In 2021, Haight Street Art Center received a donation from the collection of Karen Mae that featured original protest posters printed in San Francisco during the five-year Delano table grape strike against area grape growers. Inspired by this donation and the rich history of activism and artwork it presented, the exhibit Turning the Table opened in 2022.

Turning the Table featured contemporary and historic protest posters that reflect decades of collective action in support of rights for farm workers and food workers, and highlighted the work of the United Farm Workers of America, co-founded in San Francisco, by labor leaders and Civil Rights activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

This exhibit in turn inspired further work with contemporary artists and activists, continuing the work started by this original movement, and dealing with many of the same conditions and inequities that plague the industry. In taking the exhibit out into the community to raise greater awareness, we started a series of "In Community Pop Ups" that telegraphed the art and issues in the exhibit out into public spaces.  

We believe that our In Comminty Pop-Up programming has the power to bring groups of individuals together to engage in memorable experiences. Our vehicle for delivering these experiences is through screenprinting. Our interactive program is approachable and accessible to diverse communities and provides a voice for local artists, bringing people together through artmaking, discussion, and storytelling. We believe that validating and amplifying people’s experiences through artmaking has the power to unite communities.

We have created screen printing events in the Lower Haight, Golden Gate Park, SF Ferry Building, and in our own Community Garden. Our range of topics include; Indigenous People’s Day, Farm Workers Rights, Food Equity, Trans Visibility, and Women’s BIPOC Empowerment. The posters that are produced are free to the community and serve as a souvenir of the event.

We commission local artists that provide impact through their messaging and personal connection to the topic. Many of the artists we work with are also screen-printers and enjoy teaching attendees how to pull screens and offer a memorable, hands-on experience. We believe that the process of pulling ink through a screen brings folks closer to the message and the activism in the artwork.

Donate today and help us continue to provide engaging experiences that build community and inspire action toward positive cultural change.