Weigh in on five proposed mosaic designs for City community center

Complete an online survey by August 1, 2025, to share feedback on five proposed mosaic designs for the Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center.

Use the City's online forum to share input on five mosaic art proposals for a youth services community center under renovation in South Berkeley.

One of these proposed mosaics would cover a large exterior wall and extend into the lobby of the Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center. The project aims to create a warm, welcoming environment, strengthen neighborhood ties, and establish a meaningful connection between the community and the site.

In the survey, we will ask you about the extent to which each proposed piece achieves those goals the best.

Your insights will be shared with an artist review panel, which will make a recommendation to the Public Art Subcommittee of the Civic Arts Commission. That recommendation will then be forwarded to the full commission for a final decision in August 2025. The mosaic will be installed in late 2026.

See the proposals and tell us what you think by completing the survey by 5:00 pm on August 1, 2025, and invite others to do the same.

submit your input using our online forum by August 1

Share feedback on five designs

The Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center Artist Review Panel has selected five mosaic finalists.

See the artists' descriptions of their work in the links below or in the survey itself:

• Reginald C. Adams: "We Are the Dream"
• Moses Ball: "The Dreamers"
• Eric Okdeh + Monica Mathieu: "Rhythmic Unity"
• Elyse Pignolet: "Neighborhood Roots, Tree of Life"
• Sorell Raino-Tsui: "South Berkeley Shines 2"

The chosen piece will cover an exterior wall measuring 20 ft by 35 ft. It will also extend into the lobby, which is 20 ft by 18 ft. In total, it spans about 885 square feet and is visible from both inside and outside the building.

While all public input is highly valued, please note that this survey alone will not determine the final decision.

Seismic retrofit and renovation for MLK Jr. Youth Services Center

The MLK Jr. Youth Services Center, or the Young Adult Project (YAP) offers recreation, tutoring, violence prevention, and leadership development classes and activities for teens.

The building serves as the City's dedicated recreation center for teens. Teens can join programs to improve their academics, make friends, go on field trips, and gain real-world experience and build leadership skills by giving back to the community through structured programs.

Visit the online registration portal and filter by locations, ages, or program name to learn or register for programs like Afterschool and Summer Achievers, and the Leadership & Life Academy. This facility is also home to the City of Berkeley Boxing and Teen Programs, as well as the Berkeley Youth Commission.

Located next to Grove Park, the center is designated as one of Berkeley's care and shelter sites in the event of an emergency. The building will undergo a complete seismic retrofit as well as structural changes to make the space safer, easier to access, and more modern and adaptable.

In 2022, the City gathered community input about the renovation through meetings, workshops, canvassing, and surveys. Residents showed strong support for including public art in the renovation. Construction begins in summer 2025.

Finding public art in Berkeley

The Civic Arts Program fosters community connection by engaging artists to create impactful works that enrich our city. We work with artists to create both permanent and temporary public art in Berkeley. This includes parks, plazas, civic buildings, and other spaces. Our goal is to enhance the built environment and reflect the distinctive character of our vibrant city.

You can explore public art in several locations throughout the city. Find artworks and their sites in our Public Art Collection database. Check out the latest exhibition in the Cube Space Gallery.

Explore the proposal designs and submit your input using our online forum by August 1.

Links

• Mosaic art proposals survey
• Proposal designs for mosaic:
  • Reginald C. Adams: "We Are the Dream"
  • Moses Ball: "The Dreamers"
  • Eric Okdeh + Monica Mathieu: "Rhythmic Unity"
  • Elyse Pignolet: "Neighborhood Roots, Tree of Life"
  • Sorell Raino-Tsui: "South Berkeley Shines"
• Civic Arts Program: Public Art, Cube Space Gallery
• MLK Jr. Youth Services Center YAP Seismic Retrofit and Renovation
• Berkeley Considers

Keep up with City of Berkeley news via our news page, email, Bluesky, or Instagram.