will end. it is really sad that we have to make this initiative, but we do, and we will succeed with it. and we will do so with the full understanding of how you, our veterans, would like this done, what works for you as you have observed and lead for our country. so i congratulate the salvation army. i congratulate the va. i personally command bobbi for her persistence, her energy on behalf of helping us all honor our commitment to our veterans. god has currently blessed america with your service. may god bless america forever. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. today has been a day about honoring our community partners and demonstrating our

commitment to end homelessness among veterans. to illustrate the commitment, the department of veterans affairs is presenting the salvation army are perlite center with a check in the amount of $297,561 to support the expansion of their veteran dormitory. [applause] this money will help support the creation of 10 new beds, so the salvation army will now have 34 beds to serve homeless veterans and their families, and the residents should be open in 2011. i now invite the chairman of the heart perlite center advisory council to accept the check from dr. robert jesse.

and did you bring the check in your pocket? ok, thank you. carrying the check, we have veterans and residents, czech and delight. thank you both for being here, and thank you for your service. [applause]

>> 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." ♪ >> you come around here up these stairs and then -- and give us some remarks here. please welcome our mayor, a deadly -- ed lee. [applause] >> welcome back good morning. welcome to sunny san francisco. thank you again, in general, for your work as a chair of our fleet weak association. you have really done a tremendous job. i wanted to add to your personal story.

you know, i was sent over by former mayor gavin newsom to new orleans a few years ago, and we studied what had happened there, and we realized that one of these things that had occurred in new orleans was a breakdown between city government and the neighborhoods. and such that when the hurricanes it and the flooding happened, so many people left that city, and then they did not come back, because there was no relationship between local governments in many of the neighborhoods and many of the residence. that lesson learned in my mind for a very long time. it is that much more important, general, that when you put this fleet week together, that you made disaster preparedness a theme, in an addition to the celebration of our armed forces. you really have touched not only our city government, you have helped me touch every neighborhood in this city. that is what we need to do in all of our cities.

so thanks very much, general, for your leadership on this. thank you. [applause] i also want to thank again our honorary chair, the former secretaries. you have been such a great leader here. i want to thank you for helping us put this together. i know senator feinstein cannot be here, but again, your leadership is extremely helpful in guiding us and reminding us that we owe a great debt of gratitude to our armed forces in everything that we do in the city. i also want to thank our chief protocol officer for helping welcome all of the visitors and elected officials here as well. i also want to thank captain hardin again for an impressive ship we're on here today. you are occupying the very space that, in a couple of years, will hold the ships that will raise in america's cup 34. some of the 18 ships will be located right here.

for now, this is a great occupancy of this particular pier, and i look forward to this afternoon when i have time to be able to see all of the equipment located upstairs as the sun comes shining out. you know, every year, fleet week is, of course, paying tribute to our women and men that are probably serving in our navy, coast guard, and marines. it is remarkable that in recent years, this week has developed into much more than just a sights and sounds of the parade of ships and the blue angels, as i said earlier. the newly established focus on disaster preparedness is an ina valuable thing for our city. since 2004, our city has conducted approximately 100 disaster exercises with the department of emergency management. approximately 250 training exercises and workshops city-

wide have been conducted with first responders and other key city officials. many of these training and exercises have gone well beyond our government agencies, and they now incorporate non- government, eight -- faith- based, and it committee-based organizations, businesses, and schools. we have revamped our cities outdoor public warning system, using homeland security funding, and today, there are 109 sirens with voice and tone capabilities located throughout the city. as part of our regular exercise on tuesday afternoons in our noon testing, we record announcements and announce them in english, and there followed by announcements in spanish and chinese in some of the areas. we also enacted alertsf, sending a personal use on a weekly basis to make sure that things are correctly being sent out to all of our citizens who sign up. that text-based message system

delivers emergency information to cell phones, pda's, e-mail accounts, and to date, 16,500 have signed up for alertsf. we also have our award winning website, 72hours.org that provides information on how to a great family emergency plan, build a disaster kids, and get involved in training before disaster occurs in volunteering to help out afterwards. that information, again, is available in english, spanish, chinese, russia, -- russian, and vietnamese. in addition, we also have a fun website, a web site called quakequizsf.org, where it tests the knowledge of what to do when an earthquake strikes while you're at home, you're driving, you are on public transit, or even at the beach or at work. we have also enhanced our

preparedness throughout the city department from using homeland security funds to conduct training, planning, and exercises, as well as purchase valuable equipment. since 2003, san francisco and the bay area region have received approximately $322 in homeland security grants precisely for that training and equipment. some of our other major accomplishments in emergency management include renovating our city's emergency operations center, adding state of the art technology and equipment. we have continued to revive our disaster council, which i had, and expanding the council to include not only our emergency management partners that nonprofit community, labor, and business associates. purchasing major emergency response equipment, using homeland security grants, that include field care clinics and care and shelter trailers.

