On Sunday, volunteers gathered in San Francisco to restore the new Emily Fromm mural defaced over the weekend. While the defacement of buildings associated with Donald Trump and Elon Musk is becoming more common, that’s not the issue in SF. The mural was created to celebrate the history of the SF neighborhood, but not everyone approves. The decision to close a two-mile stretch of highway for Ocean Beach Park was controversial. It’s remained so ever since the passage of Prop K last November. Now, volunteers have united to restore the 50′ mural after its defacement.
Art Restoration for SF Mural
Public art has brought people together across the U.S. Over the weekend, it also brought together volunteers in San Francisco to restore Fromm’s mural. The artist and volunteers hope the new mural will be more resilient. Recurring issues may be inevitable as long as the community remains divided over the park’s presence. For the time being, however, the mural is back. Given its size and vibrancy, the lengthy mural is once more an unmissable part of the park.
A Reddit post by u/DesertFlyer about the restoration effort garnered over 1.3k upvotes and many supportive comments. Many voiced appreciation for the volunteers as well as for SF’s broader community. As one commenter said, “Thank you for sharing! So proud of SF.” Another described their own experiences with the restoration project, saying,
We showed up by 11 and there were so many people there, wasn’t even room on the wall to paint! Who ever defaced it brought a lot of people together to support the park and Emily. Really nice to see it had the opposite of the intended effect
Fromm endured repeated harassment throughout the project from those who objected to the San Francisco mural and park. The mural required almost 150 hours across three weeks to create. Now coated in a protective seal, it will likely be more resilient than ever. Many SF residents are hoping that added protection won’t be necessary. If it is, it appears an army of volunteers is ready to repaint.
