Common Grounds: Urban Space to Art Oasis
May 19, 2017 | By Shayna Yasuhara
Common Grounds is a free two-week arts festival, transforming urban space into an art oasis with 105 local artists and 23 local arts organizations. The festival officially begins on Saturday, May 20 with Family Day, offering a focus on family-friendly programming with interactive activities for children and adults.
Intersection for the Arts, one of the longest running non-profit arts organizations in the Bay Area, is the visionary collective spearheading this effort. Now in its 52nd year, and after a two-year hiatus from public arts programming due to a restructuring, the non-profit is back.
For the past seven years, Intersection for the Arts has been working with the 5M Project, a planned mixed-use area for offices, housing, arts and culture, and public gatherings including Common Grounds. Located between 5th, Mission, and Howard Street in downtown San Francisco, this project provides an early exploration into how these areas, which have already been designated for ongoing arts and community use, can be utilized in the future.
5M Project Mockup
The festival offers a new answer to the question, “what is public art?” Looking past the more conventional use of funding for sculptures in the park, Common Grounds also represents a new model.
Randy Rollison, the Executive Director of Intersection for the Arts, explains: “Common Grounds is a chance for everyone to have access to art through creative play and collective experience. We are leaving no audience behind! By activating public space, and investing in our local community we hope to help broaden the way people understand where and how to access art, and lead the way for more free and public art in the Bay Area.”
There are five different types of programming within the categories of family, performance, music, visual arts and gatherings.
Courtesy of Intersection for the Arts
Some additional highlights from the programming include a public mural creation with Strider Patton, in collaboration with Tech Shop and United Playaz, in which community members will be able to watch, as well as contribute to the new large-scale piece. At the Parallel Park, a stark parking lot will be reconstructed into a visual arts display with 3D works, made from a wide range of mediums, including clay, PVC, and concrete. There will also be a pop-up hybrid micro-bookstore/art installation, and studio space created by Timeless Infinite Light, an Oakland small press company.
Over 100 local artists will be paid by public funding — another important factor in “supporting the arts.” Highlighted artists and groups participating in Common Grounds include Alphabet Rockers, Ross Travis, Notoriety Variety, Bring Your Own Queer, Embodiment Project, Ramekon O’Arwisters, BoomShake Music, The Rabbit Hole Theater, Little Artistas, Mi Cultura Art Project, Stairwell’s, Mugwumpin, Glass Eye Shadow Pictures, Epiphany Productions, Jazz in the Neighborhood, Project O, Strider Patton and Resilience Archive Project.
Photo: Strider Patton, Courtesy of Intersection for the Arts
Common Grounds takes place May 20-June 6, at various locations around the 5M site, near 5th and Mission. Visit their website for additional details and a full list of scheduled events.