San Francisco walks

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Street art is sometimes regarded as vandalism and urban blight. But in San Francisco it's considered part of life's rich tapestry, a reflection of the Bay Area's colorful history, radical politics and diverse population. Ever since Diego Rivera picked up a paintbrush to create his first SF mural in 1930, the city's sidewalk artists have viewed walls as oversized canvases, and in recent years the artworks have spread beyond their Mission district heartland to other parts of the city. As author of Stencil Nation, Russell is the perfect guy to help you paint the town red. And other colors. Proceeds from my street art tour go to restoring and creating murals at a community art center. Whether you see street art and graffiti as art or vandalism, San Francisco walks a fine line between the legal, quasi-legal, and illegal-illegal. Local curator Russell will show you all of it, helping you discover a subculture you might otherwise miss. Warning: This tour may lead to missed buses and BART trains due increased time spent staring at the ground and walls around you. Make your way through the alleys, parks, streets, and lots of San Francisco. Russell will offer expert explanations for the constantly changing art that livens the city!
Location: 
501 Twin Peaks Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States
Capacity: 
5
Highlights: 
Fri-Mon tend to be the days that work, but I can do other days with enough notice.

Reviews (2)

Titus Ratliff's picture
Mon, 05/04/2015 - 18:35

My best friend's parents were in town from Charleston SC and we had an amazing time going on Russell's street tour (btw Russell is a South Carolinian too--a wonderful bonding point for our group!) We covered an incredible amount of ground (physically and metaphorically) in 3 hours and Russell is an encyclopedia of knowledge on the changing street art scene in this city. Off-the-beaten path is thrown around a lot, and my first instinct is to say, don't believe it, especially if it's used to refer to the Mission. Well, I stand corrected. Russell took us off-the-beaten path in the most trodden, buzzed, blogged about, instagrammed neighborhood of SF. This is an amazing experience for a visitor or native San Franciscan--Russell will open your eyes to a whole new world within our 7x7 mile town. Be prepared to have your mind blown.
barrientos Gonzalez's picture
Mon, 05/04/2015 - 18:35

But first, a little background: As an old skool raver (think flyer art), and for other reasons, I have always loved graffiti & murals, with a large collection of photos I have taken all over the world. I knew next to nothing about the artists, history, inside meanings, etc. and only recognized one of the artist names rattled off by Russell throughout the tour (guess who... it starts with a B) ... However, I had my mind blown by the beauty and humor of most of the pieces we saw! San Francisco is probably home to the coolest, most mindbending street art in the world, and I have lived here for 2.5 years, but I was still gasping with awe every 15 minutes or so at a hidden gem, or one I just never walked by. And our guide was PERFECT. A true veteran of the scene and artist himself, he was clear and detailed, incredibly knowledgeable (yet never making shit up the 2 occasions he didn't know something), warm and humorous, and sharing the same contagious passion about street art as me. We could have talked for 3 more hours after the 3 hour tour but unfortunately he had another one lined up at 4pm. He left us with lots of great resources (of all different kinds of media) to continue our own research and urban art-hunting... Opened up a really sweet Pandora's box of brain candy that I look forward to exploring. Worth every dollar. 5 stars out of 5 : )

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