Don’t miss the August 2nd celebration for the temporary monument to the Paleteros (ice cream vendors) of the Bay Area and the world. This is the first monument dedicated to Paleteros, celebrating diversity, immigrants, and resilience.

PROGRAM: A Sweet Route – Potrero del Sol Park
Performance: Sunday August 2nd, 12 noon – 3pm
12:15 – 12:20 PM — Four Directions Land Acknowledgment
12:20 – 12:30 PM — Mixcoatl Aztec Dance
12:30 – 12:40 PM — Project Introduction
12:50 – 1:10 PM — Susana Arenas Dance Company
1:20 – 2:20 PM — John Santos Sextet

With Kata Miletich & Anais Azul performing the song “Paletas”

A Sweet Route: Tribute to the Paleter@s/ Ice Cream Vendors is a temporary public art project within Shaping Legacy, an initiative of the San Francisco Arts Commission, supported by SF Recreation and Parks. It reimagines the monument to honor immigrant ice cream vendors of the Mission District—workers who bring joy, culture, and care to the city.

The central piece is a 14.5-foot wooden totem dedicated to *paleteros* Pedro and Estela; it is inspired by their carts and adorned with Indigenous deities. A second mobile “paleta” totem activates the project through performances and gatherings, culminating in community celebrations across the neighborhood.

Here you can read about this monument and others. To find A Sweet Route, just scroll down a bit.

Thanks to our collaborators, Baldochi Projects & Collaborations, CANA, Casa Carnaval and Nomadic Press.

-en español-

No se pierda la celebración del 2 de agosto en honor al monumento temporal dedicado a los paleteros del Área de la Bahía y del mundo. Este es el primer monumento dedicado a los paleteros, que celebra la diversidad, a los inmigrantes y la resiliencia.

PROGRAMA: Una ruta dulce – Parque Potrero del Sol
Presentaciones: Domingo 2 de agosto, 12:00 p. m.
12:15 – 12:20 p. m. — Reconocimiento de la tierra (Las Cuatro Direcciones)
12:20 – 12:30 p. m. — Danza azteca Mixcoatl
12:30 – 12:40 p. m. — Presentación del proyecto
12:50 – 1:10 p. m. — Susana Arenas Dance Company
1:20 – 2:20 p. m. — John Santos Sextet

Con la participación de Kata Miletich y Anais Azul interpretando la canción “Paletas”

A Sweet Route: Tribute to the Paleter@s / Ice Cream Vendors es un proyecto de arte público temporal dentro de Shaping Legacy, una iniciativa de la Comisión de Artes de San Francisco, con el apoyo de SF Recreation and Parks. Reimagina el monumento para honrar a los vendedores inmigrantes de helados del Distrito de la Misión—trabajadores que llevan alegría, cultura y cuidado a la ciudad.

La pieza central es un tótem de madera de 14.5 pies dedicado a los paleteros Pedro y Estela; está inspirado en sus carritos y adornado con deidades indígenas. Un segundo tótem móvil de “paleta” activa el proyecto a través de performances y encuentros, culminando en celebraciones comunitarias en todo el vecindario.

Gracias a nuestros colaboradores, Boldochi Projects & Collaborations, CANA, Casa Carnaval y Nomadic Press.

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On June 20, 2026, the sculpture-monument dedicated to the paleteros was inaugurated at Parque Niños Unidos. The celebration began with a procession from the 24th Street BART plaza to the park, featuring Mixcoatl Aztec Dance, Fogo Na Roupa, and LoCura, with a special appearance by Anais Azul. Thank you to the entire community who joined us.

A Sweet Route: Tributo a Los Paleter@adminAugust 2nd at Potrero del Sol Park. Free admission.

PROGRAM: A Sweet Route – Potrero del Sol Park
Performance: Sunday August 2nd, 12 noon – 3pm
12:15 – 12:20 PM — Four Directions Land Acknowledgment
12:20 – 12:30 PM — Mixcoatl Aztec Dance
12:30 – 12:40 PM — Project Introduction
12:50 – 1:10 PM — Susana Arenas Dance Company
1:20 – 2:20 PM — John Santos Sextet

With Kata Miletich & Anais Azul performing the song “Paletas”

 Complete info HERE

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Live painting session at GOURMEX

Adrian was invited by the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco to create a live painting during GOURMEX, an evening celebrating Mexican culinary arts. Inspired by the food and ingredients present at the event, Adrian created a goddess of vegetables—an homage to nourishment, culture, and the richness of Mexican cuisine.

