To hear the compelling story behind the new mosaic mural at Precita Park, we sat down with Demece Garepis of Precita Valley Neighbors. Read our interview below to learn more about how their community came together to heal and connect through public art.
“We were all feeling pretty lost during the pandemic – but the park gave us hope. It gave us a space to share stories and come together.
People who’ve lived in the neighborhood for a long time often talk about how there was a culture of informal gathering in the park, and we were losing that. We realized that we needed to retrace our steps in order to find a way forward.
Susan Cervantes, Director of Precita Eyes Muralists, is a key person in this area. So much of our community resilience has been possible because of her. Susan mentioned that she’d like to see a mosaic along the park’s retaining wall. At the time, the wall was just cement. We had a wonderful butterfly garden, but wanted to have a better connection between that and the park. So we thought: why don’t we create a mosaic butterfly mural?
At our first meeting, we had neighbors of all ages and backgrounds come together and work on the mosaic. In that mosaic, we pieced together a story. It’s the story of butterflies, change, and of the Precita stream. If you look closely, you’ll see seeds – each of which represents one of the local youth whom we’ve lost and the idea that their legacy lives on .”
“We were all feeling pretty lost during the pandemic – but the park gave us hope. It gave us a space to share stories and come together.”
“As things came to life, SF Parks Alliance was awesome in helping move the project forward. Especially our Area Manager, who has always inspired collaboration and not just stamped approvals on documents.
But we can’t take full credit for this space. Before us, there were the Aztec and Ohlone, and we wanted to honor that. When the project finished, Aztec dancers came to bless the mural.
What was most interesting about this project is that people who recently moved here were struck by the richness of creating public art. Creating the mural was like cooking together, filling our belly spiritually. The whole project was spiritual nourishment.
For those trying to improve their own local park, my tip is to look for the part of your space that could be better. Maybe something you don’t ordinarily notice. For us, that was the cement retaining wall. Now, people cluster near the wall to talk, read, and picnic. The space was never used like that before – but because there’s a story there, people now feel like they can be part of it. It’s so exciting to see.”
