Aaron Noble buffing out Barry McGee's mural in 2004
Cliff Hengst painting, 2012
Yuka Ezoe and Naoki Onodera painting, 2012
Mike Reger, 2012
Block Party Announcement 2002, Sirron Norris & Andrew Schoultz
Rigo 23, 2012
Block Party Invitation 2000 Scott Hewicker painting, 2012
Block Party
Jet Martinez & Kelly
Ording, Sons of Satya, 2006
Horea, 2013
Jet Martinez painting at the Roxie Theater, 2012
Danny Gotimer, 2012
Megan Wilson, Roxie Theater, 2012
Kelly Ording, Roxie Theater, 2012
Barry McGee, Clarion Block Party 1999
Clarion Alley Mural Project 20th Anniversary mural by Daniel Doherty!!
CAMP Celebrates 20 Years of Dissidence!!!
Clarion Alley has been an enchanted site of bohemian culture at least as far back as the early sixties when artists like the Cockettes and Terry Riley performed in the same warehouse that the Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP) was based in until its demolition in 2001. CAMP was established in October 1992 by a volunteer collective of six North Mission residents: Aaron Noble, Michael O'Connor, Sebastiana Pastor, Rigo 92, Mary Gail Snyder, and Aracely Soriano. Photographer Fiona O'Connor documented CAMP from the beginning. Other members of CAMP over the years include Diego Diaz, Kate Ellis, Permi Gill, Maya Hayuk, Megan Wilson, Andrew Schoultz, Ivy Jeanne McClelland, Jet Martinez, Daniel Doherty, Antonio Roman-Alcala, and CUBA. Today CAMP's core organizers include: Megan Wilson, Jet Martinez, Rigo 23, Daniel Doherty, Antonio Roman-Alcala, Ivy Jeanne McClelland, Jean Yaste, Dan Kennedy, and Yuka Ezoe, with a revolving group of volunteers.
Clarion Alley co-founder Aaron Noble and Balmy Alley co-founder Ray Patlan, 2012
CAMP was directly inspired by the mural cluster in Balmy Alley focused on Central American social struggles. CAMP did not choose a single theme however, instead focusing on the two goals of social inclusiveness and aesthetic variety. As a result CAMP has produced more than 500 murals on and around Clarion Alley by Latino, Caucasian, African-American, Native American, Asian, Indian, Queer and disabled artists of all ages and all levels of experience, with an emphasis on emerging artists and new styles. CAMP has contributed to the tradition of labor muralism with offsite projects at ILWU Local 6, at 9th and Clementina, and inside the Redstone Building at 16th and Capp (the latter, a cluster of its own, includes twelve murals). CAMP has also presented major gallery installations at the San Francisco Art Institute, New Langton Arts, and Intersection for the Arts. In 2003 CAMP completed an international exchange project, Sama-sama/Together with artists from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, CAMP produced a catalogue to accompany the project published by Jam Karet Press.
Rare image of CAMP in 2002, before the luxury condos were erected at the corner of Valencia & 17th
A Grassroots Not-For-Profit Project From Beginning to Future
Clarion Alley Mural Project has been a grass roots project from beginning to future, organized by a handful of individuals who have volunteered thousands of hours, and with the added generosity of many, many community members who've committed their time and energy to CAMP over the past 20 years. Its possible that such a project could only be done by a small group of committed friends. Big institutions with paid staffs, enviable office facilities, and large materials budgets also have institutional strictures, competing curatorial agendas, levels of prestige to be maintained, ponderous decision-making processes, star power and quota considerations in the selection of artists and bottom line revenue projections to be taken into account. Could a project based on the affinities of artists, characterized by a rejection of western fine art hierarchies, with no enhancement of the market value of stored artworks, ever make its way through that gamut?
In a city that is rapidly changing to cater to the one-percent at every level, CAMP is one of the last remaining truly punk venues in San Francisco.
The evolution of the project over the past 20 years has been one of incredible successes: 1) The initial transformation of the Alley from a primarily blighted space to one filled with murals - lots of color, as well as the City's first black and white murals with a full range of styles and content - as a collective community effort; 2) Over 500 murals created in the past 2 decades; 3) The Labor Temple Project in the Redstone Building at 16th and Mission that includes a series of labor-inspired murals by Aaron Noble, Rigo 97, Susan Greene, Sebastiana Pastor, Isis Rodriguez, Chuck Sperry, Barry McGee, Carolyn Castaño, Ruby Neri, John Fadeff, Scott Williams, and Matt Day; 4) The international exchange project, Sama-sama/Together through which six artists from SF (Aaron Noble, Andrew Schoultz, Alicia McCarthy, Carolyn Castaño, Carolyn Ryder Cooley, and Megan Wilson) completed a 6-week residency in Yogykarta, Indonesia and 4 artists from Yogykarta (Arie Dyanto, Arya Panjalu, Nano Warsono, and Samuel Indratma) completed an 8-week residency in SF painting murals, installing exhibitions, and participating in public dialogues; 5) The ability of CAMP to support hundreds of artists; 6) CAMP's ongoing collaborations with our many neighbors and community partners; and 7) CAMP's active work in support of social, economic, and environmental justice.
