The Art of Memory

This film, in production since 2020, documents the evolution of grass roots memorials and monuments: public art in its many diverse manifestations in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1985 to the current cultural art movements.

There has arisen a paramount need in our moment in history for “the people” to have a public presence and representation and recognition of  their heroes and heroines and events that represent the struggles of humanity. These reframed new grass roots monuments and memorials connect and support communities across cultures, gender, economic status and embrace and offer a new wave of inclusiveness and awareness in a public setting.

The personal inception of these grass roots projects may become universal in their scope of humanity and the need to recognize  and preserve memories of individuals, communities and events that lack the recognition by mainstream civic acknowledgement.

Through a wide array of public art projects in the bay area since the early 1980’s this narrative began a powerful shift. With grass roots monuments and memorials which include “The Aids Memorial Quilt” the largest public art piece in the world and historically one of the most impactful in the cause of recognizing the Aids epidemic and bringing it to the forefront of a humanitarian criss. 

The National Aids Memorial Grove  in Golden Gate Park is another grass roots Memorial that started with San Franciscans working in a forgotten part of the park a place in nature to preserve the names of friends and family lost to Aids.

The Marigold Project, an annual event honoring those that have passed is open to the public to participate in building their own alters for  Dia De Los Muertos Alters. This event creates a space and an annual 12 hour day to build and reflect over both very personal and complex installation both are alters sharing memories of those passed with the Bay Area community who come in the thousands to walk through the park or sit next to their own family or friend alters. Honoring of those that have passed in this way provides the community with a profound celebration for the living to remember the the departed and honor their memory.

Another grass roots public memorial which began with flowers, photos and objects placed by an elementary school fence to hold the memory of Sean Monterossa, a young man killed during the Black Live’s Matter riots of 2020. Over that years Sean’s childhood friends and family collectively created a beautiful mural painted on boards attached to a a fence. Books became the theme as Sean loved to read. The community built small wooden library boxes and continues to fill them with books for the past 5 years.

The humblest of these memorials is a pile of rocks, flowers, photos, and painted rocks marking the memory of Alex Nieto, a young man shot by police on Bernal Hill 10 years ago in the neighborhood of Bernal Heights, San Francisco. For over ten years that spot has been maintained with all its powerful simplicity . The community gatheries annually on the anniversary of Alex’s death. They have garnered public support to place a memorial on the hill and have the cities approval but lack the funding.