The City Council identified the Chestnut Avenue Interstate 5 underpass as the city’s preferred location for enhancements as part of Build North Coast Corridor, a California Department of Transportation and San Diego Association of Governments project that includes highway, rail, environmental and coastal access improvement projects along the I-5 and rail corridor through Carlsbad, Solana Beach and Encinitas. Improvements planned for the Chestnut Avenue I-5 underpass include widening the freeway undercrossing to accommodate bike lanes, wider sidewalks and accessible crosswalks. In addition, these enhancements to the Chestnut Avenue underpass provide an opportunity for permanent public art.

The Chestnut Avenue underpass links the neighborhoods around Holiday Park on the east side of the freeway and the city’s Barrio community on the west. 

Tied to the city’s Capital Improvement Program budget and plan, Carlsbad Municipal Code 2.18.110 (Appropriation for arts) requires that a minimum of 1% of the cost of certain construction projects be dedicated to permanent public art. For the Chestnut Avenue Community Enhancement Project (Capital Improvement Program, Project No. 6098), City Council has designated $400,000 from the General Capital Construction Fund for the permanent public art.

The Cultural Arts Office formed a public art advisory subcommittee that selected the artist at a meeting held on Jan. 4, 2024. 

The subcommittee received presentations and interviewed two artists and one artist team. Information about each artist, is included in the meeting agenda packet.

Watch the artist interviews

The interviews focused on the artists qualifications only, not specific ideas for this project. 

About the subcommittee

The subcommittee was formed based on guidance in the city’s Art in Public Places Program and is made up of:

• An arts professional
• Carlsbad residents with knowledge of the neighborhoods involved and an interest in shaping the public art
• Members of the Carlsbad Arts Commission

The selected artist team, known as Greenmeme, is a collaboration between artists Freyja Bardell and Brian Howe. They will work with the community to develop a vision for the artwork that reflects the history, heritage and identity of Carlsbad’s Barrio and surrounding area. 

Since 2006, Greenmeme has created several public art projects throughout California and beyond, each unique to the values and history of the communities where they’re located. At the Jan. 4 Public Art Advisory Subcommittee meeting, several members of the subcommittee cited the artists’ experience and commitment to engaging community members in the process as a key factor in their selection. 

View the artists' portfolio 

Permanent public art at this currently undistinguished freeway undercrossing will connect the two neighborhoods around Holiday Park on the east side of the freeway and the city’s Barrio community in a unique manner and become a local landmark. 

The public art:

• Could include a sculptural work of art that may be wall-mounted to the curved entryways to the underpass or free-standing artwork.
• Should follow guidance for public art in the Village and Barrio Master Plan.
• Should reflect the history, heritage and identity of Carlsbad’s Barrio and surrounding area.
• Be fabricated from durable, low maintenance material that can withstand the outdoor elements and require minimal maintenance.

Additional requirements for the public art, including those set by Caltrans for transportation projects, is outlined in the limited Call for Artist Qualifications document issued by the city last fall to solicit interest from artists with experience working on major transportation infrastructure projects, due to their complexity, engineering requirements and strict timelines.

Art in Public Places Program

The city’s Art in Public Places Program began in 1985 and was the first public art program established in San Diego County. 

Village and Barrio Master Plan

The Village and Barrio Master Plan includes recommendations for public spaces and street design to support the creation of more walkable and livable streets that provide a better balance for all modes of travel. Chapter 4.3.7 of the master plan describes how incorporating arts and culture into the streetscape can help create livable streets in the Village and Barrio. This includes:

• Arts and culture will help enhance the cohesive and dynamic visual character of the Village and Barrio. They can promote and engage the pedestrian experience and in turn contribute to a dynamic pedestrian environment. 
• Arts and culture placemaking has become a major strategy for helping communities achieve their goals for creating public spaces that reflect the identity of the community, activate spaces in dynamic ways and make great environments that are appealing to both residents and visitors. 
• These placemaking strategies include a wide range of options such as public art, pop-ups, murals, sidewalk mosaic art, sculptures, live-music, temporary installations and a variety of community-initiated programming and events.
• Livable streets require the design of environments that are pedestrian oriented, visually dynamic, aesthetically pleasing and programmatically vibrant. Public art can change the way people see and experience the Village and Barrio.  
• Carlsbad residents have expressed the desire for core areas of the Barrio to be activated by dynamic and rotating programming that includes music, events, rotating visual art, and opportunities to see and buy local art. Promoting and encouraging arts and culture in the streetscape, alleys and public spaces will help beautify the Village and Barrio and create great streets. 
• Playing a significant role in defining the character of a community while contributing to the aesthetic quality of public spaces, art can help make great streets, and connect the community.
• On a large scale, public art has the ability to unify the Village and the Barrio, identify a neighborhood gateway, and act as a focal point in a park or plaza, and preserve and celebrate the cultural heritage of the Village and Barrio.
• Consideration for how public artwork appears from day to night, incorporates lighting elements, as well as how it responds to its environmental context, are important criteria.