Tanya Wischerath painting, 2012
However, CAMP has also helped to contribute to the extreme gentrification of the Mission District over the past two decades. What started as community-based organization committed to diversity and inclusion, is now a magnet for lots of folks hoping to profit off of the image that CAMP has created - from those who use the space for fashion shoots, to corporations hoping to include the "gritty urban street art" image to sell their products, to any number of paid tours by folks unrelated to CAMP, spreading misinformation about the project, artists, and murals.CAMP itself was evicted from our warehouse at 47 Clarion in 2000 to make way for new condo lofts. In addition to its long history as a space for artists, including Terry Riley, John Waters, and the Cockettes, 47 Clarion was the original office and studio for CAMP.
Many of the artists who once lived in the neighborhood have also been displaced due to the outrageous and unafordable hikes in rents to the area.It's been truly heartbreaking to watch so many people who have spent years working hard and investing in the community be forced to leave because, while they have plenty of creativity, energy, and love for the neighborhood, they don't have enough money to keep their homes, small businesses, and community-based organizations.
Moving forward, CAMP will continue to be a force for those who are marginalised and a place where culture and dignity speak louder than the rules of private property or a lifestyle that puts profit before compassion, respect, and social/economic/environmental justice.
Rigo 23, 2012
The mission of CAMP is to support and produce socially engaged and aesthetically innovative public art as a grassroots community-based, artist-run organization in San Francisco.
Goals and Objectives of CAMP’s Work:
• Nurture creativity, support arts education, and broaden cultural participation in order to enrich, develop, and celebrate communities.
• Increase opportunities for access by all to participation in diverse cultural and artistic experiences.
• Cultivate and support arts programming that fosters creativity, self-expression, cross-cultural exchange, and civic participation.
• Cultivate and support efforts to deepen, expand, and diversify audiences for artistic and cultural presentations.
• Cultivate and support the use of art and cultural participation in building communities. Invest in the development and the presentation of diverse artistic practices reflective of the myriad of communities in the region.
Megan Wilson, Home/Casa, 2000
CAMP's Community Support
In addition to our mural work, CAMP has been very active in the community through participation in public presentations about public art and its role in social activism, including panels and presentations at Intersection for the Arts, the Commonwealth Club, Southern Exposure, San Francisco Art Institute, UC Berkeley, and in Yogyakarta Indonesia. CAMP co-directors Aaron Noble and Megan Wilson participated in the Penny Stamps Distinguished Visitors Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor to present CAMP, work with students individually, and provide consultation on developing a mural program to a group of community members in Detroit. Noble and Wilson also taught a public art course at the San Francisco Art Institute through the Painting Department that used CAMP as the framework and studio for the class. CAMP participated in the public planning process of the BART station at 16th and Mission Streets. In 2010, CAMP was a featured presenter at the de Young Museum as part of the series Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo.
As part of our 20th Anniversary, CAMP artists are painting the lobby, bathrooms, and creating a window installation at our community partner, the Roxie Theater. Additionally, As part of our celebration, the Roxie hosted an evening of shorts from CAMP over the past 20 years, including early footage from the first year of CAMP, filmed by Fiona O'Connor, narrated by Rigo 23.
CAMP has been included in numerous book publications including: Sama-sama/Together: An International Exchange Project Between Yogyakarta and San Francisco, Published by Jam Karet Press; Street Art San Francisco Mission Muralismo, edited by Annice Jacoby; Mural Art: Murals on Huge Public Surfaces Around the World by Kirakoss Iosifidis, San Francisco Street Art by Steve Rotman, On the Lower Frequencies by Erick Lyle, Reclaiming San Francisco and The Political Edge by Chris Carlsson, Hollow City by Rebecca Solnit, The San Francisco Labor Landmarks Guidebook by Susan Sherwood and Catherine Powell, San Francisco Bay Area Murals by Timothy Drescher, and Rebels, Reformers, and Racketeers: How Insurgents Transformed the Labor Movement by Herman Benson.
Clarion Alley Mural Project is always happy to share our work - it's FREE - but we have drawn the line for most commercial purposes ... PLEASE contact us for written permission ... and if we do agree, PLEASE give the artists and CAMP credit. One of the things that has made Clarion Alley a unique space is that we've been going strong for over 20 years as a volunteer-run space without commercial ties. The few times that we have agreed to allow commercial projects to film on the alley, we've gone through a long process of ensuring compensation and credit to the artists & CAMP.
We were disappointed and felt disrespected that the creators of About Cherry,theStephen Elliott / James Franco film used Megan Wilson'sCAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want Itand Jet Martinez and Kelly Ording'sSons of Satya footage from CAMP without permission or credit - especially since they had been given Megan Wilson's card as a contact and told if they did use the footage they would need to get written permission from the artists and CAMP.
CAMP appreciated Lenny Kravitz and Jay Z's team for their respectful attention to CAMP and the artists (Ray Patlan, Brian & Jasper Tripp, Aaron Noble, Edwin Garro, Ivy McClelland, J Garcia, Julie Murray, and MARS) featured in the music video Storm.
