Public Art & Urban Design
We are developing strategies to create our community’s permanent imprint on the visual landscape of the district including public art, cultural markers, wayfinding, and signage, that promotes the Cultural District, our history and community.
Cece Carpio’s Jeepney and Muni Mural in SOMA Pilipinas
Community Mural in Alley between 945 and 975 Bryant Street
Photo by Alexa Trevino (@lexmexart) . From left to right: Shi Shi Madriz, Cece Carpio, and Vivian Capulong.
Cece Carpio's latest mural in SOMA Pilipinas represents multiple diasporic experiences of Filipino immigrants at the crossroads of many worlds. The mural features main modes of public transportation: Jeepneys in the Philippines as the Muni buses are here in San Francisco. In this mural, Cece provides the Bay Area audience with the familiarity and visibility of a popular and iconic Philippine cultural symbol side by side with one of the closest objects that is familiar to them and that they see and/or utilize on everyday bases.
“Pagmamana” Gateway Design
A Proposal by Visual Artist Franceska Gamez
Filipino-American visual artist, Franceska Gamez, is designing our very first cultural district marker at Russ St. and Folsom St. Her design is inspired by Pagmamana, Tagalog for “inheritance”. The bronze hands reaching for each other shows a gesture called pagmamano- a practice n Filipino culture that is a sign of respect and an acceptance of blessings from the elders.
The latest iteration of "Pagmamana" is a deeper dive into the power of SOMA’s community, by symbolism of the sun and water. A nod to the ethos of “Tayo’y Amoy Araw”, the Philippine sun harnesses the sunshine and casts its shadow across the intersection. We are connected through water, from island to island, across seas and to the diaspora. Water moves through our bodies as it does through land, nourishing us with the knowledge passed down from our ancestors, merging with the experiences from our unique lifetime. The bronze hands tell the story of this exchange, our pamana and honoring through the gesture of pagmamano. Inspired by traditional wood relief carvings, the leaves surrounding the hands hold vignettes of our collective experiences.
City Funds Visibility Campaign To Combat Anti-Asian Hate, Spur Economic Activity
300 Banners Installed in SOMA Pilipinas for Filipino-American History Month
“Our community was hit hard by the pandemic. A disproportionate number of Filipino nurses lost their lives and many of us lost loved ones. In SOMA, many residents lost their jobs and small businesses closed down. On top of all this, our elderly fear for their safety amidst the anti-Asian assaults in our City” says Raquel Redondiez, Director of SOMA Pilipinas. “This Filipino-American History Month, we wanted to recognize our community heroes-- residents, artists, and small businesses who continued to shine with the bayanihan (mutual support) spirit despite so many challenges. The banners are a declaration that we’re still here, and we will continue to build our cultural district towards an equitable economic recovery for all City.”
The banners feature a collage of residents, artists, and small businesses framed by the iconic sun of the SOMA Pilipinas logo and brand. “SOMA Pilipinas is not defined by bounding streets, but by a sense of place that radiates a resilient joy and shared determination. It is a district where the sun continues to rise, a living celebration of community, its people, and their stories. SOMA Pilipinas shines in its own light,” says Julie Munsayac, Otherwise Graphic Design Lead for the Banners who also designed the first set of SOMA Pilipinas banners back in 2018.
Original photography on the banners are by Nix Guirre, SOMA Pilipinas’ Program and Communications Coordinator.
The banners are supported by cultural district grants generated from the City’s Hotel Tax through the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. While the hotel tax suffered an unprecedented decline with the pandemic, one-time grants were made available to help address COVID-specific impacts and to support economic recovery especially within the hardest-hit communities of color as represented by the City’s nine cultural districts.
Banners feature Residents, Artists, Small Businesses, Community Workers, and Families of the Filipino Cultural Heritage District. Photo by Nix Guirre
Mini Murals at the new SOMA Pilipinas office
“Pasalubong” and “Free the Freedom Fighters” are on display at our new office at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Come see our new office located at YBCA, now home to Franceska Gamez and Malaya Tuyay’s mini murals co-commissioned by the San Francisco Modern Arts Museum.
First District Banner Project
Future Public Arts Projects