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PrimavArias Exhibition in Alameda, at Julie’s Coffee & Tea Garden
1223 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501
Curated by Lindsey Crawford

This Friday, April 17, 6–8 pm, I’m happy to invite you all—friends from the neighborhood and beyond—to share this gathering with me.

I feel joy in returning, from time to time, to show my work in Bay Area cafés, where the quiet reflection of a coffee space meets the presence of a temporary gallery—an opening of senses, where everyday life and image breathe together.

PrimavArias is a series of drawings and paintings where spring becomes a moment of change, return, and quiet resistance. Forms rise like wildflowers, water finds its way again, and memories drift like small paper boats from my childhood.

I’ll have pieces available at community-friendly prices.

For a complete list of works and prices, click here

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Living Memories – Art on Market Street 2026

Images of the corner of Market and Powell

Instagram Video: Posters at Powell & Market https://www.instagram.com/p/DTvVAguCSsO/?hl=en

I’m very happy to share that I’ve been commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) as part of its Art on Market Street series to create six large-scale posters installed across 30 bus shelters along Market Street in San Francisco.
The series will be on view from mid-January through the end of March 2026.

This project is rooted in the Mission District, which I approach not only as a physical neighborhood but as a living archive of memory, cultural resistance, and collective creativity. The posters focus on everyday subjects and iconic figures—people, gestures, and urban rituals—that reflect the dignity, beauty, and complexity of life in the Mission.

Inspired by the ideas of Rebecca Solnit, I think of the city as an open narrative—one shaped by community, imagination, and the power of making the unseen visible. Each image is meant to be a poetic interruption in the flow of the street, inviting reflection, recognition, and presence.

The six posters in the series are dedicated to:

• Danza Azteca — honoring ancestral movement, ceremony, and collective rhythm. More information here
• El Paletero / Ice Cream Vendor — a tribute to everyday labor, sweetness, and street culture: More info
• La Señora de las Flores (Denhi) — celebrating care, beauty, and floral ritual in the neighborhood. More info
  
• Papel Picado & Herminia Albarrán — reflecting domestic art, memory, and intergenerational creativity. More info
  
• Día de los Muertos & René Yañez — honoring remembrance, altar-making, and cultural continuity. More info
  
• Lowriders & Roberto Hernández — celebrating cruising culture, devotion, and dignity in motion. More info

For a brief season, Market Street becomes a gallery.

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The Journey of the Little Angels between Corn and Stars

I’ll be painting live this Saturday, November 1st, at the Day of the Dead opening and concert at the San Francisco Symphony.

Here are images of my altar for the occasion:

This altar honors the souls of children—little angels who, in Mexica tradition, journey to a radiant paradise. Guided by the goddess Tonantzin, they rest among cornfields, water, wind, and stars, their laughter blending with the music of life.

It celebrates the union of pre-Hispanic and Hispanic worlds, echoing the spirit of Santa María Tonantzintla, where brown-skinned angels dance among maize and the cosmos.
A space of light and tenderness, where every child’s soul continues to shape the universe with joy and beauty.

PULSO / PULSE

Solo show of recent artwork by Adrian in Sonoma. Grand opening Saturday October 11th, 6-8pm, with remarks by Adrian at 7:07pm

More information and preview of some pieces:

https://sonomacommunitycenter.org/programs/pulse-adrian-arias-exhibit/

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The Fire Hummingbird

photo by April Alston McKay

Adrián Arias’s Fire Hummingbird, selected as an Honoraria Project for Burning Man 2025, was inspired by ancestral traditions and the Día de los Muertos. More information:

https://adrianarias.com/other-installations/

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COMING SOON

Getting ready for new exhibitions and a vibrant visual and sound celebration of Día de los Muertos in both Sonoma and San Francisco, plus an exciting installation for Burning Man.

Thank you to Bonterra for your constant support and for sharing such wonderful wine. Your generosity adds a special touch to every event, bringing people together with art, community, and great flavor.

