Clarion Alley Mural Project

First stop on our photowalk was Clarion Alley, a visual feast in the Mission District of San Francisco. It runs between Mission and Valencia, parallel to 17th and 18th streets, and is open 24 hours.

The Clarion Alley Mural Project was established in October 1992 by a volunteer group of six North Mission, and drew its inspiration from the murals of Balmy Alley a few blocks away. Unlike the Balmy Alley murals, the Clarion Alley murals chose not to focus only on Central American social struggles, and exhibit much more eclectic themes by artists from many different cultural backgrounds.

Though I didn’t much appreciate some of these great murals being defaced, they still shine through the spray can tagging. As Allen Hough aptly writes in his SF Weekly blog, I Heart Street Art, “The mural is still the main thing. The mural is still the thing that passersby see, and take in, and appreciate. Like, if it’s a worthy piece of art, then it’s got heart. And if it’s got heart, then some little inky blemish isn’t going to stop it from conveying its message.” Hopefully there will be many more to come.

Click on the photos to see more detail.