SF street art article in NY Times

[astrogirl]

"The city is working to promote street art in parts of town beyond the Mission through programs like StreetSmARTs, which aims to reduce graffiti vandalism by connecting established artists with landlords on mural projects. The local artist Jet Martinez is currently working on a wall-length mural based on Mexican floral textile patterns in collaboration with a Tenderloin bookstore owner.

The city’s efforts in this area are laudable, but they seem ultimately more concerned about reducing graffiti than promoting street art as a form of creative expression. There is also a danger that if the city plays too great a role in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin, the works produced there might come to resemble their more establishment-friendly counterparts in the Mission, at the expense of their artistic edge."

full article: www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/arts/design/09sfculture.html?src=twt&twt=nytimesarts

tricky fine line...

[prettypikey]

Thanks for posting this article. This is the first time I've ever heard of the StreetSmART's program. I'm interested to learn more about it and how it is organized. Does the SF Art Commission simply connect Artists and Property owners? Or is the commission involved in appoving designs and things like that? Does any one know more about it or have an opinion about program? I'm going to do a little google research tonight. Thanks again Astrogirl.

[ken]

Thanks for posting! Always good to see Eddie Colla get some love.

[astrogirl]

May 9, 2010 21:43:37 GMT -8 prettypikey said:

Thanks for posting this article. This is the first time I've ever heard of the StreetSmART's program. I'm interested to learn more about it and how it is organized. Does the SF Art Commission simply connect Artists and Property owners? Or is the commission involved in appoving designs and things like that? Does any one know more about it or have an opinion about program? I'm going to do a little google research tonight. Thanks again Astrogirl.

The initial project they did was a lot like our Phantom Galleries program in which they used empty storefronts as temporary artist's exhibits as well as a construction wall for a mural (by Chor Boogie) - there were about a 10 spots within a few blocks of Market St. The NYTimes article made it seem like they were focusing on street artists but I don't recall that being the case in the debut Market St. project we saw, but they may have shifted their focus on subsequent projects.

I'm sure they did a call for artists, reviewed submissions and worked with the owners to assure them that the art was within their comfort zone. I believe they'll be doing these temp exhibits in different districts of SF (we tend to stay in the downtown core and rotate out every two months all year long until the space is leased) so it may be worth it to see if they have upcoming opportunities to submit.

here's a link to their initial press release:

www.sfartscommission.org/media/press-releases/2009/10/26/art-in-storefronts-launch/

peace.