PARA LAS ROSAS Mural Restoration

Who We Are

Along with the renowned San Francisco Mime Troupe, we are a community organization comprised of artists, actors, organizers and art lovers, committed to restoring the Para las Rosas Juana Alícia’s 1985 mural, Para las Rosas/For the Roses, on the façade of the San Francisco Mime Troupe Building. Our core team includes the artist, Juana Alícia, Mime Troupe General Manager Ellen Callas, San Francisco Heritage’s Kerri Young, and Mime Troupe Board Member, Susan Segal. Brava for Women in the Arts is our fiscal sponsor for city and foundation grants.

What We Need
Help us  fully restore Juana Alícia’s 1985 mural, Para las Rosas/For the Roses, on the façade of the San Francisco Mime Troupe Building. This mural is a legacy work of art that preserves the history of the neighborhood, the Mime Troupe’s plays and the cultural heritage of its former occupants, Fantasy Records.  The updated, vibrantly painted restoration proposal is enthusiastically supported by neighbors, Mime Troupe, and many community organizations, including BRAVA for Women in the Arts, Acción Latina, SF MOMA, San Francisco Heritage, and La Galería de la Raza. This mural is a legacy work of art that preserves the history of the neighborhood, the Mime Troupe’s plays and the cultural heritage of its former occupants, Fantasy Records. Preservation and restoration of this significant mural from the Mission’s public art renaissance, a piece celebrating jazz music, political theater, and movements for peace and social, racial, and gender justice, is vital to the cultural and educational life of the city. The committee, artist and Mime Troupe will work together with the community to bring new vitality to this block, located in the heart of the Mission.

We need to raise a total of $70,000 to pay for conservation, wall repair, materials, scaffolding, painting and finishes to preserve the mural for many years to come. We’ve applied to the City of San Francisco for a Community Challenge Grant, but we won’t know if we’ve received the grant for a couple more months. Just through reaching out to private donors, we’ve already raised $17,500. We want to launch the project this summer, so we need to get started with fundraising whether or not we receive public funds.

What You Get
You become a supporter of public art! And you receive a gift or perk for your generous donation in any amount! There are different levels of perks based on the amount of the contribution, but they are all beautiful! Our unique perks for supporters include Mime Troupe memorabilia, such as cards, posters and t-shirts. They also include cards, posters and original artwork by Juana Alicia.

What if We Don’t Reach Our Goal?

• If we don’t reach our entire goal, we’ll hold the funds in a savings account and continue to fundraise through grants and online until we  do reach our goal! This may mean postponing the project until the funding is raised, but we’re going to do our best to make it happen this summer!

The Impact!

• By donating to restore this mural, you become a patron of public art, helping to preserve a community treasure by an internationally recognized artist. Thousands of people tour the murals of the San Francisco Mission District every year, and this mural is part of that collection.
  The muralist, Juana Alicia, has done several crowdsourcing campaigns: 
  • to support the installation of her Berkeley sculptural murals on Satellite Senior Housing (Huehuetlatolli); 
  • her students’ mural at the REALM Charter School in Berkeley; 
  • and with her partners on the MAESTRAPEACE Mural, to publish a book through HEYDAY  press.

    With the generous support of her communities, she’s surpassed her target goals in every case.

    Please help us to save this mural, and bring renewed life to the block while preserving the  cultural legacy of this Mission District neighborhood! So many of our murals have been lost as a result of lack of funding! We plan to maintain this mural for years to come by selling merchandise to fund a mural maintenance and restoration fund, as we’ve done with several other projects, such as the MAESTRAPEACE Mural on the San Francisco Women’s Building. 

Risks & Challenges

During these challenging times,  the healing power of art is more important than ever!  Because much institutional funding is focussed on pandemic relief, we are asking you to bring a different kind of healing to our communities. The beauty of crowdsourcing is that many people can collaborate to work miracles, and bring much needed joy to daily life through supporting public art! 

We are a community team of folks with wide circles of supporters from the worlds of theater, the arts, and social justice movements. We are confident that these circles help will spread the word and the excitement for this new, updated version of Juana Alícia’s Para las Rosas mural. Almost forty years after she painted the original work, her style and power as a painter have increased, as well as the international recognition for her contributions. The Mime Troupe is really proud to have this work inspire folks, reflecting many aspects of its own sixty-plus year legacy. Together, we know we can make this happen!

In order to solve the challenge of raising this amount of funds, we will approach all types of funders: small mom and pop businesses, individuals, grant makers and institutions. The most effective plan is to make this project go viral!

Other Ways You Can Help

Even if you can’t contribute $, you can help us spread the word by publishing our video, sending emails and blasting your social networks! Use the Indiegogo Share tools to make your voice heard around the world in support of public art. Thanks so much for your support in any form!