Brea is known for its extensive Art in Public Places program, and instead of just having a city hall we have a civic and cultural center that includes a performing arts theater, art gallery and branch library.
It is interesting how it all came about.
According former Brea city manger and mayor, Wayne Wedin, via email, “We did know the civic cultural center components would have the ability to draw people from a greater distance to shop at the Brea Mall.”
He added that there were many discussions and information gathered from around the country regarding what to include in the new civic and cultural center and how it could support the success of the new mall. And promote the arts.
The mall continues to thrive and is growing, and so is the popularity of Brea’s performing arts theater, the gallery’s popular exhibits and the beautifully renovated Orange County branch library. Now it is time to prepare for Brea’s future of the arts with a new Cultural Arts Master Plan.
Wedin was also instrumental in getting Brea’s Art in Public Places started in 1978, after seeing public art displayed across cities in Europe and the United States. It is a Brea requirement that when a large development is constructed, a work of art must be included. I think all the art pieces, even the few I don’t care for, add to Brea’s culture.
And what about the future? I recently took part in an Art & Culture Visioning session at Brea’s Civic and Cultural Center. It was an informal brainstorming session on what we want, art and cultural wise, in Brea’s future.
It was the first of three approximately 2-hour sessions held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26, 27 and 28. The session I attended was presented in English. The Wednesday session was in English and Korean and the Thursday session in English and Spanish, enabling more Breans to participate. If you missed them, more sessions are expected.
There were 10 attendees at the visioning session I attended, and they included city…
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