Children's Mural Program Outcomes
Murals
Portable murals painted on plywood and several painted on ceramic tiles have been favorite public displays of Children’s Mural Program participant’s public artwork as part of their ongoing annual contribution to the beautification of their community. Currently there are murals mounted in the Bayview Hunters Point community at The Bayview Opera House (inside), The Bayview Plaza Shopping Mall, The SF Main Post Office, The SE Community Facility that houses a SF Community College Campus, and Southeast Water Treatment Facility.
Stream of Consciousness
a new public artwork produced by Think Round Inc., commissioned in 2010 by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, created by Heidi Hardin working with Colette Crutcher, Margo Bors and Nikki Lau—all teaching after-school and fifth grade students at Willie L. Brown Jr. Academy with help from students and teachers at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School and Amador Valley High School all supported by a cadre of teen artists/interns from City College of San Francisco.
It is a rich banner of animated visual images telling the story of water—from the depths of the sea to the constellations of the sky—through original visual images that were handmade in clay by children and youth and our artists. The children’s tiles are interspersed by a ribbon of specially selected quotes from historic and contemporary science and literature that were hand-stamped into clay by interns. When the panels are laid in one line, they will stretch 120 feet across the back of two public park benches at Hunters Point Shipyard becoming an integral element of outdoor seating that for the under-construction Hillpoint Park. STREAM will be a prominent designs feature of the new public park that will afford both visitors and residents stunning views of the Bay Region. Water’s story was created over a period of six months in a workshop classroom at Willie L. Brown Academy in San Francisco. The artwork is composed of 24- handmade panels. Each panel is 1’ high by 5’ long and approximately 1” thick.
Final Celebrations
This annual event brings children, their families and teachers together fro all five community elementary schools. The ethnic diversity of our students mirrors the ethnic diversity of the neighborhood. Our thinking is that it is never too early to begin reaching out to our fellows to celebrate the creative and scientific endeavors of all of the hundreds of students whom we serve annually.
At this fun party, children, parents, principals, teachers and civic leaders shared their thoughts and the kid's essays and artwork about the environment as well as a super banquet.
Mayor Willie Brown a proud supporter of the CMP and KEEP!
At our annual CMP/KEEP! Final Celebration civic leaders like Mayor Willie Brown, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, as well as our funders and collaborators like Roy Willis and Willie B. Kennedy, along with parents and teachers, honor the children’s artwork, essays, storyboards, photographs and murals that are outcomes of our award winning program focused on the environment.
Nancy Pelosi speaking at our annual CMP/KEEP! Final Celebration.
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has been an active supporter of the CMP and KEEP! programs for a dozen years. Pelosi provides inspiration at our Final Celebration by closing her speech to the children like this, "I will personally hand your anthology of essays to the President of the United States so he will know of your love for the arts and the environment. Thank you for sharing your artwork and ideas with us!"
Essays
The highlight of our Final Celebration each year is the reading of essays by the children that they have written about their experiences working with CMP artists, learning about art and the environment, and being good stewards of our most precious natural resources: air, water and soil. This year, several readers were shy but still adamant about all they now know about protecting the environment and using art as a fun way to share their ideas on the subject. Our 12th Annual Anthology of Essays contains a complete record of all our children’s thoughts and feelings about our program. Below is a sample of an essay written by one of our children.