Divisadero preschool Our Victorian Schoolhouse was the victim of a crime earlier late last year, when vandals defaced both the school's sign and its painted roll-down gate. Now, a new mural has appeared to cover the vandalism at 823 Divisadero, thanks to fundraising and support from the community.
The vandalized storefront.
The vandalism took place last November, and although the school reported it to the police, they were told that not much could be done. After getting by for a few months, OVS parents rallied earlier this spring to fundraise for repairs. They also held a bake sale during NOPNA's Annual Sidewalk Sale on April 26th. Through those efforts, over $1,000 was raised.
"It was pretty wild. We would have the meanest, burliest-looking biker dude come up and buy a piece of cake and give us $100 for it," said Jamie Finn, whose son attends the school.
SoMa's New Bohemia Signs hand-painted the new sign that hangs above the door. The mural on the pull-down metal door was designed and created pro-bono by artist Antoine Marnata of 1AMSF, a gallery and workshop in SoMa that focuses on street art and graffiti through mural creation, mural tours and team building events.
"After hearing from Our Victorian Schoolhouse that their previous mural was defaced, I saw an opportunity to brighten up the community with art and help out a neighbor in need," said 1AMSF founder Daniel Pan, who lives in the neighborhood. "We've done several pro-bono projects like this throughout San Francisco, and will continue to do so."
The concept design of the mural was a collaboration between the school and 1AMSF. It was Finn who came up with the idea of using the word "Imagine."
But in the end, it's really for the kids. "This was extra-special, because of our neighborhood parent connections to the school, and the simple fact that I can walk my four-year-old son to see this piece and show him that I'm cool," Pan said.
The next time you're strolling on Divis on a school night, be sure to swing by and take a gander at the new mural.
