>> welcome to "culturewire." today we are at recology. they are celebrate 20 years of one of the most incredibly unique artist residency programs. we are here to learn more from one of the resident artists.

welcome to the show, deborah. tell us how this program began 20 years ago. >> the program began 20 years ago. our founder was an environmentalist and an activist and an artist in the 1970's. she started these street sweeping campaigns in the city. she started with kids. they had an exhibition at city hall. city officials heard about her efforts and they invited her to this facility. we thought it would coincide with our efforts to get folks to recycle, it is a great educational tool. since then, we have had 95 professional artists come through. >> how has the program changed over the years? how has the program -- what can the public has an artist engage with? >> for the most part, we worked with metal and wood, what you

would expect from a program like ours. over the years, we tried to include artists and all types of mediums. conceptual artists, at installation, photographers, videographers. >> that has really expanded the program out. it is becoming so dynamic right now with your vision of interesting artists in gauging here. why would an artist when to come here? >> mainly, access to the materials. we also give them a lot of support. when they start, it is an empty studio. they go out to the public area and -- we call it the big store. they go out shopping, take the materials that, and get to work. it is kind of like a reprieve, so they can really focus on their body of work. >> when you are talking about recology, do you have the only sculpture garden at the top?

>> it is based on work that was done many years ago in new york. it is the only kind of structured, artist program. weit is beautiful. a lot of the plants you see were pulled out of the garbage, and we use our compost to transplant them. the pathway is lined with rubble from the earthquake from the freeways we tour about 5000 people a year to our facility, adults and children. we talk about recycling and conservation. they can meet the artists. >> fantastic. let's go meet some of your current artists. here we are with lauren. can you tell us how long have been here so far and what you're working on? >> we started our residency on

june 1, so we came into the studio then and spent most of the first couple weeks just digging around in the trash. i am continuing my body of work, kind of making these hand- embroidered objects from our day-to-day life. >> can you describe some of the things you have been making here? this is amazing. >> i think i started a lot of my work about the qualities of light is in the weight. i have been thinking a lot about things floating through the air. it is also very windy down here. there is a piece of sheet music up there that i have embroidered third. there is a pamphlet about hearing dea -- nearing death. this is a dead rabbit. this is what i am working on now. this is a greeting card that i found, making it embroidered. it is for a very special friend. >> while we were looking at

this, i glanced down and this is amazing, and it is on top of a book, it is ridiculous and amazing. >> i am interested in the serendipity of these still life compositions. when he got to the garbage and to see the arrangement of objects that is completely spontaneous. it is probably one of the least thought of compositions. people are getting rid of this stuff. it holds no real value to them, because they're disposing of it. >> we're here in another recology studio with abel. what attracted you to apply for this special program? >> who would not want to come to the dump? but is the first question. for me, being in a situation that you're not comfortable in has always been the best. >> what materials were you immediately attracted to when you started and so what was available here? >> there are a lot of books.

that is one of the thing that hits me the most. books are good for understanding, language, and art in general. also being a graphic designer, going straight to the magazines and seeing all this printed material being discarded has also been part of my work. of course, always wood or any kind of plastic form or anything like that. >> job mr. some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. -- taught me through some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. >> the first thing that attracted me to this was the printed surface. it was actually a poster. it was a silk screen watercolor, about 8 feet long. in terms of the flatwork, i work with a lot of cloddish. so being able to cut into it come at into it, removed parts, it is part of the process of negotiating the final form. >> how do you jump from the two dimensional work that you create

to the three-dimensional? maybe going back from the 3f to 2d. >> everything is in the process of becoming. things are never said or settled. the sculptures are being made while i am doing the collages, and vice versa. it becomes a part of something else. there's always this figuring out of where things belong or where they could parapets something else. at the end goal is to possibly see one of these collage plans be built out and create a structure that reflects back into the flat work. >> thank you so much for allowing "culturewire" to visit this amazing facility and to learn more about the artists in residence program. is there anything you like our viewers to know? >> we have art exhibitions every four months, and a win by the public to come out.

everybody is welcome to come out. we have food. sometimes we have gains and bands. it is great time. from june to september, we accept applications from bay area artists. we encouraged artists from all mediums to apply. we want as many artists from the bay area out here so they can have the same experience. >> how many artists to do your host here? >> 6 artist a year, and we receive about 108 applications. very competitive. >> but everyone should be encouraged to apply. thank you again for hosting us. >> thank you for including us in "culturewire." ♪

>> good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us for our pregame gathering. we have our first exhibition day game. we apologize for the ugly weather. i would like to say we have a special deal with -- where we played day gains and a beautiful weather. in this microclimate we live in, it is true more times than not that we have this kind of a great day for the fans and community of giants followers. we are blessed with a number of special guests today that will be joining us for a special announcement. i wanted to welcome our special guests.

some of them you will be hearing from later. the honorable and lee, mayor of san francisco. david chu, jane kim, port commissioner po, and the port director, and our landlord, and the port commissioner. [applause] the reason we are here, and we're very excited. i think i skipped to the walk today. many of us have been associated with the ballpark. we have been working for several years and intensely for the last

