Murals in the Mission’s Clarion Alley Destroyed, Landlord Claims It Was Removing Graffiti

A property management company painted over four murals in the Mission’s iconic Clarion Alley, claiming it was removing graffiti, and the murals’ organizers are working to restore the lost work and prevent any more from being ruined in the future.

The four murals were painted over on August 24, with three completely covered in white paint and a fourth partially obscured, as Mission Local reported last week. The Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP), which manages the alley and its more than 50 murals connecting Mission and Valencia between 17th and 18th streets, said it received no warning before the murals were painted over.

Artist Doug Rhodes said he witnessed the incident taking place and confronted the person doing the whitewashing, eventually persuading him to stop. The man said his employer Makras Real Estate Group had received a report of graffiti and told him to remove it.

"It's always infuriating when art gets destroyed out of ignorance," Rhodes said. "Don’t just paint over it."

The real estate company said it did not know the murals had been painted over until CAMP contacted it.

According to Mission Local, the murals reportedly included a memorial to artist and activist Kirsten Brydum, a tribute to the former Adobe Books location, a mural honoring local graffiti artist Chloe, a.k.a. Marfa, and a piece created this spring by students with Graffiti Camp for Girls.

NBC Bay Area reports that the Graffiti Camp for Girls mural has since been reclaimed, with artist Nyia Luna spending more than six hours and about $100 creating a replacement piece after learning what happened.

CAMP co-director Ivy Jeanne told the outlet the organization has spent decades building relationships with property owners and establishing the alley as a place for murals since the organization was founded in 1992, noting that the project has produced more than 900 works focused heavily on social justice and equity.

The organization had also launched a $35,000 fundraiser two weeks before the latest incident to support mural restoration, maintain its operations, and clean up the alley.

Per Mission Local, CAMP is now exploring ways to better protect the artwork, while District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder’s office has offered to help with restoration efforts and the ongoing care of the historic mural space, saying it hopes the incident was an inadvertent mistake.

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