Media Contact:
Kate Patterson, San Francisco Arts Commission
Cell: 917-821-6759 Email: kate.patterson@sfgov.org

Alyssa Licouris
Cell: 559-974-2141 E: Alyssa.Licouris@sfgov.org

MEDIA ALERT

SAN FRANCISCO'S OUTDOOR ART MARKETPLACES TURN 40

TODAY AT JUSTIN HERMAN PLAZA FROM 10 AM TO 4 PM

Since 1972, San Francisco's Street Artists have become one of the city's premiere tourist attractions specializing in one-of-a-kind,
made-in-the-USA handicrafts.
WHAT:    The San Francisco Arts Commission's Street Artists Licensing Program will mark 40 years of providing locals and tourists with colorful outdoor marketplaces and a significant contribution to the economic life of the City. The celebration of this anniversary will kick off on Saturday, June 30, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Justin Herman Plaza. The event will feature live music, remarks by city officials, and the opportunity for the public to enjoy the handcrafted objects created by the street artists at one of their premiere sites.

Since 1972, the Street Artists Licensing Program, under the direction of the San Francisco Arts Commission, has encouraged talented artists by licensing them to sell their work ranging from jewelry, photography, sculpture, apparel, leathercraft and blown glassware on the city's bustling streets. While some artists travel from the outer reaches of the Bay Area to sell their crafts in the city, fifty-five percent of Street Artists reside in San Francisco.

WHEN/WHERE:    Saturday, June 30, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco

VISUALS:  
*    City Officials to speak at noon: Commission President JD Beltran, Arts Commission Commissioner Gregory Chew, Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny, and Street Artist Licensing Program Director (for 40 years!) Howard Lazar
*    Justin Herman Plaza covered by 150 booths featuring handmade arts and crafts.
*    Live piano and Brazilian jazz by Peter Busboon and his Bluegold group.
*    Belly dancing by Tanya Key and her troupe.  

WHO:    San Francisco Arts Commission

* Kate Patterson and/or Alyssa Licouris (see contact info above) will be on hand to help facilitate interviews.

COST:    FREE

INFORMATION:     sfartscommission.org or 415-252-2581

See story in Thursday's San Francisco Chronicle:

Street Artists Program 40th celebration
Backdropped by the clock tower of the Ferry Building, the beach at Aquatic Park and other spots throughout the city, painters, jewelry makers, photographers, woodworkers and other artisans display and sell their work directly to locals, tourists and those just passing by.

They're part of the Street Artists Program, administered by the San Francisco Arts Commission, which is charged with reviewing and certifying 38 categories of arts and crafts, and licensing approximately 400 artists and craftspeople to sell their handmade creations. The artists work at 4-by-3-foot vending spaces (approximately 350 spaces at 31 locations) on public sidewalks, allocated by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and enter a daily lottery to determine where they will set up.

The program started in 1972, and festivities celebrating the 40th anniversary are set for Saturday in Justin Herman Plaza. More than 150 artists plan to sell their arts and crafts; dignitaries will give speeches; and performers include pianist Joe Russo, Brazilian musicians Peter Busboom and the Bluegold group, and belly dancing by Tanya Key and troupe.

The program's beginnings stem from events that occurred in 1971, when police arrested artists in the Union Square area and at Fisherman's Wharf for not holding a license permitting them to sell their work.

"The artists asked the police for peddler's licenses but were denied," says Howard Lazar, the Street Artists program director for 40 years. "There were about 600 artists in a group known as the Street Artists Guild who petitioned the Board of Supervisors for legitimacy. At the same time, Mayor Joseph Alioto, who had been to Europe and had seen many of its cities successfully allowing artists to sell on their streets, enthusiastically embraced the idea of street artists selling on the sidewalks of San Francisco."

The ordinance passed empowered the Arts Commission to screen the artists - that is, to verify that they create their own handmade work - and license them.

More than 9,000 artists have participated in the program, including Tad Sky, who's worked as a street artist since the summer of 1974. From an allotted space near Justin Herman Plaza, he sells earrings, necklaces and bracelets he creates with vividly colored, patterned beads sourced from around the world.

"Although I began my jewelry-making career by collecting abalone shell fragments on the beaches of Sonoma and Mendocino and turning them into pendants and beads, I no longer make any beads myself," Sky says. "Instead, I use those beautiful beads to create with. They inspire me with their wonderful colors and shapes, whether they are natural gemstones, highly polished or sparkling glass beads, or smooth, organic-shaped pearls."

He notes that artists also need to plan for winter, with the slowing of business and the colder weather. Sky says he relishes this time, using it to travel to places and observe art and architecture.

"I enjoy working at home in the peace and quiet and then plunging into the crowded world of a busy arts and crafts market. It's a great contrast and very stimulating," he says. "I get to see what other artists are making, what works and what does not with my own craft and get plenty of feedback from customers. I meet people from all over the country and all over the world, comparing and sharing travel tips, etc."

Married artisans Joso Vidal and Rose Moore, who met in Barcelona's Barrio Gotico neighborhood in Vidal's native Spain, became licensed street artists in 2008 and 2006, respectively. While he focuses upon Abstract Expressionist paintings, she paints shell jewelry, nightlights and creates cards featuring original prints.

"I like the control I have over when and how long I work," Moore says of the program. "I like the camaraderie between myself and other artists and the continuity of working in one location with the same folks."

They also work by Justin Herman Plaza, a place they say affords them a front-row seat from which to watch people making their way to work, school, etc. They've observed an eagle capture a pigeon in the middle of the plaza, an elderly man dressed in a white suit dance spontaneously and a Speedo-clad homeless man don a mask he purchased from another artist.

"Workaholic, our lives revolve almost 24 hours around art or business, sometimes too much," Vidal says, when asked to describe what it's like being in a family of artists, "but I love the way we support and understand each other."

Street Artists Program 40th anniversary celebration: 150 artists, public speakers, and live performances by pianist Joe Russo, belly dancing by Tanya Key and troupe, and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Justin Herman Plaza, Market Street and the Embarcadero, S.F.

Street Artists Program: San Francisco Arts Commission, 25 Van Ness Ave., Suite 345, S.F. (415) 252-2583, (415) 252-2581. www.sfartscommission.org.

Stephanie Wright Hession is a freelance writer. E-mail: datebookletters@sfchronicle.com

- end-