Arts in Bayview 2008 and beyond

NEW BAYVIEW MURAL DEDICATED ON MLK DAY

By Heidi Hardin
Think Round, Inc.

If you are in Bayview and standing on the hills along the Bay, look west to see something new near the familiar spire of All Hallows Church: strokes of bright colors that are part of Bayview’s newest piece of public art.

Acting on a generous grant from the Zellerbach Foundation, the Quesada Gardens Initiative solicited community artists Malik Seneferu and Heidi Hardin to create a “Bayview Is…” Community Mural on a gray retaining wall located on Newhall Avenue, just below the showpiece Bridgeview Garden.

Seneferu created a design that depicts the sun radiating across the 120’ x 14’ wall, dividing it into six areas of solid hot colors. Several large white birds fly across the expanse toward the sun.

The bold design was brought to life at the end of 2008 by the artists, and teams of volunteers from the community and San Francisco General Hospital.

The design is planned to evolve in a future phase of the project. The large, solid blocks of color within the sun’s rays create areas for community artists, youth, faith-based groups and others to express in words and images what “Bayview Is…” to them. These community-generated, community-inspired visions will be facilitated by Hardin and Seneferu who welcome your ideas.

The “Bayview Is…” Campaign is a community-generated and resident-led arts and communications campaign that has been developing a balanced story about the strengths of our neighborhood over time, like resident-contributed patches in an ever-expanding quilt. It is a project of the Bayview Footprints network and the Quesada Gardens Initiative.

Hardin and Seneferu are artists and educators with deep roots in Bayview Hunters Point. The groups they lead, Think Round, Inc. and the Safe Haven Program are both Bayview Footprints member groups.

SHIPYARD TRUST FOR THE ARTS REACHING OUT

By Marc Ellen Hamel
STAR Board Member & Shipyard Artist

2008 was a busy year for the nonprofit organization Shipyard Trust for the Arts (STAR). In addition to joining Footprints last year, STAR continued its tracking of the Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment process, and built important new relationships within the Bayview Hunters Point community.

In 2009, the organization is focusing on building infrastructure, a process it is kicking-off with a full-day Board of Directors retreat this month.

Veronica Orozco, a native San Franciscan of Nicaraguan heritage, was the 2008 Artist-in-Residence. Orozco now joins the list of former artists-in-residence, which includes Rhonel Roberts, Dolores Gray, Juan Fuentes, Mary Booker, and Santie Huckaby.

STAR members and many Shipyard Artists have been active in the exciting new Bayview community arts organization, Art 94124, and were enthusiastic participants in a number of Footprints events.

ARTS CENTER VISION DEVELOPS

By Rebecca Haseltine
Shipyard Artist & ACWG Group Member

The Art Center Working Group, in 2008, continued manifesting the dream of a multidisciplinary Community Art Center on the Hunters Point Shipyard that emphasizes arts education. 2009 will bring more detailed development of our plan for the Center.

This past year, we met with individuals and groups in the Bayview Hunters Point community to build a broader coalition for the work, and to find out the scope of the community’s needs. We continue to work with the SF City Redevelopment Agency and the Citizen’s Advisory Committee to expand our base of support and to participate in the existing planning process for the Shipyard.

We also met with several experts who have created art centers in other locations to help us develop our ideas, expanded the core group of participants, created a brochure to present our mission and vision, and began investigating funding opportunities.

This year, look for us to continue this project intensively. We welcome participation on many levels. If you are interested in becoming involved, please contact me at 415.641.5301 or haseltine@earthlink.net.

ART 94124 SHOW

ART 94124 will celebrated its first show of 2009 last Friday at the unique gallery behind Javalencia Café at 3900 Third Street. A group exhibit of artists working in multiple media that salutes jazz and African-American heritage features original artwork, photography, and limited-edition prints.

Footprints member group ART 94124 represents an innovative mix of art, business and community, and is fueled by residents and other community-minded leaders who recognize the power of grassroots strategies to bring people together and create change.