in fact, i have been personally involved in recruiting and training people to help our department of public health erect those field care clinics in precisely the time its takes in a very quick fashion. we're training people and volunteers to do that exactly. and we have earned the national weather service designations for storm-ready and tsunami-ready designations. in addition to these efforts, it is isn't so that we all work together and share the best practices -- it is essential that we all work together ensure the best practices so we can better respond to emergencies. this one and a half day seminar is a truly unique learning in relationship-building opportunity for all of us. representatives from a broad range of agencies at the local, state, and federal level have come together for this seminar and for the tabletop exercise that was conducted by our dem earlier this month.h. we're getting to know each other, but individually and

organizationally. in advance of the next disaster. that is really what we want to be able to emphasize most. we need to do more in advance. we need to prepare people in advance. we need to keep practicing, because every time we looked around, there is new people coming into the city. there is additional immigrants to do not speak english as their national language. their new neighborhoods and new parts of our neighborhood that are already -- always being developed. we need to get all involved. we need to involve everybody. that is why i am so proud to head up this effort and to join the secretary, join the major, and all of the volunteers in our fleet week to join in our effort to make sure that we do our best. this seminar is exactly that focus. thank you very much, and i hope you enjoy your stay here today. thank you. [applause]

>> i am the director of visual arts programming at intersection for the arts. intersection for the arts is based in san francisco and has always been an organization that looks at larger social political

issues through the lens of practice, and we are here today at our exhibition of "chico and chang." the original inspiration was drawn from a restaurant chain in new york city. half of their menu is -- what struck me was the graphic pictures and a man in a hat on a rig truck carrying take that time is containers and in the black sea to representation of a mexican guy wearing a sombrero and caring a somali horn. it struck me that these two large, very subversive complex cultures could be boiled down to such simple representations. chico and chang primarily looks at four topic areas. one of the man was is whose

stories are being told and how. one of the artisans in the show has created an amazing body of work working with young adults calling themselves the dreamers. another piece of the exhibition talks about whose stories of exhibition are actually being told. one artist created a magnificent sculpture that sits right in the center of the exhibition. >> these pieces are the physical manifestation of a narrative of a child in memory. an important family friend give us a dining table, very important, and we are excited about it. my little brother and i were 11, 14. we were realizing that they were kind of hand prints everywhere on the bottom where no one would really see, and it became this kind of a weakening of what

child labor is. it was almost like an exercise to show a stranger that feeling we had at that moment. >> the second thing the exhibition covers is how the allocation is defined, a great example on the theme, sculpture called mexicali culture. another bay area artist who has done residencies in china and also to what, mexico. where immigrant communities really helped define how businesses look of a business' sign age and interior decoration, her sculptural piece kind of mismatches the two communities together, creating this wonderful, fantastical future look at what the present is today. first topic is where we can see

where the two communities are intersecting and where they start colliding. teresa fernandez did a sculptural installation, utilizing the ubiquitous blue, white, and read patterns of a rayon bag that many communities used to transport laundry and laundromats to buy groceries and such. she created a little installation kind of mucking up the interior of a household, covering up as many objects that are familiar to the i and the fabric. fourth area of investigation that the exhibition looks at is the larger concerns of the asian and latin communities intersecting with popular cultur one best example -- when he's exemplified is what you see when you enter into the culture.

>> this piece refers to restaurants in tijuana. when you are driving, to speak chinese and you read chinese characters. you see these signs. i was trying to play with the idea of what you see and the direction you read. when you start mixing these different groups of people, different cultures, i like the idea. you can comment on somebody else's culture or someone else's understanding about culture. >> one of the hopes we have for visitors is that they go away taking a better understanding with the broadest and the breadth of issues impacting both the asian and latin communities here in california and how they spell out into the larger fabric of the communities we

live and work in.

>> hello. welcome to "culturewire." we are here today with bay area artist jody chanel, and we are here to see the plaza where your piece has just been installed. >> i have been doing large-scale paintings in the galleries and museums, and the idea that in the future, i could do something that would hang out a little bit longer than the duration of the installation the kind of appeal to me. i quickly found out about the san francisco arts commission school and realized there was a pre-qualified school you had to apply to, so i applied to the. >> how long did it take you to develop this work for the plaza?

>> this was a fast track project. design development was about a month. >> let's look at the beautiful mural. i have never seen a mural created on asphalt. >> the heat of the asphalt, a new layer of asphalt. then, these wire rope templates that were fabricated for the line work get laid down and literally stamped into the asphalt, and then everything was hand-painted. >> maybe you could talk about some of the symbolism, maybe starting in the middle and working out. >> [inaudible] the flower of industry. >> it is like a compass. there's an arrow pointing north. >> within the great bear consolation, there are two

pointed stars here. they typically lead one to the northstar, otherwise known as polaris. so i thought it has a layer of theme. >> let's talk about some of the other elements in the peace. we are walking along, and there is a weather vane. there's a sweet little bird hanging on the side. what kind of bird is that? >> [inaudible] the smallest of the gulf species, and it lives around the bay area. >> you want to talk about the types of flour patterns that you send? >> [inaudible] around 1926 or so by the dahlia society. >> what is this bird here? >> that is the california quail.