Freespace is an experiment in temporary community rooted in creativity that is happening in a 14,000 sq ft building on Minna Street around 8th Street. Many of the core organizers of Freespace come from the Burning Man community and specifically the experimental collective IDEATE.
The temporary community can easily be spotted. There is a large painted black and white body floating on the side of the building and directly below art covers the remains of a building foundation on a empty parking lot next door. Further across the lot is another large mural with a garden at the base. In all there are 20 murals that were done in just 10 days. This is the result of [Artspace], one of five projects sponsored by [Freespace].
The purpose of [Artspace] is to get more art on the streets of San Francisco by connecting land owners with artists. This can be a time consuming process for both the landlords and the artists. The city of San Francisco provides a free program called Street Smart to connect building owners with artist but there are a limited number of artists who work with Street Smarts due to their approval process. The landlords may want art on their building but do not know where to begin or the legal issues involved and may want to use artist not already registered with Street Smarts. The artists would rather concentrate on their art than spent time looking and negotiating wallspace to showcase their work. Artspace has the real estate expertise to guide the landlords and artist through the process so everyone can enjoy the end results with the least amount of hassle. Artspace was started by Eoin McMillan of the StartupHouse.
Long story short, having art murals painted on StartupHouse was one of the best things we did last year – it drew in the local community and received praise not just for the artwork itself, but also for the transformation that was occurring by taking otherwise disused land and wall space, and turning it into art.
Their website [Artspace] makes it easy for the landlords, artists and other interested parties to specify their needs and qualifications.
Artists involved in Freespace Art
See other pieces they have done and check out their online presence.
1131 Mission St, mural A – Zio Ziegler
1131 Mission St, mural B – Ian Ross
Parking Bays:
1) Griffin One
2) Ernest Doty
3) Max Ehrman
4) Suer
5) Amanda Lynn
6) Robert Harris
7) (back wall)Apex
8) Anonymous
9) Hugh Leeman
10) Allison Heuman
11) Attica
12) Darren Villegas
13) Carly Ivan Garcia
14) Gats
15) El Chavi
16) (pillar)Hugh Leeman
Minna St – Max Ehrman
Learn About [Freespace]
Visit their site, go there and get involved. [freespace]There is a calendar of events for the month of June that focuses on five objectives of the organization where you can learn more and get involved in activities that make San Francisco a dynamic vibrant place to live and work. Take part in the garden, learning shelter, community engagement, artspace and bike share/Yellow Bike Projects.