Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I have the honor of representing the most diverse and creative neighborhoods in San Francisco, and this week, the beautiful arts and culture of District 5 have been on full display. I wanted to share what’s been on tap this week, an arts opportunity this weekend, and information on how artists can apply for city grants.
Bill Graham Mural Unveiling Ceremony
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On Monday, I was thrilled to join community leaders, musicians, and arts advocates to unveil a project my office funded, and have been anticipating for months: the unveiling of a mural to honor the legacy of visionary music impresario and San Francisco legend Bill Graham.
From his days managing the mime troupe in the 1960s through his leadership promoting music at the Fillmore Auditorium and beyond, Bill Graham had an enormous impact on music not just here in SF, but nationally and globally.
My office allocated funds last year to commemorate foundational figures like Bill Graham, and to help San Franciscans for generations to come to recognize their contributions.
Especially in recent years, with all the challenges, music and art has so often offered the path through. Celebrating the arts has never been more important, and fundamentally, that’s what we did today with hundreds of community members.
Thank you to everyone who came together to make this happen, in particular the tireless Lisa Brewer from MissionArt415, mural artist Wes Marks, a practitioner of spray paint art for more than 30 years, David and Alex Graham, sons of Bill Graham and Board Members of Bill Graham Foundation, and Bonnie Simmons and Rita Gentry of the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, Dr. Emily Murase of the Japantown Task Force, and Zach Pumphrey of the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association.
Honoring Veterans Alley with Street Renaming
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At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday,I was proud to introduce a resolution to rename the mural-covered Block of Shannon Alley between O’Farrell and Geary to Veteran’s Alley.
For over a decade, this portion of Shannon Street has been home to brightly colored murals painted by veterans, or their loved ones, that express the impact of the U.S. military experience through a visual art framework. While shooting for a photography project on homeless veterans in the Tenderloin, U.S. Navy veteran Amos Gregroy met USMC veteran Gabriel Lovato, and soon after the idea to transform Shannon Street to a space focused on community healing through art was born.
When the Tenderloin became part of our district in 2022, one of the first meetings I had was with The Veterans Alley Mural Project, to meet with Amos and other artists, and we’ve been working together to support the project. I am extremely proud that we are taking this next step to honor the art, artists, their lived experiences, and the important role of The Veterans Alley Mural Project through this renaming.
Lighting Up the Tenderloin Museum’s New Neon Sign
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On Wednesday, we were thrilled to watch the Tenderloin Museum’s beautifully restored neon sign come to life at a ceremony with a huge crowd of neighborhood allies and people from all corners of San Francisco.
Shortly after the district lines were redrawn last year and my office took over representing the Tenderloin, at the request of community leaders, we got to work on legislation to create a special district in the neighborhood. As we learned, the Tenderloin is a hub for neon signs, home to more than a third of all neon signs citywide.
But existing laws made it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to take down, repair, and restore classic neon signs. So we created a special use district – the first of its kind in California – where the neon restoration process would be possible, paving the way for the visionaries at the Tenderloin Museum to create a new generation of neon, which came to life last night.
The sign is gorgeous – one side showing the original “Cadillac Hotel,” the other, a bold declaration of “The Tenderloin.” Thank you to everyone who joined last night, to Katie Conry at the Tenderloin Museum, to Pratibha Tekkey at the Central City SRO Collaborative, and Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan of San Francisco Neon. Let the neon shine!
Hayes Valley Art Works Open Studios This Weekend
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This weekend! Open Studios at Hayes Valley Art Works! Live Music with Dave Ricketts, plus workshops and more.
Apply for an Arts Grant!
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San Francisco Artist grant provides San Francisco based artists up to $30,000 over 18 months. Projects and activities must take place in San Francisco and provide a public benefit to the City of San Francisco and its communities.
- Creation of work and any related public benefit must take place between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025.
- Artists may use the requested funds to cover an entire project or part of a larger project and to support San Francisco residency expenses such as rent.
- Projects may include collaborations, but the individual who applies for the grant and is approved for funding will receive the grant award. The application should be written from the perspective of the specific artist applying and highlight their personal experience, work, and role in the project.
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Thank you for making D5 shine!
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Dean Preston,
District 5 Supervisor
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