East Palo Alto – Heroes & Legends

About This Project

East Palo Alto Heroes & Legends

East Palo Alto Community Archive

East Palo Alto, CA

2024 – 2026

In 2024, Dyson & Womack were selected by the East Palo Alto Community Archive to serve as the consultants supporting the planning, commissioning, and implementation of East Palo Alto’s first public artwork. The Heroes & Legends public art commission is a project of the East Palo Alto Community Archive (EPACA) and was made possible through a grant award from the State of California’s State Coastal Conservancy.

The mission of the EPACA is to collect, share, promote, celebrate, and preserve the unique history of the East Palo Alto community for future generations. East Palo Alto is a community of cultural and economic empowerment, a place where memory and resilience shape its future, and where residents learn from the past to collectively imagine the city’s next chapter. The EPACA seeks to ensure that the history of East Palo Alto is both a source of inspiration and a tool for future development, strengthening the connection between past, present, and future generations.

Leading Heroes & Legends, a landmark, community-driven public artwork at Cooley Landing Park that honors East Palo Alto’s legacy of resistance and self-determination, Dyson & Womack has established a clear artistic framework, advanced commissioning approvals with key stakeholders, and built a comprehensive community engagement strategy. Dyson & Womack shaped the call for artists, facilitated the application process, and managed a transparent selection that culminated in the June 2025 commission of local artist Jessica Monette.

Continuing to support the commission through 2026, Dyson & Womack will oversee contracting, fabrication, and installation while coordinating across community, civic, and design partners to ensure the artwork reflects East Palo Alto’s collective history and future vision.