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Hospitality House

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A sign reading “Make art for you, a friend,” rests on the table inviting people in downtown San Francisco to sit and create artwork.
A sign reading “Make art for you, a friend,” rests on the table inviting people in downtown San Francisco to sit and create artwork. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)

Photo Story by Natasha Dangond/Photo Editor

The Community Arts Program (CAP) is one of the six programs offered through Hospitality House, a multiple-program agency established to provide for adults in the Tenderloin and Mid-Market neighborhoods who struggle with poverty, homelessness and other socioeconomic issues.  

CAP is the only free-of-charge fine arts studio and gallery space in San Francisco. The program offers artists and neighborhood residents a space to create and explore self-expression in an environment that does not discriminate or limit artists based on their current state of living.

 The CAP studio is currently closed for construction and is working toward providing a temporary space for the artists to create freely. Despite the temporary closure, volunteers and participants of the CAP set up a sidewalk art stand outside their studio location on Nov. 7, to encourage artists to continue creating.

“When you struggle with poverty or homelessness or isolation, creativity takes a backseat. We as an agency try to provide support and resources to make things immediately available,” studio manager and City College student Ivan Vera said. Vera has run the CAP program since 2009.   

Over 3,500 local artists benefit from the free materials and environment to create, house, exhibit and sell their artwork.

Studio Manager and City College student Ivan Vera, left, and CAP ceramics instructor Josh Reinstein, right, set up art supplies at a table outside the studio at 1009 Market St. Friday Nov. 7, 2015. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)
Studio Manager and City College student Ivan Vera, left, and CAP ceramics instructor Josh Reinstein, right, set up art supplies at a table outside the studio at 1009 Market St. Friday, Nov. 7, 2015. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)
A woman stops by the sidewalk art booth in downtown San Francisco to make a relief print greeting card.
A woman stops by the sidewalk art booth in downtown San Francisco to make a relief print greeting card. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)
Txutxo Perez, a CAP staff member, drawing at the sidewalk art table at 1009 Market St.
Txutxo Perez, a CAP staff member, drawing at the sidewalk art table at 1009 Market St. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)
Txutxo Perez reaches into a bucket of markers to draw with at the sidewalk art booth.
Txutxo Perez reaches into a bucket of markers to draw with at the sidewalk art booth. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)
A sidewalk art event took place on Friday Nov. 7, 2015 in front of the CAP’s studio location, also known as the “Free Space,” located at 1009 Market St.
A sidewalk art event took place on Friday Nov. 7, 2015 in front of the CAP’s studio location, also known as the “Free Space,” located at 1009 Market St.  (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)
CAP ceramics instructor Josh Reinstein, left, shows passerby how to make relief prints at the sidewalk art table at 1009 Market St.
CAP ceramics instructor Josh Reinstein, left, shows passerby how to make relief prints at the sidewalk
art table at 1009 Market St. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)
CAP staff member, Robert Chambers, making handmade greeting cards at the sidewalk art table at 1009 Market St.
CAP staff member, Robert Chambers, making handmade greeting cards at the sidewalk art table at 1009 Market St. (Photo by Natasha Dangond/The Guardsman)

 

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