The Language of Connection
As part of PTA/TEF’s renovation of the Garfield Center in the Mission District, the San Francisco Arts Commission invited artists to submit proposals to create a 113-foot-long glass mural along one wall of the natatorium. Oakland-based artist Favianna Rodriguez won with her proposal, Santuario, which celebrates the long presence of Latinx families in the Mission District. Her colorful glass artwork depicts a mother with her baby, two children swimming, and a paletero (ice cream cart vendor), as well as water and beach imagery. We asked her to talk about the origins of the piece and the role of artists in building community and addressing social justice.
Q: What inspired you to create this mural?
Favianna: I grew up in an immigrant Latinx family in Oakland, California, and a lot of our leisure time was spent going to events in the Mission District, so I have a very strong attachment to my sister community. Because I live in the Fruitvale neighborhood, which is the Latinx immigrant community in Oakland. I’ve always had a deep love and appreciation for the Mission and was very sad to see how gentrification pushed out a lot of Latinx immigrant families over the last 20 years.
When I heard about the competition to create public art at Garfield Center, I thought it would be a great opportunity to celebrate the Latinx community and the immigrants of that diverse neighborhood. As an artist, my goal is to portray communities of color and their stories, stories that have been sidelined and marginalized for too long.
In the piece, I included a mom with her baby, two children playing in the water, and an elder. When I held community art workshops, the kids wanted depictions of the beach and playful summer days.
Q: Tell me more about how you worked with the community.
Favianna: I have a lot of ties with community members in the Mission District, so I interviewed people and asked how they use the park. Elders use the park to play games, and that’s why I included an elder in the work. I led a children’s creative session and talked to neighborhood leaders to understand what they like and what colors stood out for them.
Q: How did you get input from the children?
Favianna: Children have great ideas, because they think in symbols and emotions. I gave the kids some of the shapes I use in my art and asked them to reassemble them and show me how they would represent being in the water. I asked them what symbols stood out to them, and they mentioned inflatables, balls, palm trees, and bodies of water. In my workshop, the kids created their own collages using my shapes and color palette.
