La Fenix- 1950 Mission Street, San Francisco CA
In collaboration with 10 youth artists from Youth Art Exchange and funded by Art for Civil Discourse
2023
Narrative written by the Youth Art Exchange artists
In San Francisco, a city where entire neighborhoods are often covered in fog, the Mission is a colorful valley that stays warm even when the rest of the city isn’t shining. With the Mission being a community that glues together the South and the North, the sun and the phoenix symbolize the light that the Mission radiates to the community.
Everyday, we see the diversity of our people from the elderly to youth, working-class to yuppies, and a mixing pot of ethnicities that all enjoy the Mission for what it is. It retains the historical significance of San Francisco’s original Victorian houses that have been passed down from the 19th century to the present. Houses and neighborhoods become symbols of the people who lived there or the people who currently live there, creating their own source of light. Its impact creates an inerasable legacy and history. It maintains a working class environment with businesses and restaurants while also providing a fair share of nature, local parks, and places for anyone to enjoy the sunshine in all its glory.
Within the mural, native plants play a role in the land as they represent the continuous growth of the community and how it will forever flourish, even in difficult times. This mural also pays homage to the locals who grew up in the Mission, played at Dolores and ended the day with ice cream and to those who watched the skaters bomb down the hills while the sun set. All of these elements shed light not only on the people here, but also the environment of the Mission District.
The mural evokes a sense of freedom, gratitude and an appreciation for what we call home. We also aim to showcase a side of the Mission that gentrification is slowly eradicating. As those in power focus on profits, we will see fewer Mission locals enjoying homes they've had for decades and fewer resources for the struggling class.
As the powers that continue to clear a path for their profit-driven agenda, our mural aims to express our opposition to the ongoing gentrification in the city. It tells a story of rebirth and rebuilding in the community while highlighting what the Mission has meant to us and what it will mean to us in the future. We want our local community to feel a sense of warmth and love when they see our work.