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1967 Summer of Love –> 2017 Summer of Rage & Resistance
Posted in ARTISTS/ACTIONS, CAPITALISM, CAPITALISM IS OVER!, Colonization of Public Space, CONSUMERISM, CORPORATE BRUTALITY, CREATIVE PLACEMAKING, DEMOCRACY, Displacement, ECONOMY, EVIL CORPORATIONS, Gentrification, GLOBALIZATION, GREED, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES, LOVE, POLICY, PROTESTS, San Francisco, TAX THE RICH, Tech, Technology, Urban Prototyping
Tagged 1967, 2017, Airbnb, Another Planet Entertainment, Apple Inc., Asian Art Museum, ATA, capitalism, Civic Center Commons, Cobalt Mines, Colossal Clusterfest, corporate capitalism, Creative Placemaking, DEMOCRACY, Democratic Republic of Congo, Disrupting, Dot-Com, Dot-Com Bubble, Flower Interruption, Flower Power, Gentrification, Global Financial Crisis, I'd like to teach the world to sing, Innovating, Lyft, Megan Wilson, Mission District, Mission Playground, neoliberal agenda, privatization, San Francisco, Sharing Economy, Summer of Love, Summer of Rage, Summer of Rage & Resistance, Tech Shuttle Buses, The Corporate State, Think Different, Twitter Tax Breaks, Uber, Urban Prototyping
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CAPITALISM IS OVER! in Código Magazine!
Check out CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It in the Febrero issue of Código Magazine HERE!
Airbnb Had Housing Activists Pushed Into a “Free Speech Zone”
This weekend Airbnb held its first-ever conference for hosts in San Francisco. Inside, executivesrestated the company’s goal to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Outside, local cops allegedly shoved housing activists who were protesting Airbnb’s role in the eviction crisis, confining demonstrators into a “free speech” pen. …. Read more HERE
“Airbnb Open” Protest/Music Performance by Candace Roberts 22 Nov 2014 from Peter Menchini on Vimeo.
Posted in CAPITALISM
Tagged Airbnb, Candace Roberts, capitalism, corporate capitalism, evictions, Gentrification, homeless, homelessness, pig costume, protest, San Francisco, taxes owed
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TWITTER . ZENDESK . YAMMER
San Francisco’s Tenderloin district has the highest concentration of homeless persons (44%), comprises the highest proportion of residents living in poverty (69.7%) with a per capita income of $14,556 compared to San Francisco’s average of $73,802, and of the population 16 years and older, 47% are unemployed.
Megan Wilson and Christopher Statton have reached out to three of the new innovative businesses – Twitter, Zendesk, and Yammer – that are part of the Central Market CBA and who have voiced that they want to work with organizations in the community that are addressing the struggles of homelessness – to ask them to participate in our project Better Homes & Gardens Today. They are working with three organizations – two in the Central Market/Tenderloin area – the Gubbio Project and Coalition On Homelessness, as well as At The Crossroads Street Youth Support that serves homeless youth throughout SF – to help raise awareness and educate around the realities of homelessness, while helping to raise money to support these critical organizations. So far we’ve heard nothing back … we’ll keep trying.
Posted in CAPITALISM
Tagged art, art project, At The Crossroads, ATA, Better Homes & Gardens Today, betterhomesandgardenstoday.org, Central Market, Central Market Community Benefits Agreement, Christopher Statton, Coalition On Homelessness, Gentrification, Gubbio Project, homelessness, Megan Wilson, San Francisco, Tenderloin, Twitter, Twitter Yammer Zendesk, Twitter Zendesk Yammer, Yammer, Yammer Twitter Zendesk, Yammer Zendesk Twitter, Zendesk, Zendesk Twitter Yammer, Zendesk Yammer Twitter
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BETTER HOMES & GARDENS TODAY
Installation & Public Project by Christopher Statton and Megan Wilson
October 1 – 31, 2014
with Events October 29 & 30
ATA (Artists’ Television Access)
992 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110
In October 2014, artists Christopher Statton and Megan Wilson will present the window instillation and public project Better Homes & Gardens Today at ATA (Artists’ Television Access). The November location for the project is TBA. For Home Statton and Wilson will be partnering with the Gubbio Project, the Coalition On Homelessness, and At The Crossroads to: 1) Heighten awareness around “home” and the realities of homelessness; 2) Cultivate a dialog within communities and amongst disparate groups; and 3) Raise money to benefit each of these critical organizations.
Statton and Wilson, will spend October painting “Home” signs in different languages in the window space of ATA. The single word for “Home” will be painted in black against a color background. Within the first letter of each sign a flower will be painted. The signs will be painted on 1⁄4″ plywood and range in size from 12″x18″ to 16″x30.”