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Utility box in Palo Alto

A few months ago, I had the joy of painting two of my medicinal plant goddesses — Fuchsia and Passionflower — on the corner of Channing Avenue and Newell Road in Palo Alto, California.

This project was made possible thanks to a commission from the Palo Alto Public Art Program.

more images HERE scrolling

https://adrianarias.com/selected-murals-adrian/

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Indigenous Forever mural

I’m filled with gratitude for the incredible support, assistance, and love you’ve shown for my new mural, Indigenous Forever.

This piece is a tribute to the enduring presence, resilience, and beauty of Indigenous communities—past, present, and future—and it could not have come to life without the strength and spirit of this city.

Thank you to everyone who offered their time, hands, stories, and hearts along the way. Your presence is part of the mural now.

Huge thanks to Alex Spoto, the Tenderloin Museum, Cyntia Salazar, La Mezcla, and Locura for bringing your beautiful art, dance, and music to the mural opening. And thank you to everyone who supported me with materials, time, and care—your help made Indigenous Forever possible.

More images:

https://adrianarias.com/selected-murals-adrian/

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Live Painting with The John Santos Sextet & Friends

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I will be painting live with the Afro-Caribbean music with The John Santos Sextet & Friends on Friday, May 2, 2025, at 8:00 PM. This special concert brings together an all-star lineup led by seven-time Grammy-nominated percussionist, Mission district native and cultural historian John Santos, whose artistry and deep-rooted knowledge of Latin music have made him a cornerstone of the Bay Area’s vibrant scene.
Joining Santos on stage will be his powerhouse ensemble—Dr. John Calloway, Marco Díaz, David Flores, Charlie Gurke, Saul Sierra, and John Santos—along with an extraordinary roster of special guests: Orestes Vilató, Anthony Blea, Destani Wolf, Rico Pabón, Christelle Durandy, Pedro Pastrana, Javier Navarrette, Juan Luis Pérez, Marcel Joao Santos, and Kata Miletich from LoCura music group.

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Indigenous Forever mural

At the corner of Larkin and Eddy in San Francisco, this mural is a vibrant tribute to Indigenous resilience and presence.

The official unveiling to celebrate this mural at the mural site, on the corner of Larkin and Eddy in San Francisco, will be on May 3rd 3:30-5:30PM, with the participation of LoCura, La Mezcla, and more TBA. Adrian will talk about his experience creating this mural and Turk @ Hyde’s “River to the Sky.”

More information and images HERE

And in the Tenderloin Museum website

https://www.tenderloinmuseum.org/public-programs-2025-1/2025/5/3/indigenous-forever-mural-tour-celebration

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LAB Performances

May 9, 10 & 11 at The Milkbar in Richmond

I’m honored to perform with my group LAB (formerly Anna Halprin LAB) in “AloneTogether”, a three-day performance series inspired by the legacy of our beloved teacher, Anna Halprin (1920–2021)—who taught us to listen to the body, create from the heart, and move with purpose, healing, and social justice.

I’ll be directing one piece and performing in others, alongside artists who believe in the power of dance to transform and connect us.

Come witness, come feel, come share.
And after the performance, stay for a glass of wine or popcorn—one of Anna’s favorite ways to celebrate life. LINK to get tickets HERE

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Yellow Panda

My yellow panda, covered in bold black designs, represents the universal strength and balance of yin and yang, where opposing forces come together as a harmonious whole. Through symbols of seeds, water droplets, unicellular beings, atoms, and particles, I explore the perpetual cycles of life. Inspired by the Mochica iconography of my heritage and the Ohlone culture of the land I call home, this panda becomes a bridge between past and future, inviting us to reflect on the interconnectedness and resilience that sustain our existence. Coming soon to San Francisco’s Chinatown

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Live Painting

At the official presentation of Genny Lim as San Francisco Poet Laureate at the San Francisco Public Library at 3pm.

