Novato’s Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department is continuing its partnership with Alchemia, a local nonprofit that supports artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to expand inclusive public art opportunities downtown. 

Through the ongoing Voices & Visions initiative, artwork by Alchemia artists will be featured at six kiosks along Grant Avenue in Novato. 

This initiative builds on the success of last year’s Voices & Visions Art Walk, which displayed Alchemia artists’ work throughout downtown businesses and received positive community response. The 2025 exhibition was a project of the Novato Chamber of Commerce. 

Lady with Flowers, 2024 by intellectual and developmental disabled (IDD) artist Amy Chung. Chun based in San Rafael, Calif., will be exhibiting her work with other IDD artists as part of the Voices & Visions initiative in Novato, Calif. in Jan. 2026. (City of Novato via Bay City News)

“This initiative demonstrates how art can strengthen community connection,” said Parks, Recreation & Community Services director Katie Gauntlett. “By creating visible opportunities for artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we foster inclusion and expression while ensuring our public spaces reflect the diversity of our community.” 

Founded in 1998, Alchemia has worked for more than two decades to elevate artists with disabilities across Marin and Sonoma counties. The organization provides professional studio space, artistic mentorship, and exhibition opportunities that empower artists to develop and share their creative voices. 

Residents and visitors are encouraged to explore Alchemia’s Downtown Novato gallery at 1123 Grant Ave. or view artists’ work online at alchemia.org.  

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.