Welcoming and grounding the Casa Adelante – 2828 16th Street community is Make Things New, a series of eight 20-foot-high murals spanning 4,000 square feet, framing the entrance to this affordable housing development. Created by award-winning Chicana artist Lorraine García-Nakata, these murals honor the Latino legacy of the neighborhood, the American Indian Cultural District, and the Black and Asian Pacific Islander communities, bridging generations from youth to elders. For tenants, this artwork provides a reflective space that celebrates their diversity and echoes their shared aspirations for community well-being.
On a beautiful sunny morning of October 23rd, friends and supporters gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the public art. “The murals are here to ground you,” said García-Nakata. “These murals are for you and the residents and the staff to find a moment to rest, reflect, find some peace, and really dive into and discover your own power.”
Commissioned in partnership by MEDA, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC), San Francisco Arts Commission, and Galería de la Raza, García-Nakata engaged with tenants as the vision for the mural was developed.
Lorraine Garcia-Nakata at Casa Adelante – 2928 16 St. introducing Make Things New to the public.
The artist states: “As a muralist, my intention was to create an overall place of rest, dignity, and ‘medicine’ for all those who daily walk through this open space. The Make Things New murals affirm the necessity and power of envisioning in areas such as claiming joy, bond between parent and child, Indigenous precious wisdom, transformation, youth presence, and male contemplation.”
Residents’ messages and handprints are present in the artwork. One resident, the late Eddie Kittrell, was a frequent visitor during the process and was honored during the unveiling.
“Eight years ago, when MEDA first envisioned what could become of a long-abandoned bakery, one of the goals was to reserved a space in new affordable housing not just for art, but for art that embodies the Mission District culture and visually represents families staying and thriving in the Mission,” said Karoleen Feng, MEDA’s Chief Community Real Estate Officer. “Make Things New is exactly that.”
“There were many special moments at the unveiling of my Make Things New mural series. Gathered together, in one place, were many remarkable and iconic friends…we have supported each other over decades, and that support has fueled each paint stroke of my brush,” said García-Nakata.
García-Nakata is an acclaimed Chicana artist and a founding member of the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF), a renowned artist collective known for its dedication to social justice and cultural expression within the Chicano community. Throughout her career, García-Nakata has created vibrant murals, sculptures, paintings, drawings and mixed-media works that celebrate heritage, resilience, and community storytelling. García-Nakata’s contributions to public art have solidified her as a key figure in the Chicano art movement and a lasting advocate for community-based cultural empowerment.
Casa Adelante – 2828 16th Street is a 143-unit, 100% affordable housing development created by MEDA in partnership with TNDC. This community-centered building houses two longstanding cultural and community organizations: Galería de la Raza and Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth (HOMEY). It also includes the Felton Institute’s Solmar Learning Center, offering subsidized childcare for working families.
For more on this inspiring event, watch a video montage by Linore Chinn here, along with the KGO7 on-air segment from the unveiling here.
Lorraine García-Nakata full speech
Thank you, Jeffery, for your introduction, and thank you MEDA, TNDC and Casa Adelante for organizing the unveiling of this Make Things New mural series. I also want to start by acknowledging Mr. Kitrill, a Casa Adelante resident with whom I shared time and conversation. He had planned to speak at this unveiling, but he was called into his next incarnation. Passing in January, his energy is greatly missed, yet handprint resides at the entrance of this building and his energy remains.
“Make Things New,” what does make things new mean? It acknowledges that in our lives we can be faced with difficult challenges, some ongoing and pervasive. Sometimes you are harmed by those close to you. Our first response may be to feel frustration or anger. But my internal self, my creative work has never let me off that easy. It presses back on me saying, “OK, I get that but go deeper.” My creative process makes me work and ask, “What does it look like, feel like after the ‘fight’ or what does it feel like when you finally have what you need?” It pushes me/us to envision, to imagine. Over the decades I have come to know that this is where our deep power resides, in each of us, the collective “we” ––by making time to imagine, visualize the world we need. It is no surprise that our contemporary world keeps so many of us struggling, surviving. By design, it keeps us from the necessary time needed to be still and imagine.
These paintings that you see here, are not just paintings. Each one was designed and hand painted, each stroke coming forth from the sacred space I enter as an artist. They affirm our ability, the necessity of envisioning claiming joy, bond between parent and child, Indigenous precious wisdom, transformation, youth presence, and male contemplation. They also hold the energy of conversations and interaction with those who live and work here––an experience I enjoyed each day during the three and a half months of painting.
Yesterday I shared with resident Paulencia Binion, when she shared that she was a bit nervous about speaking, I said that the murals can open the power she already has. That she can walk out and stand with them and ask them to ground her. That the murals are for her and all the residents and staff to find a moment to rest, reflect, find some peace, and discover their own power.
There were many who supported my work here. You know who you are, and I am so very grateful. Many of you have also been support over the decades–– my family, Royal Chicano Air Force family, my artist and community family. Your support is held in each brush stroke.
There is more that can be shared, but in closing I’ll say that at 74 years of age: what I know is that all this discipline and life work has led to my wish to be fully manifest. To be my fully developed self. I don’t want to miss the point of this life. It doesn’t make sense to “half-step,” but to fully commit to this business of living, creating, envisioning––no matter how difficult that may be at times.
Thank you, all of you, my family in community.
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