18 months with the city of san francisco and the port on a project that we believe will be one of the largest economic development projects of any era. that is the site behind us known as lot a. it is the parking resource right behind us as well as pier 48 over here. the giants take a lot of pride in this community. it is going to be our community forever. we're in a 66-year lease with options beyond. we're not going anywhere. from day one in the development of the ballpark, we have looked

for ways to see that this neighborhood preserves its charm and character and can add to the economic viability and potency of our city and community. as we know in san francisco, all good things take a while to materialize. we spent several years figuring out the best way to create the door to the ballpark, the most economically strong, charming, consistent with the use of the ballpark development for the neighborhood. we have been seeing these spectacular emergence of mission bay, the development of the china basin region, and south of market. what you see represented in these pictures is what we

believe is an inspired mixed use community featuring a spectacular waterfront park with waterfront residences that will be draping around the park. it is an opportunity to have very economically strategic and important office use for tenants, especially the opportunity to have technology tenants join us in this region that is burgeoning already with technology is -- use to create innovative work environments. it will have original shops and san francisco-based cafes along the lines of the ferry building and what has been done so spectacularly there. we have the refurbish building here that we refer to as pier 48.

our partner specializes in these urban, a mixed use projects. we have been working on this project for several years. we have a timeline that suggests we can begin as soon as 2015. this is a very exciting time line for us. we want to get this going as soon as possible to achieve the economic development so vital to the city and our neighborhood. to summarize the project, we have 8 acres of open space which will include a grand waterfront park and a mission rock square which will be in the middle of residences and potentially

office development, similar to bryant park in new york city. the initial plan calls for about 1000 residential units which would accommodate about 2000 people to live in this development. office space, up to 1.7 million square feet of office space. i grew up in san francisco. i remember when levi plaza was unveiled decades ago. in those days, that was an innovative and very active urbanscape and a strong impact in san francisco. we see this as the 2015 version of levi plaza. different but a similar setting.

about 125,000 square feet of retail and residential space where local, homegrown businesses can come and display their wares and offer great retail and restaurant opportunities. we will have the opportunity to service people coming to and from games. that is important. with the burgeoning number of residences, residential units in the area, you are going to be able to serve an increasing demand for neighborhood opportunities for visitors and residents for cafes, stores, shopping at could be in character with some of the neighborhoods we know in san francisco that are so popular.

then the rehabilitation of pier 48 provide spectacular opportunities to be consistent with the maritime activity, and also the possibility of local manufacturing. business is actually coming to pier 48 and being consistent with the history of this community and what they have been able to serve for the community. to serve for the community. we believe it has the ability to take mosconi center type opportunities that may be too small for mosconi center, so trade shows and exhibitions space and be a big house gift shows and other opportunities at pier 48. in all, it is truly a mixed use our been project that should have a lot of excitement and that there should be the connective tissue, if you well,

between mission bay and the rest of the city, from city residents, regional residents, and tourists alike. again, consistent with a feeling of a very in character san francisco project. we're very excited. today we are sort of kicking out the public unveiling of this project that we have been working on for a while. as we have a gust of wind, we will bring the mayor of san francisco, mayor lee, whose office has been incredibly supportive of this project and incredibly supportive of these sorts of economic development initiatives that are going to continue to make the city strong and vibrant. mayor lee. [applause] >> thank you, larry, and thank you to the whole giants organization for presenting this to our -- and also to our port and to our city. let me say, i think our city officials here, david chiu and i

were talking earlier -- we are going to stretch out our speeches. the longer we do this, the more chance we have of catching one of those home runs this afternoon. so we will be out here for a long time, speaking very slowly, because it is worth it. you know, first of all, thanks to the port commissioners that are here, to our supervisors that are here, port staff and our office of economic development that is here. we are all going to work as a team. that is something that certainly our giants have taught as over many, many years of success. we work as 18, and if you do that, you'll be able to do everything you dream of -- worked as a team, and you'll be able to do everything you dream up. the first is getting people jobs. walking in here today, walking up the stairs and through the corridors of the stadium, you saw so many people getting ready for the game. gasol smiles on their faces.

they're moving things around. they are smiling. they're saying, good morning, mayor, how is it? they have cut jobs. they're part of a great and successful organization. they know and feel they're part of a vibrant city. this proposal today adds another dimension into that. as larry was talking, i was thinking about those years went we and mayer brown and mayor newsom, and we had that mission. we look around the bay and we see all the hospitals going up, the project's going up, and that foundation has worked. every effort and hustle that i was doing as part of the department of public works, trying to get those permits out and get the infrastructure done and completed, and now we get to talk about mission rock. i mean, what a solid lead great contribution this whole development is going to be. i want to emphasize that as

reconstruct this vision, we are going to create immediately 4800 construction jobs right here on this development for the next years to come. it has the potential of impact in an additional 4900 jobs throughout the whole city during the construction phase. when it is completed in just a few years, 6900 permanent jobs can be had literally on the site to complement all the jobs that have been being created already with at&t park and the success of around the giants and their organization. i have often talked route -- about jobs but also the spirit of the city and how we need to make sure that the city's are investor confidence and investor friendly. and to see that the giants organization is leading a whole see what the 3037, the association of businesses, to invest in the sea wall lot, and

