(San Diego, CA) Internationally recognized urban art program Writerz Blok is launching an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $25,000 to expand its facility and add more job-training programs that connect youth to creative careers. A free community event to kick off the campaign will take place Saturday, March 19, from 3 to 8 pm at Writerz Blok, 5010 Market St., San Diego, CA 92102. Free overflow parking will be available across Market Street at the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Ave., San Diego, CA 92114.
The event will include live performances from Reclaiming the Community and some of San Diego’s hottest DJs. It will also feature live graffiti art demonstrations by renowned artists, including Hasel, as well as live screen-printing by The Roots Factory. Attendees can bring their own T-shirt and get a free Writerz Blok design printed on it. Starting on March 19 donations can be made at www.supportwriterzblok.org.
The money raised will go toward expanding Writerz Blok’s facility to provide more classroom space and increase its youth programs to include training in graphic design, screen-printing, web development, and coding. A pop-up retail space will also be built to sell special edition apparel and skateboards featuring designs from renowned artists and student designers. The retail shop will teach students managerial skills and generate revenue to support Writerz Blok’s programs. In addition, Writerz Blok plans to expand its art yard to include more permanent walls where students and artists can express themselves through graffiti art and murals.
Channeling youth expression into vibrant graffiti art, while providing workforce skills and hands-on job training experience, has made Writerz Blok an internationally recognized urban art program. Since 2003, this group of artists has been at the forefront of a community-led effort to transform blight into beauty. Located at the heart of an emerging art and creativity hub in Southeastern San Diego’s Diamond Neighborhoods, Writerz Blok offers programs that fuse art with technology to provide training and pathways to creative careers and inspire a new generation of thinkers, creators, and doers. The Yard at Writerz Blok currently offers 10,000 square feet of paintable walls and attracts more than 500 visitors each month including youth, community members, and artists from around the world.