Update September 2022:

We are excited to announce the first participating artists for our Gateway to the Excelsior project. Congratulations to Rasta Dave, Cristina Medrano, Reminisce Au, and Kari Orvik. Keep your eyes out to see their work go up on the billboard at the intersection of Mission & Hillcrest over the next year.

Please read more about the selected artists below.

Rasta Dave - Dubbed the "hood historian, " Rasta Dave was born and raised in San Francisco, California's vibrant Excelsior District. His captivating and unapologetic candid street scenes and portraits give viewers an inside view--not always pleasant--of whats really happening on these California corners. As he uses the City Life as his art and the streets as his canvas he gives you a taste of reality. His motto : one camera, one lens, no studio no rehearsal...strictly REAL street life and culture. With street credentials that span from the Bay down LA, Rasta is able to document neighborhoods on few outsiders get to see.

My connection to Excelsior goes back with my family. My grandma, Mom, Aunties, and Uncle lived on Lisbon in the 70s moved to Geneva and Edinburgh and that's where i grew up. I went to Luther Burbank middle school and Balboa High School same school as my parents. My Parents actually met at 14 at Luther Burbank and still together today. I protected my friends in the neighborhood and they protected me. I shed blood and tears for this neighborhood. I been to jail protecting this neighborhood. Im actually on the mural at Excelsior Park that i helped paint in 1994 (red pants fila shirt). I still wear clothing with Excelsior District printed on it. My entire teenage years was spent at Excelsior Park Playing Basketball, Football, Ping Pong ,Tennis, Etc. My kids Godparents are from Excelsior. My photos and videos of Excelsior are unmatched. I lived for Excelsior and watched people die for Excelsior. I've been going to Crocker Park, Mclaren Park, Excelsior Park since a kid. Ive been eating baby burritos at Don Chuy's when it was called Azteca's. My Crocker Park Excelsior Comrades done decades in Prison got Excelsior Tatted in their flesh and on their heads for the love of this community and i got the same love for the "E" and the neighborhood loves me back. My photo being on this billboard would mean alot not just to me but my friends and thier kids in Excelsior. It shows that i came from the struggle and pushed and fought with my Art to have big accomplishment which i think it is. Ive seen this billboard as a kid coming home or when my parents ordered a pizza from bravos so we go to the Geneva drive in. This s my connection the E. - Rasta Dave

Cristina Medrano - “I am an emerging painter from the Excelsior that comes from a lineage of artisans and entrepreneurs. I draw my inspiration from the beauty and magic of plants and the many facets of my Salvadoran heritage, as well as the glamour of my queer community. I make reflective pieces that begin with an investigation into themes like generational trauma and survival, because ultimately these are conversations I value having and I want to make connections with other artists that explore these realities. Ultimately, however, I would say that my pieces are about stillness and ingenuity borne from reflection.

I was born and raised in the Excelsior. When my parents immigrated from El Salvador they decided to start a family in this neighborhood because there was a growing Central American community here, and there were more affordable ways of living here as working parents. I grew up surrounded by neighbors that also had immigrant backgrounds, something reflected in the thriving small businesses, community advocacy groups, and celebrations in nearby green spaces like McLaren Park.

I’m proud of this neighborhood and its people for finding a way to stay in SF especially through the massive waves of displacement and gentrification over the last decade. I recently moved back home after living away for a couple of years and am thrilled at the support I see in arts spaces in the neighborhood, something I am hoping to grow into as an emerging artist.” - Cristina Medrano

Reminisce Au - Reminisce was born and raised in San Francisco and Daly City, exposing them to the city’s natural ability of diversity and art. She started seriously getting into art around 2020 as the pandemic seemed to motivate her to get into creative hobbies such as sewing, drawing, and painting. She practices many mediums such as sculpting from recycled materials, using paint inspired by collage, and drawing comics for some fun. Her art is heavily inspired by the environment that has raised her and the complexity of street art.

