THE MISSION

San Francisco's Mission district is characterized by a remarkable, block-to-block difference in cultural landscape (and in how safe you might feel walking alone at night) that distinguishes it from other, more homogenous neighborhoods in the City. The two-square-mile area is diverse and colorful architecturally, culturally and literally, thanks to the murals* that adorn numerous buildings and alleyways.

The Mission has been a predominately Latino
neighborhood since the 1970s, but in recent years
it's become an ethnic hodgepodge and, to the dismay of longtime residents, an increasingly gentrified area. The sociopolitical strife that spawned much of the mural art in the '70s was replaced with the upheaval caused by the displacement of working-class families and neighborhood businesses by young artists and entrepreneurs. But despite the differences in dynamic that now exist between the areas west of Valencia and east of Mission Street, there remains a common thread of creativity throughout the district, reflected in the countless galleries, shops, restaurants and other businesses, and an energy you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the City.

Media artist, activist, teacher, ATA co-founder and filmmaker Lise Swenson found so much inspiration in the Mission that she made a feature film about it; Mission Movie - a story of five groups of Mission residents and their experiences trying to make it in the neighborhood - debuted in June and is making a major splash on the festival circuit. Though she recently moved to Potrero Hill, Swenson says the Mission is still very much in her heart.

"The Mission is an incredibly important place to me. I lived [there] for the past 14 years, and I think it's the place that has made me the person I am today," she explains. "I learned so much about myself ... as somebody who really thinks about how we can live with really different points of view and really different class backgrounds, really different ethnic backgrounds, really different ways of being in the world.

"It's about coming together in the community. It's not about separatism, it's not about individual egos; it's about how we're all going to try to work this thing out together. And that's what the Mission represents to me, that's what the Mission has come to mean for me."

*Mural images courtesy of Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center.

Top left: "Leyenda Azteca" © 2000 All rights reserved. Created with the Precita Eyes Youth Mural Workshop. La Gallanita Carneceria, 24th and Harrison Sts., SF 94110.

Top right: "Indigenous Eyes: War or Peace" © 1991 World Rights Reserved. Balmy Alley, SF. Indigenous Beauty © 1984.

Center, top: "The Five Sacred Colors of Corn" © 1991 World Rights Reserved. Balmy Alley, SF. Indigenous Beauty © 1984.

Center, center: "Precity Valley Vision" © 1996 All rights reserved. Precita Valley Community Center, 534 Precita Avenue, SF 94110.