Scott Hewicker, 2012
The Artists We've Worked With Over The Years:
Over the years CAMP has worked with many talented artists, most of whom are just starting their careers and looking for opportunities to publicly display their work – some would identify themselves as primarily muralists or public artists, for others it's a chance to create public work for the first time. The styles have ranged from folk influenced to spray-can works to conceptual projects. In addition, CAMP has provided space for collaborative youth initiatives, such as Oasis For Girls, Horizons Unlimited and the American Indian Movement Youth Council. Many of the artists who CAMP has worked with have gone on to become highly regarded locally, nationally, and internationally.
Bunny Reiss and Ezra Eismont at the Roxie Theater, 2012
The impressive
list of artists CAMP has worked with includes:
Brad K. Alder,
Rene Amini; APEX; AQUA; ATOM; Tauba Auerbach; David Benzler; BFK; BIGFOOT; BLIS; James Bode; Mark Bode; Chore Boogie, Vichian
Boonmeemak; Emily Butterfly; Chuy Jesús Campusano; Carolyn Castaño; Cecil; Codit, Scott Cowgill; Carolyn Ryder Cooley; Andy Cox;
DAGON; Diana Cristales-David;
Ethan Allen Davis; Bryan Dawson & Rogelio Martinez & Sayaka Tagawa; Matt Day; Eric Derail; DESIE; DINO; Daniel Doherty, DX; Arie Dyanto; Ezra Eismont, Emily (Butterfly); ESA; ESPO; ESTRIA; EURO; Yuka Ezoe, John Fadeff; Farhansiki, Julio Flores and Luis Lule; FREE; Amilca Fuentes/American Indian Movement Youth Council; J Garcia, GIANT; Danny Gotimer, Susan Greene; Chad Hasegawa; Maya Hayuk; Heart 101; Cliff Hengst; Ron Hennegler; Crystal Hermman; Marisa Hernandez; Scott Hewicker; Horizons Unlimited (class taught by Carolyn Castaño and Amy Berk); Mia Houlberg; Scott Hove; Kenneth Huerta; Victor Hugo; Samuel Indratama; IVY; Marisa Jahn; Xylor Jane; Mario Joel; Chris Johansen; Dan Kennedy, Michael Kershrar; Keith Knight; Mari Kono; LANGO; Locust; Vatos Revere Life; Michael Loggins and Jamie Morgan; LUCHA; LUNO; Chris Lux; Scott MacLeod; Carlos Madriz; Jet Martinez; Alicia McCarthy; Barry McGee (TWIST); Jessica Miller; Julie Murray; Natel; Ruby Neri (Reminisce); Aaron Noble; Sirron Norris; Oasis For Girls (Sierra Bloomer, Micaiah Caplong, Su Mei Mai, Sunum Mobin, Nancy Salcedo, Amber Sanchez, Jennifer Tse, Lily Zhen); Naoki Onodera, Kelly Ording, Arya Panjalu; PastTime; Sebastiana Pastor/La Casa de las Madres; Michaela Pavlatova; Hilary Pecis; PEZ; Ray Patlán/Eduardo Pineda (Fresco); Jesús Angel Perez; Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center/Susan Cervantes; Kyle Ranson; Mike Reger, Bunnie Reiss; Renos; Rigo; Clarence Robbs (CUBA); Isis Rodriguez; Cynthia Rojas; Antonio Roman-Alcala, Ron Salmeron; San Francisco Art Institute (class taught by Kristin Calabrese); San Francisco Print Collective, Andrew J. Schoultz; Mary Scott, Daniel Segoria; Steve Shada; Christine Shields; Aminah Slor; Greta Snider; SnoMonkey; Spenser; Spie; Alfonso Texidor; Gabriel Thormann; Sara Thustra; Brian and Jasper Tripp; Lucena Valle; Josh Wallace; WARNED; Nano Warsono; Scott Williams; Bradley Wilson; Megan Wilson; Tanya Wischerath, Lena Wolff; Jean Yaste, Zore & Hyde; and Zulah.
Megan Wilson, Roxie Theater, 2012
In addition to a direct community, CAMP also draws thousands of visitors annually to the Alley to view the works of its highly acclaimed artists. CAMP also hosts an annual Block Party (2009 was the 11th annual) that has consistently brought over 1,000 people to the celebration, which features new murals, live and DJ music, film and video projections, and more.
TOURS OF CLARION ALLEY
For folks interested in tours, you might have seen various tours of Clarion Alley advertised or offered by different venues. Please know that these are NOT sanctioned by Clarion Alley Mural Project and often the information that is shared on these tours is inaccurate. CAMP is currently working to put together an official tour that will provide visitors with an authentic trip through the Alley with folks who are initimately familiar with the project and the space. These will begin in the new year when we launch our new Clarion Alley Website. You can check back here for updates on our progress.
If you would like to make a contribution to CAMP, you can send a check to our fiscal sponsor:
Intersection for the Arts (Please be sure to write "For Clarion Alley Mural Project" in the subject line)
925 Mission Street, Suite 109
San Francisco, CA 94103
