In 2020 The San Francisco Creative Corps pilot program provided economic opportunities for 60 visual and performance artists, while promoting public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Issue
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How We Helped
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The San Francisco Creative Corps, funded by San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, was created in partnership with Paint the Void and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. With this grant, Paint the Void supported the creation of 30 murals that promoted public health messages. Paint the Void hired local visual artists and matched them with boarded up businesses to create temporary murals that encouraged public health and safety conscious practices in neighborhoods affected most heavily by COVID-19. Artists that lived in or had strong ties with the neighborhood were selected for each installation. Murals highlighted behaviors that protect the community: wearing masks, avoiding gathering in large numbers, and staying indoors.
Paint the Void also collaborated with Illuminate, a local organization dedicated to expanding the City’s light art, to provide temporary lighting on many of the murals to create safe spaces during evening and nighttime hours. The program was a part of the city's ongoing focus on economic recovery and slowing the spread of COVID-19 in San Francisco.
Paint the Void also collaborated with Illuminate, a local organization dedicated to expanding the City’s light art, to provide temporary lighting on many of the murals to create safe spaces during evening and nighttime hours. The program was a part of the city's ongoing focus on economic recovery and slowing the spread of COVID-19 in San Francisco.
To better understand the project's impact, YBCA and Paint the Void collected feedback from the commissioned artists and the local community through a post-project survey. The survey inquired participating artists about the neighborhood’s response to their work as well as their sense of connection to the community before, during, and after the completion of the murals. Members of the public were inquired about their affinity to the commissioned murals as well as how they impacted their everyday lives.
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30 murals completed across 12 neighborhoods
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“San Francisco’s artistic communities are integral to our recovery efforts and the ongoing cultural and economic vitality of the city. By empowering artists, musicians, performers and muralists through Creative Corps, we’re cultivating an ecosystem where San Francisco artists can expand their contributions to the communities they live in and care for.”
- Joaquín Torres
Director of the Office of Economic & Workforce Development
- Joaquín Torres
Director of the Office of Economic & Workforce Development
The survey conducted with 505 members of the public – 95% of those were from neighborhoods across San Francisco – reported that 73% had seen at least one of the murals commissioned by the SF Creative Corps program. Due to the presence of murals in the public space, they become elements of popular everyday life. Its accessibility allowed the program to reach a diverse and extensive audience, which proved to be an important starting point for communicating and educating COVID safety measures to the general public.
Fundamental to the urban revitalization process, murals served to culturally uplift neighborhoods. 88% of the survey respondents agree that the murals make their neighborhoods look more attractive and 80% agree that the murals make them feel hopeful. As San Francisco went into lockdown in April 2020 and businesses boarded up, an eerie atmosphere took over the city. The once vibrant San Francisco became silent, and as a response to isolation and fear muralists came out to the streets bearing messages of resilience as guardians of hope and beauty.
Fundamental to the urban revitalization process, murals served to culturally uplift neighborhoods. 88% of the survey respondents agree that the murals make their neighborhoods look more attractive and 80% agree that the murals make them feel hopeful. As San Francisco went into lockdown in April 2020 and businesses boarded up, an eerie atmosphere took over the city. The once vibrant San Francisco became silent, and as a response to isolation and fear muralists came out to the streets bearing messages of resilience as guardians of hope and beauty.
Murals have also shown to be important tools in placemaking and community representation, where 78% agree that the murals reflect the character of their neighborhoods. Murals bear witness to their times, carrying narratives of their members, and making local identities visible.
In the survey collected with the muralists, they collectively reported interacting with an average of 380 members of the public while creating their murals and 100% reported that the public response to their work, while they were on site, was very positive, an artist shared anonymously, “It was incredible to see the outpouring of love and support as I painted. The cafe owners gave me ice water on hot days, truck drivers honked in passing as they recognized their trucks in the mural, and random passersby said ‘You're doing great!’ as they walked by. I have never felt more connected to my neighborhood.” As a result, the muralists’ relationships with these neighborhoods grew stronger: while on average they felt “some connection” before beginning their murals after their projects were completed the muralists on average felt a strong connection to the communities around the areas they were working on. |
The results collected from both the artists and the local community show that the SF Creative Corps had a positive impact on the communities and participating artists. The project cultivated a strong sense of belonging and contributed to the beautification of the neighborhoods, meanwhile it educated the public on COVID-19 safety guidelines. The overall result of the project shows that activating the streets with artworks inspired hope and resilience in the community during one of the most uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and suggests that continued support of public artwork can have a great impact on the quality of life of neighborhoods and is a powerful tool for communicating with our communities.
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Image Gallery
Press
San Francisco Creative Corps Website
Creative Corps Impact Report YBCA Muralist Survey Results Paint the Void Survey Results Mayor London Breed Announces San Francisco Creative Corps to Support Artists and Promote Public Health SF Mayor's Office San Francisco to Hire Performing and Visual Artists for Public Health PSAs KQED |
“It was incredible to see the outpouring of love and support as I painted. The cafe owners gave me ice water on hot days, truck drivers honked in passing as they recognized their trucks in the mural, and random passersby said "You're doing great!" as they walked by. I have never felt more connected to my neighborhood.”
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