If you're out exploring the Mission District or nearby Castro, pop over to 3543 18th Street and you will immediately be captivated by an immensely beautiful work of art, which is the exterior of an equally spectacular organization.
The masterpiece, known as MaestraPeace Mural, is one of the city's most notoriously breathtaking murals, completed in 1994 by seven of San Francisco's most prominent female artists. The building itself is home to the San Francisco Women's Center, which is a community anchor dedicated to providing a safe space and other social, financial, and emotional services to women and young girls of all backgrounds.
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By providing over 25,000 women and their families every year with various cultural, artistic, economic, and social resources and community programs, the Women's Building, or El Edificio de Mujeres, is a dependable and trusted landmark in the Mission. With its inception in 1971, the Center was America's first ever women-owned and operated community center, and with the building's $535,000 purchase in 1974, the location has continually thrived on advocating for social justice and gender equality.
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Famously, the Women's Building was the gracious host of the first African-American lesbian "Becoming Visible: The First Black Lesbian Conference" in 1980. Aside from the building's triumphant successes and assistance, it wasn't until 1994 that they would add another stunning accomplishment to their center with the creation of the mural.
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The MaestraPeace Mural was the ingenous collaboration between seven prolific and extremely talented women artists. Along with several volunteers, artists Meera Desai, Irene Perez, Yvonne Littleton, Miranda Bergman, Juana Alicia, Edythe Boone, and cofounder of Precita Eyes Muralists Association, Susan Kelk Cervantes all effortlessly came together to properly distinguish the building as a center for strength with history's most powerful women.
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The vibrant art itself stretches five stories, two sides, and includes notable feminist icons such as pioneering Palestinian legislator and activist Hanan Ashrawi, trailblazing artist Georgia O’Keefe, Puerto Rican revolutionary Lolita Lebron, and more, along with several cultural female deities.
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In 2000 several of the skilled artists returned to their piece to add updates, and in 2010 a significant resoration costing $130,000 was initiated to treat and preserve the grand art to last over 100 years.
See also: These San Francisco Murals Created by Queer Artists Will Excite You for Pride Month
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Currently the mural stands as a symbol of strength, resilience, and of feminine beauty and achievement. The Center itself continues to host several programs, which you can view on their site.
This masterpiece will truly stop you in your tracks for an Instagrammable shot when around the Mission District, especially if strolling on the way to the Castro District or vice-versa via 18th street.
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Photography by: Piermario Eva/Unsplash