A Dark Matter: Coffee Concert

Live painting in two concerts with Left Coast Chamber Ensemble in Berkeley and San Francisco. Thank you Matilda Hofman, Stacey Pelinka , and all musicians in this amazing concert. Here is the information:

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 11:30 AM

Berkeley Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley, CA 94709

Saturday, February 1, 2025, 11:30 AM

Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez Street, San Francisco, CA 94114

Complete info: https://www.leftcoastensemble.org/dark-matter

Corazones / Hearts

Saturday, January 18th at 6:36 p.m. at Red Poppy Art House will be the closing of my show CORAZONES / Hearts. There will be new works inspired by the heart and stories that have been born during this process.

There will be new pieces that were exhibited at the California Museum in Sacramento in October-November 2024. More info HERE https://redpoppyarthouse.org/event/party-of-hearts-exhibition-closing-reception/

I appreciate the support of Bonterra and Fetzer, with their wonderful wine

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New Piece, The Goddess of Fish

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I will be reading a poem inspired by a painting by Julie Heffernan at Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco.

Whether You Fly: An Ekphrastic Poetry Project

Produced by EXiT at Catharine Clark Gallery

“Ekphrasis” according to The Oxford Classical Dictionary, means “the rhetorical description of a work of art.” Edward Hirsch, in his resource, A Poet’s Glossary, quotes Paul Valéry as saying, “Each work of art demands its response.”

This event has been organized by Annice Jacoby and Maw Shein Win who have invited accomplished Bay Area poets Adrian Arias, James Cagney, Jennifer Futernick, Heather June Gibbons, and Yiskah Rosenfeld to respond to the paintings in Julie Heffernan’s solo exhibition Whether You Fall.

This is the amazing painting by Julie Heffernan that inspired my poem, and the event and reading will be on Saturday, January 11th, from 4-6pm at the Catharine Clark Gallery, 248 Utah St, San Francisco.

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Adrian in Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/adrian_arias_art/

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Adrian’s End of the Year Sale (2)

From 2003 to today, a wide variety of creations: pencil drawings, inks, acrylics on paper and canvas, small and large formats, book-objects, and everything that defines the path of a multidisciplinary artist.

The end of year sale is over. Here is the complete list of pieces that are available. You can ask for the prices by writing to: adrian.arias@gmail.com

“River to the Sky”, Turk @ Hyde, SF: HERE

“BLM in Chinatown”, Grant 2 Vinton Ct: HERE

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Ancestral Hummingbird at Mission District in San Francisco

Part of the series of Ancestral Hummingbirds that I have painted in Peru and Mexico, now in San Francisco, on the corner of 24th Street and Osage Street, half a block from Mission Street, in front of the BART station. More murals here

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Ancestral Hummingbird at SFO

As part of Day of the Dead organized by the San Francisco International Airport, here images of the great experience at Terminal 2.

Ancestral Hummingbird at the Exploratorium

As part of Day of the Dead organized by Marigold Project.

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Día de los Muertos at SOMArts, 2023

Dia de los Muertos exhibition at Somarts, curated by Rio Yañez and Bridgétt Rex. There I have an altar-installation dedicated to the great Harry Belafonte and the sacred Hummingbirds. Open until November 3, 2023 in Somarts, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco

 

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New solo exhibit at ATA

thanks to Trisha Lagaso, Megan Wilson, Kim Shuck, all Mannifest Differently team, and Rene Yañez Presente! Show open October 8-31, 2023. ATA is located at 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco.

 

  

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New mural at the corner of 23rd Street @ Folsom

“La mujer Indígena no es invisible”, mural unveiling on Saturday October 7th, Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St, San Francisco. Thanks to Dina Zarif, Reneé Baldocchi and Finny Balboa for the support, thank you to Jorge Molina and Kim Shuck for the Land Acknowledgment and poetry. And thank you Lindsey Crawford for your help painting this mural.

More Murals by Adrian here

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Dia de los Muertos / Marigold ProjectI have the honor of co-curating Dia de los Muertos at the Marigold Project with Rosa de Anda, holding two exhibitions and ceremonies at the Exploratorium on October 19 and at Potrero del Sol Park on November 2. Participating artists are Mara Lea Brown, Susan Matthews, Lila Maes Shah, Danielle Revives, Bryan Dominguez, Fiorella Dominquez and Arturo Mendez

   

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Altar installation for Dia de los Muertos at SOMArts

opening on October 6th, 6-9 pm SOMArts, 934 Brannan St, San Francisco

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New Mural at Clarion Alley

Inspired by this drawing, which is part of a dream with my ancestors, I paint this mural in September, as part of the Mannifest Differently event.