On October 29th & 30th Wilson and Statton will host evening events at ATA for tech corporations and their employees – such as Twitter, Zendesk, Yammer, Google, and Facebook who have expressed interest in helping to made a difference to ease the suffering experienced by those living on the streets. The evenings will include presentations by the participating organizations and discussion on:
1. The realities of being homeless
2. What the culture and climate of homelessness is like in San Francisco; and
3. What is truly needed to address this crisis – funding and policy change.
Attendees will be asked to participate in the project by purchasing a set of “Home” signs. The signs will be available for $100/pair. Purchasers will get one sign for his/herself and the other sign will be donated to one of the three partner organizations to use as they see best fit. Purchasers will also be provided with more information on each of the organizations and how they can further help. All of the proceeds and the signs purchased for the organizations will be divided evenly and go to the three partners (Gubbio Project, Coalition On Homelessness, and At The Crossroads).
Posted in CAPITALISM
Tagged At The Crossroads, ATA, Better Homes & Gardens Today, betterhomesandgardenstoday.org, Christopher Statton, Coalition On Homelessness, Facebook, Google, Gubbio Project, homelessness, Megan Wilson, San Francisco, Tech Companies, Twitter, X Artists' Television Access, Yammer, Zendesk
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The Gentrification of our Livelihoods: Everything Must Go… by Megan Wilson
We Lose Space, Installation by Megan Wilson and Gordon Winiemko, San Francisco Art Commission Grove Street Gallery (across from SF City Hall), San Francisco, CA, 2000, photo by Megan Wilson
New Feature on Stretcher:
Preface: When I began researching and writing The Gentrification of our Livelihoods in early March 2014 one of my primary interests was the impact that the collaboration between Intersection for the Arts and developer Forest City’s creative placemaking 5M Project is having on the existing communities that have invested in and called the South of Market home prior to the tech booms. Having worked with many community-based organizations within the SoMa community for the past 18 years, I’ve had deep concerns about the development’s impact for the neighborhood and its impact on the future of Intersection.
However, I would not have predicted the announcement that Intersection made on May 22nd to cut its arts, education, and community engagement programs and lay off its program staff would come as soon as it did. What began as a reflection on the shortcomings of creative placemaking as a tool for economic development and its implications on gentrification and community displacement has become a cautionary tale for arts and community organizations to question and better understand the potential outcomes of working with partners whose interests are rooted in financial profit.
Over the past two months I’ve spoken with many of the stakeholders involved with the 5M development, as well as the creative placemaking projects that are helping to shape the changes in the culture and landscape throughout San Francisco, these include: Deborah Cullinan, former Executive Director, Intersection for the Arts; Jamie Bennett, Executive Director, ArtPlace America; Angelica Cabande, Executive Director, South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN), Jessica Van Tuyl, Executive Director, Oasis For Girls, April Veneracion Ang, Senior Aide to Supervisor Jane Kim, District 6 and former Executive Director of SOMCAN; Tom DeCaigney, Director of Cultural Affairs, San Francisco Art Commission; Josh Kirschenbaum, Vice President for Strategic Direction, PolicyLink, and an anonymous source within Forest City Enterprises … Continue Reading
Posted in CAPITALISM, CREATIVE PLACEMAKING, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, Urban Prototyping
Tagged 340 Bryant Street, 5M, 950 Market Street, Alexa Arena, Angelica Cabande, April Veneracion Ang, art, Art Strikes Back, ARTery Project, ArtPlace, Atlantic Yards, Christopher Statton, Creative Placemaking, Deborah Cullinan, Failure of Creative Placemaking, Forest City, Gentrification, Group i, Hidden Gems of The Tenderloin, Intersection for the Arts, Jamie Bennett, Jessica Van Tuyl, Joy Ou, Megan Wilson, Mid-Market, Oasis For Girls, Patricia Rodriguez, Pier 70, PolicyLink, Public-Private Partnership, ReAllocate, San Francisco, San Francisco Art Commission, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, SOMCAN, South of Market, Techshop, The Gentrification of our Livelihoods: Everything Must Go, Tom DeCaigney, Urban Prototyping, Wildflower Institute, WritersCorps
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Tow Away the Google Bus
Posted in CAPITALISM
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Clarion Alley Mural Project’s “Wall of Shame & Solutions”
Wall of Shame & Solutions, Christopher Statton, Megan Wilson, Mike Reger, Clarion Alley Mural Project, 2014. Photo by Steve Rhodes.
Clarion Alley Mural Project Wall of Shame & Solutions
New Mural on Clarion Alley by Christopher Statton, Megan Wilson, and Mike Reger
EXHIBITION DATES:
Monday, February 24 – October 1, 2014
RECEPTION:
TBA – information to follow
LOCATION:
Clarion Alley Mural Project
Clarion Alley @ Valencia Street (between 17th & 18th Streets), San Francisco, CA, USA.
