The Excelsior Action Group is working to install the Excelsior's first sculpture at the corner of Geneva Avenue and Mission Street.  To learn more about the project, click here.  Entitled Ever Upward, this has truly been a community-driven effort.  The mosaic column whose designs are pictured to the left will be produced entirely by community volunteers. 

EAG is seeking in-kind donations of supplies & tool lending from community members who would like to support the production of Ever Upward's mosaic.  The following is a list of supplies & tools we need for this project.  Please contact (415) 585-0110 or email nagbayani@eagsf.org if you would like to donate or lend any of the following!  Thank you!

The beautiful new Excelsior Community Mural, installed on the façade of the 4648 Mission Street branch on December 14th, has engendered excitement in the community about the Excelsior’s vibrant past and its limitless potential for future development and improvements in the Persia Triangle, often referred to as “the heart of the Excelsior.”

The 18’ x 16’ photo collage, comprised of historical photos of the district and its residents, is a part of Wells Fargo’s nationwide Community Mural Program.  EAG appreciates Wells Fargo’s collaboration with San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority, the San Francisco Public Library, City College of San Francisco, and neighborhood historians and photographers in order to choose photos, images, and maps that illustrate the Excelsior’s rich history.

For more information about the mural and its components, check out the photo key below.

EAG would like to thank Wells Fargo for choosing the branch at Mission Street and Ocean Avenue for one of their installations of art.  So far, the Excelsior Branch at 4648 Mission Street is the third in the City to receive an art installation.  Wells Fargo has been collaborating with the San Francisco Public Library's San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection, a project of the San Francisco History Center to develop a historically significant collage for the display.  The artwork installation is the first of many improvements that the Excelsior Action Group would like to see made at the Persia Triangle, which has been called the "Heart of the Excelsior" by many community members.  

Share your ideas and visions for the Excelsior Branch Library Greening, which will be installed in front of our neighborhood library this year with a Community Challenge Grant.  This project is brought to you by the Excelsior Action Group, the Excelsior Branch Library, & Architecture for Humanity.

Monday, September 24, 2012
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
EAG’s office, 35 San Juan Avenue

For more information, contact Nicole Agbayani, (415) 585-0110 or nagbayani@eagsf.org

Community Challenge Grant Funds help Excelsior Community realize project proposed in 2010

The Excelsior Action Group is happy to announce that it has received Community Challenge Grant funding for its Excelsior Art and Greening Gallery project!

“This Community Challenge Grant will enable the Excelsior Action Group and SF Clean City Coalition to 
realize a greening and art project that community members have been calling for since the 2010 Excelsior Art 
Summit,” said Excelsior Action Executive Director Group Nicole Agbayani. “The Excelsior Art and Greening 
Gallery will have a tremendous positive impact on the neighborhood, especially the shopping district. Most 
importantly, it helps to demonstrate that ideas formed through grassroots community processes are valuable and 
actionable in San Francisco.” 

The 28 Community Challenge Grant recipients were announced on July 5th by Mayor Edwin M. Lee and City Administrator Naomi Kelly. "'Community Challenge Grants allow the City to partner with our diverse communities to make immediate  improvements to our public spaces,' said Mayor Lee. 'We are inspired by these twenty-eight innovative  projects that will bring neighbors together to keep the City beautiful and make real, long-term investments in our neighborhoods.'" 

You can read the full length announcement from the city by following this link: http://www.sfgsa.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=8993 

The Excelsior Action Group unveiled the parklet located at 4754 Mission Street in front of Mama Art Cafe. This community effort was backed by Out of Site Center for Arts Education, the City of San Francisco, along with vendors who donated materials to build the student designed structure.  The event attracted well over a hundred community members to enjoy the company of their neighbors, the food of local restaurants, the rhythms of an interactive drum circle, and of course, the Excelsior's first parklet!  Local photographer Stephen Heraldo documented the event.

Click here to see photos of the event!

Stephen Heraldo is a freelance Designer and Photographer. He is a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo alumni with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Communication. He provides photography as a service (corporate events, portraits, editorial). He also co-founded Stellar Photographie with Alisa Orozco. Heavily influenced by photojournalism, the duo captures natural family moments (events, weddings, portraiture, family sessions).   Please visit stephenheraldo.com and stellarphotographie.blogspot.com to learn more about his work.

Join the Excelsior Action Group, Out of Site Center for Arts Education, and fellow Excelsior community members for the public unveiling and ribbon cutting of the first Excelsior parklet on Friday, April 20th. The event will be taking place at 4:00pm at the parklet location, 4754 Mission Street in front of Mama Art Cafe.

There will be representatives from EAG, OOS, the City of San Francisco, and numerous other parklet contributors who volunteered their time to help with construction or who donated materials. And of course, there will be plenty of representatives from the Excelsior community there as well, the people who the parklet was built for, You! Join us for a fun afternoon event of good food and good people! 

(San Francisco – April 3, 2012) The Excelsior community is abuzz in front of Mama Art Café (4754 Mission Street), marveling at the work of two local nonprofit organizations that have joined together to bring the neighborhood its first public parklet.  Harnessing the creativity of San Francisco public high school students and the overwhelming support of community members and local government, Out of Site Youth Arts Center and Excelsior Action Group have made this student-designed parklet a reality.    
 
The Out of Site Youth Arts Center, which offers free after school, weekend, and summer programs in visual, literary, and performing arts to public high school students, engaged approximately 50 students over the past year in both the design and construction of the parklet.  The Excelsior Action Group, a community and economic development organization that works to revitalize the Excelsior’s commercial corridor, provided seed funding for the project with a grant from the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD).  The organization has also engaged the participation of Mama Art Café, as well as completed a robust campaign of community outreach to vet the project and the design with Excelsior community members.  In partnering, both organizations have lent unique focus and expertise to this project, which has amplified its incredible success.  

The Excelsior Action Group and Out of Site Youth Arts Center will be starting construction on the first Excelsior public parklet this upcoming Saturday, March 24th and continuing through March 31st. This will be the culmination of a year long community design process and collaboration between EAG, OOS, and Mama Art Cafe.
 
We encourage all interested residents to come out and view the construction effort or, better yet, lend a helping hand! Email or call us to find out volunteer times and sign up to help build the parklet, no experience is necessary. Contact EAG at (415) 585-0110 or Excelsior.AG@gmail.com for more information! 

When: Saturday, March 24th -- Saturday, March 31st. Times will vary day to day but will generally be between 11am - 4pm. 
Where: Parklet installation will be taking place in front of Mama Art Cafe, 35 San Juan Avenue. 

Join the Excelsior Action Group at Mama Art Cafe on February 24th to support the creation of the first Excelsior Parklet and witness the  public unveiling of its design by Out of Site Youth Arts Center

Festivities will include live music, food, and a silent auction

When: Friday, February 24th from 6:30pm -9pm
Where: Mama Art Cafe, 4754 Mission Street