SFMTA and San Francisco Beautiful Kick-Off 2nd Annual Muni Art Program
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and San Francisco Beautiful (SFB) are teaming up for the second year to showcase the work of artists living in the Bay Area. Beginning today and until June 17th, artists from throughout the nine Bay Area counties are invited to submit proposals with the 2017 theme, “San Francisco Neighborhoods” for contest consideration. In August, five finalists will be announced and given the opportunity to transform Muni buses across the city into rolling art galleries for the delight of the over 700,000 daily commuters throughout San Francisco from January to May 2017.
“The Muni Art Program aligns with so much of what we try to do at the SFMTA,” said Ed Reiskin, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “This art is a common thread that brings riders closer together and is another step in our overall work to improve service and make Muni an even better experience for both our customers and our employees.”
The 2015 Muni Art project was so successful that SFMTA decided to double the number of “art gallery” buses to 100 for the launch in January 2017, because of the large amount of public interest and voting. Last year, the 1st annual contest, SFMTA’s dressed-to-impress art buses hit the streets in tandem with the systemwide improvements of Muni Forward. Each work captured the spirit of San Francisco, translating it into interior car panels so it could ride alongside passengers. Another goal of the project was to spread the dressed buses throughout the city so as many riders as possible would have the opportunity to commute in a moving art gallery.
“We are so thrilled to partner with SFMTA for the second annual Muni Art Project,” said Darcy Brown, Executive Director of San Francisco Beautiful. “Art has always been identified with the fabric of the City, but our local artists are bravely struggling against some very daunting economic obstacles. The Muni “art gallery” buses support our local artists by exposing their work to thousands of residents and visitors every day.”
The deadline for artists to submit proposals is June 17th at 6 p.m. A committee which includes local gallery owners and representatives from arts institutions will choose the ten finalists by July 22nd then the public will vote for the top five finalists between July 25th and August 9th with the winners announced on August 10th. In addition to having their art displayed on buses, the artist who receives the most votes will be awarded $2,000 and each of the remaining four will be awarded $1,250.
For artist entry guidelines and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.sfbeautiful.org/muniart or call Peter Clarke, Muni Art project manager at 415-636-5971 or email at peter@sfbeautiful.org.