A Map of San Francisco’s Street Art & Murals By Neighborhood
Not only has SF Mural Arts digitally mapped out all the incredible murals in San Francisco, they have credited and cataloged them by both artist & location. This is particularly great because when you come across a mural you dig, you can then find all that artist’s other work across the city and on your phone.
For example Stuart and I were admiring a Mona Caron on Church Street the other day, it’s a wonderful glimpse of San Francisco’s timeline. The piece takes the viewer through different incantations of Market Street beginning in the 1930’s and ending in a playful and idyllic future. Like most murals, seeing it online does it no justice, you have to go there in person. And if you go using this map you’ll also see that Mona did a huge mural just a couple blocks away at Duboce Ave & Church St. at the beginning of The Wiggle
The iphone app with geo location on it is called “SF Murals” which you can use to wander through the streets and hit dozens of pieces on a single stroll. The app is a little bit dated but worked fine for me (make sure you allow geo-location after you download), and if you have an android phone or just don’t want another app, you can simply use the browser version of ‘Murals by neighborhood’ on your phone: www.sfmuralarts.com/neighborhoods.
You can find cutty works on side alleys and even inside buildings with this artsy repository. Simply begin by searching through a neighborhood or by an artist like, like ‘Sam Flores’ for example.
It’s great when you’re waiting around for something or just need a break, you can fire up the app and wander to some amazing art nearby. It’s like Pokemon Go for people with taste.
Sometimes there are masterpieces in your city, and you don’t ever think to visit them. Sometimes it’s obvious from the street.
And Sometimes you need to step into a building like at the San Francisco Art Institute.
The Mission district is by far the most art rich in the city, it has 476 murals and those are just the ones that are listed. For high concentrations of art hit Clarion Alley (between Mission & Valencia) & Balmy Alley (Balmy between 24th – 25th). But by using this app you may find some incredible stuff you never thought to pass.
So often people are watching where the step in the Tenderloin and not looking up, which is too bad because the Loin has some of the most fascinating murals in the city.
Find the browser version of SF Mural Map at: www.sfmuralarts.com & the iphone app here www.sfmuralarts.com/iPhoneApp. Also check out www.streetartsf.com for up to date street art news and artist interviews.