After a week of rain, the sunny Saturday afternoon of January 23rd brought together a diverse group of designers, artists, high school students and business and civic leaders, along with residents from the Bayview community in San Francisco to celebrate the environment, education and public arts. The event, at the Bayview Opera House, was a sneak preview for The Urban Forest Project San Francisco, an exciting environmental, public arts and educational initiative being launched in celebration of Earth Day this year. Ed Reiskin, Director of the Department of Public Works, presented a proclamation for the project on behalf of Mayor Gavin Newsom.

A total of 100 artists, designers and students from the Bay area were asked to use the metaphor of a tree to make powerful visual statements about the environment for the project. The artwork will be displayed on light pole banners in high-traffic locations in downtown San Francisco for six months starting in April. At the end of the exhibition, the banners will be recycled into a range of fashionable products designed by Academy of Art University students. The products will then be auctioned off to raise money for Friends of the Urban Forest for tree plantings in the city.

Twenty one of the 100 banners for The Urban Forest Project were created by high school students and professional design mentors through a mentoring program hosted by AIGA SF. Many of the mentors and their students were present at the preview event, as were family members, guardians, teachers, counselors and friends.

A visual presentation of The Urban Forest Project featured images of the banner artwork produced by the mentoring program. Also on display was artwork produced by Academy of Art University students, faculty and alumni. After a series of introductions and remarks by the project partners, certificates were presented to the high school students from the mentoring program that featured their individual banners. They then gathered on stage with their mentors for a group photo.

Throughout the Opera House – workshops led by professional designers from AIGA SF – were held so that children and their families from the Bayview community could create their own Urban Forest Project artwork using the metaphor of a tree. In an effort to promote sustainability and reuse, the kids drew on large “press sheets” which were donated by Blanchette Press.

The Urban Forest Project partners in San Francisco represented at the event included: City and County of San Francisco, AIGA SF, Academy of Art University, Friends of the Urban Forest and Adobe Youth Voices. Also on hand were representatives from the five Bay area youth organizations that participated in the mentoring program: BAVC – Bay Area Video Coalition, San Francisco Youth Commission, San Francisco Cameraworks: First Exposures, Southern Exposure, Young Artists at Work/Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Blanchette Press contributed the press sheets for the workshops.

The Urban Forest Project, conceived and managed by Worldstudio, was first executed in New York City’s Times Square in the fall of 2006. San Francisco is among the first in a series of planned executions worldwide.

The San Francisco project is supported entirely by corporate sponsorship. The sponsorship deadline is February 26th. To learn more about how your organization can sponsor this unique environmental, public arts and educational initiative, please contact Andréa Pellegrino at apellegrino(at)worldstudioinc.com.

In April 2010, the streets of San Francisco will be lined with banners designed by leading graphic artists, depicting the urban forest. The Urban Forest Project is a public arts project calling on artists to create powerful visual statements about the environment by using images of trees. It is produced in collaboration with New York-based Worldstudio and the Academy of Art University.

The City is bringing this innovative banner program to San Francisco to raise public awareness around greening and tree planting initiatives and education. Once the banners come down, they will be converted into recycled products by students at the Academy of Art University, to be auctioned off to raise money for local tree planting initiatives and education. The project will rely entirely on corporate and foundation contributions; the Adobe Foundation is already on board as a key sponsor.

“Trees and urban green space are critical to creating and maintaining a sustainable city environment,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “The Urban Forest Project underscores the interplay between urban nature and our streetscape, and sends the message that caring for our environment is everyone’s responsibility.”

The Urban Forest Project began in New York City with an installation in Times Square in 2006. After the San Francisco event, organizers plan an international tour for the project. For more information about The Urban Forest project please visit: www.ufp-global.com

Mayor Newsom also welcomes attendees of the Compostmodern 09 sustainable design conference to San Francisco. Now in its fifth year, the one day event is presented by the San Francisco chapter of American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design. This interdisciplinary conference explores the range of design necessary to create a socially and ecologically responsible society. Designers, manufacturers and business leaders come together to find inspiration, share knowledge and explore real world opportunities for transforming products, industries and lives. The conference will be webcast live.

Compostmodern 09 will be held at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco on Saturday, February 21. The event will be webcast live for 90 days, to encourage online participation and satellite events at AIGA chapters and educational institutions everywhere. Speakers include Eames Demetrios of Eames Office, Saul Griffith of Makani Power, Allan Chochinov of Core 77, California College of the Arts (CCA) Design MBA Chair Nathan Shedroff, climate strategist Michel Gelobter, John Bielenberg and Pam Dorr of Project M and the HERO Housing Resource in Alabama, Emily Pilloton of Project H Design, and Autodesk Sustainable Design Program Manager Dawn Danby. GreenBiz editor and sustainability author Joel Makower will reprise his role as emcee. For more information about the Compostmodern 09, please visit: www.compostmodern.org