While Muni is not usually the subject of positive and exciting hubbub, the art world should take note. The Muni Art Project, now in its third year, has begun its voting process to select which Bay Area artists will get the opportunity to have their artwork featured inside city buses, essentially creating moving galleries for thousands of riders throughout the city to admire.
Winners of Muni’s public art contest will have their artwork displayed on 100 Muni Buses beginning in January 2018. The contest began with an application process open to Bay Area residents. From there, a committee comprised of local galleries, artists and other local institutions whittled down the list to 10 finalists. Now the five winners will be chosen through a good ol’ American voting process.
Voting started on Monday, July 24th and will continue through Monday, August 28th. The five artists with the most votes will each have 20 Muni buses displaying their art. And while some might wonder why having your art displayed to a bunch of frowny-faced commuters would be such a win, the artist with the most votes will also be awarded a $2,000 prize, and each of the remaining top four finalists will be awarded $1,250.
The Muni Art Project is the brainchild of the local nonprofit San Francisco Beautiful and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). It’s further supported by members of San Francisco Beautiful and sponsors such asAT&T and the Union Square BID. This year, the program also partnered with the Poetry Society of America (sponsors of Poetry in Motion®) and Supervisor London Breed.
Here is a list of the finalists. You can vote for your favorites here, as well as see who’s leading the votes!
Cha Diaz (San Mateo County)
David Carroll (San Francisco County)
Donavon Brutus (San Francisco County)
Janet Rumsey (San Francisco County)
Lam Giang (Alameda County)
Mara Hernandez (Alameda County)
Matthew O'Brien (San Francisco County)
Meli Burgueno (San Francisco County)
Randi Pace (San Francisco County)
Tsungwei Moo (San Francisco County)
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