedford Gallery Advisory Council and the Arts Commission.

BEDFORD gallery 1601 civic dr walnut creek, ca 94596 925/295-1417 contact us