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Precita Eyes Muralists Association
	Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center
Founded	1977
Founder	Susan and Luis Cervantes
Type	Mural Arts Charity 501(c)(3)
Focus	Collaborative Mural Arts, Neighborhood Improvement and Arts Education
Location	Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center ; 2981 24th Street, SF, CA; Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center; 348 Precita Avenue, SF, CA;
Origins	Mural Art Movement
Area served	San Francisco, Bay Area, National, and International
Key people	Founder and Executive Director; Susan Cervantes
Website	www.precitaeyes.org

Precita Eyes Muralists Association is a community-based non-profit muralist and arts education group located in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1977 by Susan and Luis Cervantes.^[1]

History

Precita Eyes Muralists Association was founded in 1977 by Susan and Luis Cervantes, who had come to the Bay Area several years before and started a family. Susan Cervantes was inspired by Las Mujeres Muralistas, the first all-women group of collaborative muralists. Cervantes adopted the Mujeres uralists' philosophy of collaborative, accessible, community art.^[1]

The organization evolved from a community mural workshop in which the participants designed and painted the mural “Masks of God, Soul of Man” for the Bernal Heights Library.^[2] The group signed the piece as Precita Eyes Muralists because the project was a collaborative effort. The name of the organization comes from the fact that most of the muralists were from Precita Valley, which gets its name from Precita Creek. Precita is a diminutive form of the Spanish word ‘presa,’ which means dam; the word ‘Precita’ means little dam.^[3] The ‘Eyes’ in the name are what we perceive the visual world with, our own eyes.

After the first mural, the group of artists continued to be interested in creating murals. They completed two major mural commissions and several more portable murals. Two years later, the group applied for non-profit status in 1979. In 1998 Precita Eyes expanded its operations with the purchase of the building at 2981 24th Street, near the well-known Balmy Alley.^[4] As of 2007, Precita Eyes had supported nearly 100 murals in the Mission neighborhood,^[5]

Precita Eyes celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007^[6] and continues to conduct several mural projects each year. Recent projects include two international projects, one in Beijing, China^[7] and the other in parts of Palestine and Lebanon. Other recent local projects involved the restoration of two San Francisco Parks, Excelsior Playground and Crocker-Amazon Playground. They also host an annual Urban Youth Arts Festival, with artists painting on boards in Precita Park.^[8]

Murals are an expression of the culture of the neighborhood; in an article about Precita Eyes, muralist Juana Alicia Montoya said "In the 1960s and '70s, the Mission District became the cultural heart of the Chicano movement in California... and the murals were an integral part of that movement, as was theater and poetry."^[9] The book Chicana and Chicano Art: ProtestArte says "Arts organizations such as Precita Eyes continue to support Chicano muralism's original objective: to create public art that authentically represents a community's history and culture."^[10]

Programs

Precita Eyes Muralists is one of only a handful of mural arts organizations in the United States.^[11] It maintains two centers. The original Mural Arts Center across from Precita Park at 348 Precita Avenue is used primarily by the education program for toddler, kids and youth classes. The Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center, at 2981 24th Street, conducts mural tours; has a small art supply and mural merchandise store; is used as a gallery space and a space for workshops for adults to plan and design mural art; has space to work on mosaics and portable murals; and contains Precita Eyes Muralists’ Offices.

Precita Eyes Muralists offers weekly art classes for toddlers, children and youth 18 months to 19 years old.^[12]

Precita Eyes offers walking tours that cover mural history and the cultural and historical significance of the murals in Balmy Alley and the wider Mission district.^[13] Tours are open to the public during the weekends. Private tours for large groups such as school classes or visiting groups can be scheduled during the weekday and are tailored to the audience.

Notes

^ ^a ^b Precita Eyes celebrates two decades of making walls, and community, bloom, by Will Cain, San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 2007, access date July 18, 2008
^ González, Guadalupe (March 14, 2013). "Muralist Community Provides Tours of Iconic SF Art". Golden Gate Xpress. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^ Cotter, Adrian (2014-06-10). "Creeks to Sewers". SF Natural History Series.
^ Precita Eyes Muralists, Precita Eyes Organizational History, Press kit. Retrieved on March 03, 2008
^ Villano, Matt (March 28, 2007). "A Neighborhood Is a Gallery, Its Brick Walls Canvases". New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^ Precita Eyes celebrates three decades of making walls, and community, bloom, "dd_precita034.jpg" caption, San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 2007, access date July 18, 2008
^ What's happening in China^{[dead link‍]}, by Nicolas C. Hope, Stanford Center for International Development, May 11, 2007, access date July 18, 2008
^ Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Joe (July 22, 2014). "Graffiti artists tagging in the sunshine at Precita Park". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^ Tyche Hendricks, Tyche (May 6, 2005). "Celebrating art that draws people together". SFGate. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^ Jackson, Carlos Francisco (2009). Chicana and Chicano Art: ProtestArte. University of Arizona Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780816526475. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^ De Anda, Juan (June 13, 2014). "Tourism For Locals: Precita Eyes Paints the City Pretty". SF Weekly. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^ Casey, Cindy (March 25, 2013). "Precita Eyes covers McDonald's in Paint". Art and Architecture - San Francisco. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^ Miller Farr, Laurie Jo (January 26, 2015). "Best Art Walks In The Bay Area". CBS SF Bay Area. Retrieved March 7, 2015.