Sunset Mercantile
The Sunset Mercantile began the Outer Sunset Farmers Market & Mercantile in 2020, and that was my introduction to the organization. Just a few blocks from my Outer Sunset home, the Sunday event became a place for our community to shop and connect during the pandemic. As a local family photographer, I started offering free popup photo studios, where I met countless families that later became regular clients of mine.
Art@Work Initiative
This nurturing of community hasn’t stopped at the growing list of fairs, festivals, and markets offered by the Sunset Mercantile, but has come to include projects like Art@Work. In the words of the Sunset Mercantile –
“Art@Work is a program created by Supervisor Gordon Mar’s Office in collaboration with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Self-Help for the Elderly & Sunset Mercantile. The program will connect small businesses in the Sunset with local artists to beautify and enhance storefronts. ”
I have started documenting these projects, and I plan to share them right here!
Georgia Hodges @ Michelle’s Hair Studio
Georgia Hodges is an Outer Sunset artist who is deeply embedded in her community. As written on her website –
“The proximity to the rigors of the edge of the Pacific Ocean takes hold of her interior perspective, and what has manifested is a cross-pollination of creative practices. The fog, land, sea, and air inspire…elucidate, really…her ceramics, paintings, and drawings….That self-determined cultural and political focus gave birth to a three story mural in 2020 inspired by the Green New Deal, an activated piece that cements her declarative place as an artist to watch.”
I spent an afternoon in Michelle’s Hair Studio on Taraval Street, following Georgio as she planned and executed this awesome indoor mural. Georgia does plenty of her own personal work, but I really enjoyed watching the give-and-take as she created something that worked not only for her own aesthetic but also for the space and the business that she was working within. Here’s a gallery documenting the process!
Other community projects worth checking out –