Public Invited to Celebrate the Transformative Power of Art and the Long-Awaited Quake Mosaic Unveiling
NAPA, Calif., July 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer marks a major milestone in Napa's cultural landscape with the completion and unveiling of the Quake Mosaic—a large-scale public artwork by artist Kristina Young, created in collaboration with more than 2,000 community members over the past decade. To celebrate the moment, the Rail Arts District (RAD) will host the inaugural Action Art Fest on August 24 from 2–6 p.m.—a new community festival honoring participatory art, resilience, and creative expression.
Over the past decade, Young collaborated with more than 2,000 community members to transform literal tons of broken household objects—donated after the 2014 earthquake and two devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2020—into a massive mosaic inspired by underground geological strata. Through a series of public workshops, residents helped assemble 406 individual mosaic panels that come together to form a 12-foot-high, 40-foot-long work of art.
"Each piece has a story," said Young. "From a grandmother's teacup to a child's first sculpture, these fragments carry emotional weight. My goal has always been to give these beloved objects a second life."
Designed to resemble underground geological strata, the mosaic will be permanently installed on a retired Napa Valley Wine Train car, generously donated and positioned along the Vine Trail in RAD. Once installed, the mosaic-wrapped car will resemble a colorful "core sample" from the earth, visible to passersby and cyclists.
The official unveiling of the Quake Mosaic will take place during Action Art Fest on August 24 from 2–6 p.m. - a new annual celebration of interactive art, live performance, culinary creativity, and community collaboration in Napa's Rail Arts District. Guests can enjoy hands-on artmaking, local food and wine, live music, and the chance to connect with artists and community partners shaping public art across Napa Valley. Tickets and more information are available here: https://www.radnapa.org/rad-action-art-fest/
"This project has been years in the making, and we're proud to see it come to life," added Chuck McMinn, President of RAD Napa. "It's a beautiful example of what happens when art, history, and community intersect."
The Quake Mosaic installation is being made possible by a matching grant from the Gasser Foundation, with additional support from the Chuck and Anne McMinn Foundation, Arts Council Napa Valley, and Napa County. The Rail Arts District Napa serves as the project's fiscal sponsor.
"It's surreal to reach this moment on the 11th anniversary of the earthquake," said Young. "The Quake Mosaic isn't just a reflection of that day—it's a monument to how we came together in the years that followed."
About Artist, Kristina Young
Kristina Young is a Napa-based artist and founder of Studio KLY, where she has led site-specific mural and mosaic projects since 2015. With a background in painting, design and local arts nonprofit leadership, she brings a collaborative, community-focused approach to public art. Her work explores themes of ecology, resilience, and connection—often using found materials and participatory processes to celebrate biodiversity and belonging in everyday spaces. She recently completed a series of paintings and murals focused on native flora and fauna for an affordable housing development by Burbank Housing and the Gasser Foundation. Young's mixed-media works have been exhibited widely and are held in the permanent collection at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art.
About Rail Arts District (RAD) Napa
Established in 2016, Rail Arts District Napa (RAD) radically enriches the community through investment in and stewardship of a new public art district in The City of Napa. RAD begins in Napa's Oxbow District and continues northward for two miles along the Napa Valley Vine Trail bike and pedestrian path and the Napa Valley Wine Train tracks. Murals, sculptures, landscaping, and parks are just some of the examples of how RAD plans to transform these semi-industrial areas and neighborhoods with art. Today, residents and visitors can experience nearly two dozen works of art in the RAD. To learn more about the Rail Arts District Napa, a registered 501(c)3, visit www.radnapa.org or find RAD on Facebook.com/RADNapa and Instagram.com/RADNapa.
Media Contact
Ashley Teplin, Studio 707 for Rail Arts District, 1 707.287.9727 101, [email protected], www.radnapa.org
SOURCE Rail Arts District
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