to see people like kathy simon and others on the team to just this weekend, we opened up delors park, a children's playground to hundreds of kids. and now to visualize how the kids from at&t park and the kids from delores park will be coming down here in just a few short years, enjoying these great 8 acres of open space on to the waterfront, one of the most beautiful waterfront you have ever seen in your life. that is going to be fulfilling a promise of what the port has been talking about for many years, investing in our land here to some of the most beautiful views the city has to offer. 1.7 million square feet of office space in retail space to be inviting even more companies, whether they are biotech or technology companies, to have their employees working here, again, in such a beautiful surroundings. such beautiful surroundings like, i think david whispered coming in know, we should make

the weather today a condition of the eir. right? that is going to be a permanent part of the eir, larry. so get ready. it will just be in the plan, right there, one phrase. [laughter] and then it to see the 125,000 square feet of retail space. larry is absolutely right. they have been such a leader at inviting local businesses to participate in this very successful stadium. we will do the same thing with sf made and organizations helping me push local manufacturing, local restaurants, local food, local hiring, of course. but it is the creative finance and innovation of our residents and the people who have made a stake in the city and want to be part of the success. i have every faith that we will work as a teen, larry. with the port, with the commission leadership, with the president, with our economic

committee of people and staff, and work with the board of supervisors and the planning department, public works, the building departments to get through this and not to add the traditionally torturous process, but to welcome in something that i think everyone from day one is saying great, great concept. not only that, i think to have it backed up by very successful, not just baseball franchise, the giants signaled its u.s. years ago, they are more than just a successful baseball team ownership. they want to be a successful business partner with the city. a successful corporate citizen with the city. a successful philanthropists, as they have shown time and time again. just yesterday with the community giants fund and the giants a junior baseball, they are a part of our lives, part of what we think about in san francisco when i get to say to other mayors across the country,

i am from san francisco, home of the giants, not just the baseball team. they are now part of a whole outlook of what we see as investor confidence who struggle to find their partners in the private sector to build them. as you look through this and as you get as excited as i am and see the exciting spaces that are being created, you will be reminded that historic pier, pier 48 is about to be refurbished again, honoring for years with the port has challenged many people to do in the events that have been hosted here. aid has helped us revitalize our port property and finding more people to use it. as we have done with places like port mason, a complement to our convention and tourist business that is still our number one business in the city and offering even more exciting space is to keep that happen. and getting more tense, short- term and long-term to occupy

that, and positive experiences throughout the whole thing. this is a fulfillment of several layers. from dianne feinstein when she first began here in san mission that was worth the investment. true. frank jordan, art agnos, willie brown, gavin newsom. all of us saying this is all worth it. we just have to make sure that the teams here know they have got the backing of the city to really perform this, and so the investors need to know that we are an investment-friendly town. we want to build on our success. we want to get more people the jobs they deserve here, and this will be a huge job creator. giants and associates, thank you very much for presenting this to us. this really excites us, and i know everybody has their hopes up for this to be excess full wall. we will all be there for the great team. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor.

i will add to that as a and not, as the mayor said, several layers, several administrations have been part of the ballpark process and part of the development of mission bay. but no one administration has been more focused on jobs and economic development than merely's administration, and we're very grateful to you for that. -- ben mayor lee's administration, and we're very grateful to you for that. another consistent supporter of this project in all we are doing to try to develop the city in responsible way has been the president and the board of supervisors and our good friend, president david chiu. david? [applause] >> thank you, larry. so i did have a half-hour speech prepared so we could delay getting back to city hall, but i will cut that short. i did joke to the mayor that we should make the weather into our environmental impact reports. i want to say that that is a

joke, but i do think the weather today -- the wind that is going to walk down the -- knock down the sails of the america's cup boats and those people in the ballpark, i do not think we can take it for granted. we are blessed to live in when the most beautiful natural at the theaters in the world. this is why i am so happy to be a part of this amazing announcement. this announcement, in part, is about how we create and build another field of dreams. how is it that we take an empty parking lot and turn it into part of a 21st century waterfront? when some of the giants' organization approached me last year, and i want to think jack and some of your colleagues for presenting this vision to me, i was frankly blown away. the vision of housing some of amazing retail, of one of a kind tourist and residential and san francisco experiences i think really is and parallel.

and this is why i am so proud to be part of the city team that we will be working closely with the giants to move this forward. we have had a lot of conversations in recent months about what we should do about our waterfronts. and we know that we have amazing a opportunities and a handful of challenges. but i think, together, as we always do, we will work as a team. i look forward to working with my colleague jane kim from district 6 and all of my colleagues. i know i look forward to working as a representative from san francisco to bcdc. the giants have recently gone through spring training and i know that where this project is, they have not been vetted it. they have done a lot of work to make sure we thought it through. but we have a lot of work to do. i look forward to working with our mayor, working with city staff, and working with all of our players to turn this field of dreams into reality and hopefully to hit a real home run hopefully to hit a real home run with it.