“My art helps me express a side of myself that I had always been scared to share while growing up. I never honestly thought that I would be so dearly in love with creativity, but through motivation and precision, I’ve been able to create something for myself and others. The amazing part of using different mediums can create endless possibilities, which has helped me expand to using both “art supplies” and items that can be found throughout everyday life. I wish my art to be used for the community and to represent a community that's shedding through the fog of gentrification and displacement.

The Excelsior has always been a passing drive that I’d have with my dad growing up. I attended Bayshore Preschool and in order to get there, we’d go through Geneva. Before I would go to preschool, my dad and I would stop by Geneva Bakery, and I would get so excited to get a bite of a freshly made sesame ball with red bean paste. During my years in middle school, I transferred to a school on the Excelsior and it was a new way of seeing the environment that served me tasty Asian baked goods. I remember on my first day, my mom took us to check out a Filipino restaurant that recently opened. After some hot sizzling chicken sisig, we ended the meal all by getting a cup of Buko Pandan each and the was the best first day of 7th grade I could ask for. Now that I work under Youth Art Exchange, under the Youth Advisory Board, I’ve been able to consciously see Excelsior not just for the food, but for what it offers to its people. Being right next to a bus stop, I get to see the 14 and the 14R pickup passengers of all backgrounds and all capabilities of life. I think to myself that the Excelsior seems to be one of the last bits of San Francisco to truly be a melting pot, and the fact that many local businesses are still intact gives hope to keeping this everlasting hope.” - Reminisce Au

Kari Orvik - “I am a photo-based artist and educator. Through film and found materials, my work is often site-specific, and engages ideas of presence and absence, exploring what we hold onto, what we let go of, and where we place value. A resident of the Mission for over 20 years, I became a photographer while working as support staff in affordable housing. This experience was a catalyst to wanting to archive and celebrate moments of the city’s history that don’t make it into official records. My portraiture practice honors these relationships that are meaningful and often fleeting in the daily life of living in the city.

My work has shown at the SFO Museum, Oakland Museum of California, the Petersen Museum in LA, and the Berkeley Art Museum, where it is also held in its permanent collection. I have had residencies at Recology SF and the Headlands Center for the Arts, and have taught photography at City College of San Francisco, Stanford University, San Francisco Art Institute, and UC Berkeley. I currently operate a tintype portrait studio in the Outer Mission/Excelsior neighborhood of San Francisco.

My ongoing photographic series Geneva offers a glimpse into the Outer Mission/Excelsior neighborhood at the corner of Mission Street and Geneva Avenue, the location of my tintype portrait studio for the past 8 years. A resident of the Mission for over 20 years, I’ve built relationships with residents and other small business owners, photographing them both on the corner and in my studio.

Over time, the photographs have also become a document of the neighborhood, parts of which remain and parts of which are already no longer there. Amidst the uncertain times of this pandemic, the images acknowledge the resilience of small businesses, some of which have had to close as a result, and the daily relationships and interactions that hold each other up and help one another to get through challenging times.” - Kari Orvik

CALL FOR ARTISTS (NOW CLOSED)

Youth Art Exchange (YAX) invites artists who live or work in the Excelsior District of San Francisco to submit an application for the upcoming Excelsior Gateway Billboard Project. The Excelsior Gateway Billboard Project is funded by a Community Challenge Grant. The Excelsior Gateway Billboard Project is a limited duration art installation on a 14’ x 48’ billboard on the border of Daly City and San Francisco, focused on welcoming people or saying goodbye to the Excelsior through large scale visual pieces inspired by or connected to the Excelsior. Digital versions of the pieces may also be on display through YAX and other partner websites and related social media channels.

We are seeking 4 artists or artist teams (a collaboration of one or more artist) to participate in this project. A new artist or artist team their artwork will be featured every 8-10 weeks. Established, emerging, and student artists are encouraged to apply.

Artist Compensation: Artists or artist team will receive $4500 for their participation if selected.

For more information on this opportunity, the request for proposals is available here:

Please circulate in your networks.