One year ago, on the eve of the October 2013 Merced Art Hop, the Enrichment Center rolled out the Snail Invasion—a street art project for the community, with a focus on Downtown Merced.

On Friday, October 17, 2014, the EC artists walked up and down around Main Street in Merced, to make another installation of about 300 snails for this evening’s Art Hop.

Over the last year, the artists of the Enrichment Center have installed thousands of small ceramic snails around Downtown Merced. They’ve been tucked into trees, nooks, and holes in the wall, on window ledges and light posts, under bushes, and on top of signs.

The goal of the project is to remind the community that art is all around—unexpected and in the darnedest of places.  A window, a light post, a bush, a sign, a tree…

Here are two snails photographed on Friday, October 17, 2014. The first is from the October 2013 installation. It’s weathered, but still hanging on (or in)! The second is part of the new installation.

One of the first ceramic snails installed in October 2013, photographed still in place in October 2014.

One of the most recently installed snails, October 2014.

When you see a snail, snap a photo and post it to social media—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. #ECSnails, #ECArtists, #MercedSnails, #SnailInvasion.