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New Murals in Mexico & Peru

Ancestral hummingbird at Bundo Cafebreria, Xalapa, Mexico and at Kasa Kambalache, Lima, Peru 

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SOLAZ

at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco

photos byKegan Marling

photo by La Tania

Multidisciplinary Flamenco and visual show, created by La Tania and Adrian Arias, with music by Jose Luis de la Paz, dance by Mizuho Sato, Melissa Cruz and Cristina Hall, cante by Jose Cortes, and musicians Gary Haggerty and Faisal Zedan.
More information about the artists HERE
World Premiere, July 21 at 7pm, Shows also on July 22 at 7pm and July 23 at 4pm. Buy tickets for SOLAZ HERE

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New exhibition

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SOLAZ Multidisciplinary flamenco show

I am happy to announce my collaboration with La Tania Baile Flamenco, in the creation and co-direction of SOLAZ, which will be presented at the Teatro Presido on July 21, 22 and 23. You can see the complete information and get your tickets HERE.

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After my artistic trip to Paris, a collection of new pieces. More art HERE

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MURAL at FREIGHT & SALVAGE

I’m so happy to announce that I was selected to create a mural at the iconic Freight & Salvage in Berkeley

LINK HERE

And FaceBook page for comments here

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MARCH-APRIL-MAY PERFORMANCES

Saturday March 25, Grand Opening and Party for the Tarot in Pandemic & Revolution at CAST & 5M Park

LINK HERE

Saturday April 1st, I’m curating MAPP-Illusion show at the Red Poppy Art House

LINK HERE

Sunday April 2nd I will be performing a special poem, as part of John Santos

LINK HERE

Saturday April 15 and Sunday April 16, Adrian will be performing with his group PERFORMANCE L.A.B. at D.I.R.T. Festival, at Dance Mission Theater

LINK HERE

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May 20 & 21. Performance LAB presents “Pieces of Time”

More info and Buy tickets HERE

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Tarot in Pandemic & Revolution

I am happy to announce that The Tarot in Pandemic and Revolution will have a great public birth on Saturday March 25, 2023 on CAST. Full information here

And you can contact me at  adrian.arias@gmail.com  if you like to buy a deck

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Image reclaiming the power of the Indigenous Woman

Indigenous Woman of the Americas is not invisible (3)
Watercolor and ink on Arches paper, 26 x 40 inches

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Indigenous Woman of the Americas is not invisible (2)
Watercolor and ink on Arches paper, 26 x 40 inches / Private Collection

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New work – Pandemic Art

The New Monolith (1) -negative-. Acrylic on canvas, 30×40 inches

“Flooding in my used covid test cabinet, while a california golden trout streaked across the sky casting ancestral blessings”. Acrylic and watercolor on Arches paper. 26 x 40 inches

“Strange Totem from the 21st century found in an old abandoned house in the desert in a full moon night”. Acrylic, ink and rainwater on Arches paper. 22.5 x 30”. Acrylic and watercolor on Arches paper. 26 x 40 inches

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Live painting at the Berkeley Museum

 

As part of the Full Long Moon celebration, and dedicated to the Tarot in Pandemic & Revolution

Adrian in a news article on KQED, NPR, Click HERE

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New private mural in Lima, Peru

The image represents the birth of a bird when two people meet. The iconography and graphic images are inspired by Mochica-Chimu designs, ancestral cultures of ancient Peru, and in nature.

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Adrian’s new book of poetry

will be presented in Lima on November 29, 2022. Edited under the Peisa publishing house, and with a preface by Mario Bellatin.

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Visual collaboration with “Archipielago”, play created by Begoña Caparrós in Madrid, Spain

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Altar Sound-installation by Adrian will be at the Exploratorium

Opening November 10, closing December 4th.

This altar sound-installation, with music specially composed by Anais Azul, was part of the Day of the Dead organized by the Marigold Project at the Potrero del Sol Park.
More images of Adrian’s Día de los Muertos installations HERE

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Adrian in new book about Artists in San Francisco, 2022
I am very grateful to be a part of this book edited by Shizue Seigel with 16 pages of my multidisciplinary art.

