CCSF Artists Unite To Save Ft. Mason Campus And Oppose Balboa Reservoir Privatization

Press Release: CCSF Artists Unite To Save Ft. Mason Campus And Oppose Balboa Reservoir Privatization

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Who: Older Adult students, artists, art lovers, art models, Balboa Plan opponents
What: Life drawing class with life models
Why: Opposing closure of Ft. Mason Art Campus and Balboa Reservoir Project
When: Friday, May 22, Noon - 2pm
Where: Balboa Reservoir parking area between the MUB building at 50 Phelan Ave. and Archbishop Riordan High School, 175 Phelan Ave.

Contact Person
ccsfheat(at)gmail.com

San Francisco 5/20/20
Life Model Art Rally - Awareness Raising for CCSF Arts Program at Ft. Mason
Artists, students, and the SF Older Adults art community are desperately working to stop the closure of the CCSF Campus at Fort Mason, the former army barracks turned art center that has been a City College Arts campus since the 90’s. They will hold an Awareness Raising Drawing Session with life models at the Balboa Reservoir parking area between the MUB building at 50 Phelan Ave. and Archbishop Riordan High School, 175 Phelan Ave., Friday, May 22, at 12 noon - 2pm. They are demonstrating in support of keeping the well equipped art campus open, rather than making a hasty, ill-informed decision to close it, during this chaotic time of the pandemic. They will be joined by the opponents of the Balboa Reservoir Plan.

City College Interim Chancellor Dianna Gonzales and the Board of Trustees called for a vote to extend the lease for 3 months at the last Board of Trustees "Special Meeting," May 5, 2020. Several of the trustees said they needed more information and more community input and were successful in delaying the vote until the May 28th meeting.

“Announcing the closure of beloved city institution during a pandemic, and then calling for an immediate vote is beyond cowardly, because it doesn’t allow for the necessary community input that the CCSF administration says is central to the college's values. It’s a breach of the duty that the Board of Trustee’s has sworn to uphold as fiduciaries of City College as a community institution.” Said Marilee Hearn, an OLAD (Older Adults) sculpture student at CCSF and one of the organizers of the opposition.

In agreeing to delay their decision the BOT said they would take the time to hear community input to better evaluate the decision and its impact on the community. Opponents of the closure say the time is short and the pandemic is making it all the more difficult to do traditional outreach. “Understandably, there are a lot of more pressing things on many peoples’ minds right now," said Konrad Dunton, a City College art instructor for the last 6 years, “but that is all the more reason this vital decision cannot be rushed through right now. Now more than ever we are realizing the vital need for art, connection and community, and we are going to need that now more than ever whenever things reopen.”

This will be a safe art session, following pandemic regulations of keeping distances and wearing masks. “We are older and need to take measures to be safe; we are gathering because this issue holds such importance to the quality of our lives,” says Jean Cherie from the Older Adults Sculpture Class at Ft. Mason. Organizers are asking people to attend the"class" with their art materials and also to submit public comments before the next BOT meeting.

There will be a follow-up zoom call on Saturday, 05/23/2020, 3-5pm. It will be an in-depth teach-in on the Balboa Reservoir--in relation to publiclandsforpublicgood.org
###

Who: Older Adult students, artists, art lovers, art models, Balboa Plan opponents
What: Life drawing class with life models
Why: Opposing closure of Ft. Mason Art Campus and Balboa Reservoir Project
When: Friday, May 22, Noon - 2pm
Where: Balboa Reservoir parking area between the MUB building at 50 Phelan Ave. and Archbishop Riordan High School, 175 Phelan Ave.