Celebrating 40 Years of Neighborhood Arts
I just completed a poster for the Neighborhood Arts Festival, which will be turning 40 this Year. This piece was commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission. The way I developed this piece was to start with a monoprint. The background is a close up zoom of a monoprint I did in Green and Yellow Hues. I then drew the characters individually and then developed the final composition.
In 1967, a group of artists and arts activists brought a radical notion to the San Francisco Arts Commission: fund artists and arts organizations to work in neighborhood and community settings. The program was called the Neighborhood Arts Program. Its tagline was, “Nurturing arts for and by the people where they live and work.”
To honor the 40th anniversary of the program (now called the Community Arts and Education Program), the Neighborhood Arts Festival will feature a series of free events showcasing the dynamic artistic and cultural legacy that defines San Francisco neighborhoods today. The festival takes place in venues throughout San Francisco that honor the past including San Francisco State University, International Hotel
Manilatown Center, Glide Memorial Church, SomArts Cultural Center, African American Art & Culture Complex, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, and the Bayview Opera House.
The event will take place April 21 - May 3, 2008. Expect two weeks of musical performances; a reading with San Francisco literati, including poet laureates past and present; lively panel discussions; and even a speed dating session matching up artists with community organizations.
Featured Neighborhood Arts Festival events include:
The Money and the Madness: Is it possible to make it big as an artist without selling out? Individual artists discuss the pros and cons of accepting public and private funds.
Wednesday, April 23; 7 - 9pm
International Hotel Manilatown Center
848 Kearny Street, San Francisco
*** I WILL BE PART OF THIS PANEL
Poetry Potluck: A reading by Neighborhood Arts poets, San Francisco’s Poet Laureates, and today’s poet activists. Curated by Janice Mirikitani and Roberto Vargas.
Friday, May 2; 7 - 10pm
Glide Memorial Church
330 Ellis Street, San Francisco
40th Anniversary Bash: A half-day celebration featuring the 40th anniversary reunion with founding members of the program, plus a speed dating session matching up artists with neighborhood organizations.
Saturday, May 3; 1 - 5pm
SomArts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Street, San Francisco
All Neighborhood Arts Festival events are FREE and open to the public.
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