HOURS:
24/7
Wall of Shame & Solutions, Christopher Statton, Megan Wilson, Mike Reger, Clarion Alley Mural Project, 2014. Photo by Steve Rhodes.
WALL OF SHAME AND SOLUTIONS:
In a city that is rapidly changing to cater to the one-percent at every level, Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP) is one of the last remaining truly punk venues in San Francisco, organized by a core and revolving group of individuals who have collectively volunteered tens of thousands of hours throughout its history over the past 21 years.
As part of CAMP’s mission to be a force for those who are marginalized and a place where culture and dignity speak louder than the rules of private property or a lifestyle that puts profit before compassion, respect, and social/economic/environmental justice, CAMP artists/organizers Megan Wilson, Christopher Statton, and Mike Reger have just completed Clarion Alley Mural Project’s Wall of Shame and Solutions to address the current crisis of displacement and the dismantling of our city’s historic culture.
Wilson herself was evicted in 2008 through the Ellis Act from her home of 13 years. In 2013 she was evicted from her studio at 340 Bryant Street, along with 150 other artists, by developer Joy Ou of Group i to make way for new tech offices. 340 Bryant Street was one of the last remaining affordable industrial spaces for artists’ studios in San Francisco. Additionally, during the painting of the “Wall of Shame and Solutions” Wilson was held by a Mission District police officer (with a back-up team of two officers) for 30-minutes for “breaking San Francisco’s Sit/Lie Ordinance” by sitting on the ground while taking a break from painting the mural.
The mural includes the following selection of “Shames” and “Solutions” – there are many others that could’ve been included; however, due to space, we narrowed it down:
SHAME: 3,705 Ellis Evictions 1997 – 2013, SF Eviction Epidemic
SOLUTION: Ellis Act Relocation Bill & Support the Anti-Speculation Tax and Support the SF Community Land Trust
SHAME: “Google Buses” / SFMTA
SOLUTION: Ban Private Shuttles From Public Bus Stops and Pay Into The Existing Public Transit System
SHAME: Corporate Tax Give-Aways by: Mayor Ed Lee & Supervisors Jane Kim, Scott Weiner, Malia Cohen, Mark Farrell, Eric Mar, and David Chiu
SOLUTION: End Corporate Welfare and Tax Them and Make Them Pay Their Fair Share
SHAME: Uber, Lyft, Sidecar etal.
SOLUTION: Regulate & Tax
SHAME: Airbnb
SOLUTION: Regulate & Tax
SHAME: Corporate Community Benefit Agreements
SOLUTION: Just Say “NO” – Make Them Pay Their Fair Share
SHAME: Closure of Chess Game in Mid Market
SOLUTION: Bring Back The Public Chess Games
SHAME: SF Sit/Lie Ordinance
SOLUTION: Repeal Sit/Lie
SHAME: Closing SF Public Parks at Night
SOLUTION: Re-open The Parks at Night
Wall of Shame & Solutions, Christopher Statton, Megan Wilson, Mike Reger, Clarion Alley Mural Project, 2014. Photo by Steve Rhodes.
CONTEXT:
San Francisco is experiencing a massive displacement of its residents, its communities, and its diverse culture – as the high tech industry and its workers continue to move into our City and to recruit more and more of its employees from outside of the Bay Area. Additionally, high numbers of foreigners are buying up property in San Francisco as second or third homes, contributing to the shortage of affordable housing. Those being forced out of their homes and neighborhoods include longtime residents (many who are low and middle income, immigrants, and communities of color), local businesses, and non-profit social service and arts organizations – agencies that act as integral parts to the neighborhoods they live in and serve. It’s been truly heartbreaking to watch so many people who have spent many years creating and contributing to our communities be forced to leave because, while they have plenty of creativity, energy, and love for their neighborhoods, they don’t have enough money to keep their homes, small businesses, and community-based organizations.
This is an epidemic rooted in a systemic war being forged by politicians and for-profit interests across the world. In San Francisco it’s a war being led by Mayor Ed Lee (led by Gavin Newsom before him, and Willie Brown before that), District Supervisors, and the Planning Commission, funded by deep pockets with the money to pull these City “leaders”’ strings. These are the folks who have created and are creating the changing image of San Francisco as “money is the priority,” not culture and/or a voice for the disenfranchised. All eyes throughout the world are now on San Francisco and watching as the city that was once known for its progressive free-love counterculture is rapidly being dismantled by free-market capitalism on steroids.
Ultimately the power of the people who don’t have deep pockets lies in calling these interests out, demanding better, and coming up with “creative solutions” to put an end to the powers that are cruelly targeting the most vulnerable populations locally, nationally, and globally.
Posted in CAPITALISM
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Google Glass War San Francisco
Together We Can Defeat Capitalism responds to the Google Glass controversy in Francisco with Glass War!
Posted in CAPITALISM
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