These whimsical, frightening, strange, hilarious and compelling masks were created by my Art 1 students last year before COVID changed our world. We were inspired by traditions of mask-making and contemporary mask-making all over the world. Masks transform the spirit of the wearer and they emotionally impact the viewer. Vejigante masks, for example, are created, worn and performed in processions that resist colonialism in Puerto Rico. The Fugees lyrics, “Everybody wears the mask, But how long will it last?” have become even more layered with meaning since COVID.
Originally, the SF Parks Alliance scheduled us to show the masks in the People’s Pop-Up Gallery, which is a series of storefront windows in the Fillmore Plaza in late March 2020. At that time, there was limited knowledge about how COVID spread, and the show was cancelled. I also had to say goodbye to my students and to Gateway that following June.
A couple of months ago SF Parks Project Coordinator Danyce Camp reopened The People’s Pop-Up Gallery. Although I have moved on from Gateway, I jumped at the opportunity to reconnect with the work of young artists who I care deeply about. Gateway’s sensational new Art 1 Teacher Courtney Johnson enthusiastically agreed to curate and hang the show in my absence.
Please take some time to visit “Everybody Wears The Mask…” Congratulations (finally!) to our talented and dedicated young artists!
To see the photos of a public performance of the masks in 2020, click here: https://sfteachingartist.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/we-become-demons-fairies/
To view a video announcement click here: https://youtu.be/A2o1_DJHCIU
Installation and photos by Courtney Johnson, 2021
Whisper & Rage 