If you want to buy it go to this LINK

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MURALS

“River to the Sky”

A mural on the corner of Turk and Hyde in San Francisco, honoring Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, the Blackhawk Jazz Club, BLM, the sacred water and rivers under the ground, the California Poppies, the Ohlone territory, my ancestral Mochica land.

Thank you Darryl Smith of Luggage Store Gallery and Someland Foundation

Thank you Kasey Rios Asberry and the Tenderloin neighborhood, Caleb, Krissy and Stella for your incredible help.

 

 

69 second video showing the making of River to the Sky HERE

 

Images from the process and the finished mural

 

Complete Statement and meaning of RIVER TO THE SKY HERE

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Mural at GOOGLE

Very proud to have been part of an Art Residency at the new Google facilities, creating a two stories four walls mural dedicated to my grandparents: Love story of Hummingbirds and Ancestors
These hummingbirds tell us a love story that made my grandparents’ hearts beat on their night of love, after which my family grew like a garden, always visited by more hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are sacred messengers between life and death, between what must be transformed to stay alive.

CLICK HERE to read about the 9 selected artists and Adrian’s explanation and images at the end of the article.

  

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New Mural @ MAGIC THEATRE in San Francisco

“Indigenous Women are not invisible”

The image of this indigenous woman is based on four native women from the territory that we now call America. Woman of Mochica ancestors in Peru, my culture, mixed with Nukak Woman native to the Colombian Amazon, from which I have been inspired in her face painting. Ohlone woman, who also painted her face with that black line and other parts of her body. And Yuma and Pápago Woman from the border area between what we now call Arizona and Mexico, whose hat I have used, which is a basket, and also features of her face.

On her chest you can read “My Body Not Yours”, and also in Spanish “Mi cuerpo, Mi Alma”. It bears the image of the fallopian tube, as a sign that indigenous women also have reproductive rights. In her right ear she wears a “Chakana” which is an aboriginal symbol of the indigenous peoples, of what was the Tahuantinsuyo (now part of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina) that is more than four thousand years old, and represents a four-sided ladder, connecting the four elements and the four directions. And in her left ear she wears an earring with the inscription “Say Her Name”, which is a social movement that emerged to denounce police brutality against black Women, and in this case, it is also a claim for indigenous Women.

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“Dreams and Suitcases” ephemeral mural at The Red Poppy Art House

Adrian Artist in residence at the Red Poppy Art House. Several events and art pieces will be created at the RPAH. Here the link to see Live painting by Adrian on June 18, 2022 LINK

Mini ILLUSION show 10.1 @ Red Poppy Art House

Mini Illusion show 10.1 created by Adrian on June 4, 2022. With special guests Mara Brown, Pancho Peskador, Tongo Eisen Martin, Josiah Alderete, Lucia Lilikoi, The Genie and Monica Maria Fimbrez.

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 TAROT in Pandemic & Revolution

24 visual artists and 43 poets from the Bay Area participating in this unique Tarot deck, whose idea came from a dream of Adrian.

More about this Tarot HERE

You can order your deck HERE

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Dia de los Muertos @ SOMArts

dedicated to five human beings who lost their lives due to police brutality

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Altar for Jack Hirschman

With tremendous pain, I am drawing this life-size portrait of Jack, unstoppable poet, friend, and mentor, who rests in the pantheon of revolutionary poets.

Jack Hirschman, December 13, 1933 – August 22, 2021

Jack and Adrián at the entrance of the Red Poppy Art House in 2004.

My first poetry reading in San Francisco was with Jack at Café Boheme in 1999

Gracias querido poeta

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Adrian´s statement here

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New Flower series

  

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Anna Halprin, teacher and friend who is always with us. Her wisdom will continue to inspire us, to create artistic spaces that help us reconcile life with the body, humanity with social justice, inner strength with the energy of our senses. Thank you Anna for everything you gave us.

Altar for Anna at MCCLA 

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Adrian 15 minutes collaboration online with Darren Johnston in trumpet, Shania Rasmussen in dance and Amy Seiwert as producer. February 2021

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“Adrian´s Art in Pandemic & Revolution” a virtual exhibition, at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco.

