MEDIA ADVISORY

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – “The Identity of Mission Street” is the overarching theme for the upcoming Art on Muni Poster Series, an initiative of San Francisco Planning’s Mission Street Public Life Plan. Artwork representing the cultural identity and vitality of Mission Street from six Bay Area artists will be displayed on Mission District Muni lines and the 16th Street BART Plaza panels from May 1st through October 2015.

The following artists will have their work on display for three months each:

 

• Found and Lost (Mission) by artist Rhonda Weppler will debut in early May through the end of July on SFMTA’s Mission District Muni Lines. Her project will be a collection of objects throughout the Mission, gathered from off the ground—such as discarded materials and natural debris—or purchased from local stores. Objects will be assembled to mimic satellite views of the Mission neighborhood.
• The Muni Commuters Mirrors by artist Nina Wright will debut in early May through the end of July on SFMTA’s Mission District Muni Lines. Wright will stylistically illustrate most individuals you would come across on a crowded San Francisco bus. Mirroring the experience of the people and the ride itself, each person is individually represented with characteristic details, united in their interactions, representing the vitality and vigor of the city.
• hay cultura y diversidad / there is culture and diversity by artist Laurie Halsey-Brown will debut in early May through the end of July on 16th Street BART Plaza. Her poster is part of the Markings (Dear Developer) 2014/15, an on-going community-based project where San Francisco residents tagged places in the Mission that had special meanings or memories for them. The tags were photographed and framed to reflect the intimate feelings that people have for places on Mission Street
• Si. Existimos, by artist Jessica Sabogal will debut in early August through the end of October on SFMTA’s Mission District Muni Lines. Sabogal’s project will be a record of the trans-migratory nature of Mission Street. She will be photographing community members and turning each picture into a multi-layer stencil portrait. Below each portrait, the subject’s name, work, location on Mission Street, job title, and place of birth is stated. Additionally, Jessica will partner with Galería de la Raza to compile a short 2 minute film of the materials collected that will be projected in the gallery’s window at night. To further bring visibility to the campaign, the projections will run next to Galería’s historical billboard, where she will create the final image for Si. Existimos. 
• Artist Dawn Weleski will debut her artwork in early August through the end of October on SFMTA’s Mission District Muni Lines. For this project, Weleski will create a series of intimate, extraordinary portraits of Mission Street residents’ domestic spaces and families. The goal of the portraits is to present private and intimate moments in public space, humanizing the residents that we sit next to everyday riding the bus, as well as those potentially losing their homes and new folks just arriving to the neighborhood.
• Artist Vic De La Rosa will debut his artwork in early August through the end of October on 16th Street BART Plaza. For this project, De La Rosa will create portraits of the citizens and commuters that are connected by Muni on Mission Street. The compositions will incorporate his interpretations of the Latino motifs and history that have become touchstones for the visual culture of the Mission. The compositions will be produced in a hand and machine textile techniques using the sarape riding blanket form as a nod to the Mission’s most recent cultural history.

The Art on Muni Poster Series is a partnership with San Francisco Planning’s Mission Street Public Life Plan and funded in part by the Environmental Justice Planning grant from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) 2012-2013. The Mission Street Public Life Plan looks at how Mission Street is currently used and explores new ideas and opportunities that can express the needs and identity of its residents.

For information on the Mission Street Public Life Plan visit http://missionpublic.sfplanning.org.