SF’s “The City Canvas” Mural Festival at Pier 70 w/ “Paint the Void”

When San Francisco shut down during shelter-in-place in early 2020 artists created gorgeous temporary murals throughout the city on boarded-up storefronts.

Fortunately, as the city reopened, many of these works of art were saved and are now on view together for the first time in the nation’s largest exhibit of its kind.

At “The City Canvas: A Paint the Void Retrospective” see 49 of these rescued large-scale plywood murals (up to 43-feet wide) that helped brighten up the city during a dark time.

The City Canvas: “A Paint the Void Retrospective”
– Sat + Sun, January 22-23, 2022 | Noon to 6p
– Thu + Fri, January 27-28, 2022 | 4-9p – Night Market
– Sat + Sun, January 29-30, 2022 | Noon to 6p
Pier 70, Building 12, 588 22nd St., San Francisco
FREE with RSVP ($10 donation suggested)

How to Volunteer at the exhibition

As San Francisco sets its hopes for a post-COVID era, artists that provided the city a balm during the darkest days of the pandemic will be celebrated in the largest exhibit of its kind.

“The City Canvas: A Paint the Void Retrospective” is the nation’s largest exhibit of plywood mural art featuring 49 of the actual works that transformed San Francisco’s boarded up storefronts during the pandemic. The exhibit is scheduled for a limited-run Jan. 22-23 and Jan. 27-30 at historic Pier 70 in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood.

In March 2020, as San Francisco went into lock down, businesses across the city boarded up their windows fearing break-ins at unattended shops. Riley said the plywood facades were a stark sign of the uncertainty and anxiety gripping the city’s residents and a daily reminder of the loss of community. At the same time, artists were struggling to make ends meet with galleries shuttered and commissions and other employment opportunities on hold.

• Exhibit Features 49 of the Actual Large-Scale Plywood Murals from Boarded Up Storefronts
• San Francisco Artists Took to the Streets to Offer Light to the City Landscape During Dark Times

The murals range from 4-43 feet long and up to 11.5 feet high. The exhibit is set amid the soaring space at Pier 70’s historic Building 12, a football field-sized industrial structure that once served as a WWII shipbuilding site and is newly restored as part of a 28-acre waterfront neighborhood under development by Brookfield Properties.

A limited number of tickets are available at eventbrite with a suggested donation of $10. Safe entry protocols: Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and masks are required.

 

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