Dance and painting collaboration with Mimi Cezanne Stoll at the Red Poppy exhibit “Adrian´s Art in Pandemic & Revolution”

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Another mural at Grand Ave in Oakland, supporting local business

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New temporary murals at Lakeshore in Oakland

@ Good Vibrations, first sex-positive and women-friendly store in the United States, founded in 1977 by Joani Blank. In 1992 it became a cooperative of its workers and in January 2012 open its 6th store in Lakeshore Ave. in Oakland, where this temporary mural is located. As part of their recognition as a leader in sex-positive culture and education, GV received a Certificate of Honor from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

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Last live-performance-painting @ Machina Loci Space in Berkeley

50 seconds time-lapse here

New Mural @ Machina Loci space in Berkeley. Life is a Treasure was a live paint improvisation, for 3 hours while Anais Azul played music on September 27th 2020.
Thanks to Carol Mancke for the commission to create this piece.

You can see 3 hours work in one minute time-lapse HERE

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Also here the Adrian Time-lapse collection and more in his VIMEO page

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Adrian Arias is an American poet, visual artist and performer. He was born in Peru and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2000. Adrian reinvents animals, creates dream-based languages and codes, explores the absurd and the surreal visually and creates paintings in action and murals related to the pandemic and the social revolution that we are experiencing.

Adrian use movement as a form of art, as a choreographer and visual poet. Adrian is also a cultural promoter, art teacher and artivist actively working in the community, receiving commissions to create murals in the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of California.

 Letter A as part of Black Lives Matter on the asphalt of Petaluma Public Library

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“8:46” Altar installation for Day of the Dead at SOMARTS San Francisco, 2020

Mural commission in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

“Adrian Arias, the ever brilliantly inventive poet of the gesturing Word” Jack Hirschman, poet and activist, San Francisco Poet Laureate.

Here you can see his new series of painting in pandemic

Here my 2019 paintings

Here PANDEMIC CREATIONS in collaboration

Here my STORE with small paintings

Adrian lives and works in Oakland, California.

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“La Paleta Gigante en Carnaval 2026” is part of the A Sweet Route: Tribute to the Paleteros project. This year, Adrian was invited to participate in the 2026 Carnival to present the progress of A Sweet Route through La Paleta Gigante (The Giant Popsicle), featured as a parade piece. The full route was completed alongside 11 paleteros (popsicle vendors), the workers and cultural figures honored by this initiative.

The main monument dedicated to the Paleteros will be unveiled on June 20 at Niño Unidos Park in San Francisco. More info here.

See the link to interview with Adrian for CBS: https://bit.ly/3QdS5SM

Photos by Jazmin Morelos.

Images of the corner of Market and Powell

Instagram Video: Posters at Powell & Market https://www.instagram.com/p/DTvVAguCSsO/?hl=en

I’m very happy to share that I’ve been commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) as part of its Art on Market Street series to create six large-scale posters installed across 30 bus shelters along Market Street in San Francisco.
The series will be on view from mid-January through the end of March 2026.

This project is rooted in the Mission District, which I approach not only as a physical neighborhood but as a living archive of memory, cultural resistance, and collective creativity. The posters focus on everyday subjects and iconic figures—people, gestures, and urban rituals—that reflect the dignity, beauty, and complexity of life in the Mission.

Inspired by the ideas of Rebecca Solnit, I think of the city as an open narrative—one shaped by community, imagination, and the power of making the unseen visible. Each image is meant to be a poetic interruption in the flow of the street, inviting reflection, recognition, and presence.

The six posters in the series are dedicated to:

• Danza Azteca — honoring ancestral movement, ceremony, and collective rhythm. More information here
• El Paletero / Ice Cream Vendor — a tribute to everyday labor, sweetness, and street culture: More info
• La Señora de las Flores (Denhi) — celebrating care, beauty, and floral ritual in the neighborhood. More info
• Papel Picado & Herminia Albarrán — reflecting domestic art, memory, and intergenerational creativity. More info
• Día de los Muertos & René Yañez — honoring remembrance, altar-making, and cultural continuity. More info
• Lowriders & Roberto Hernández — celebrating cruising culture, devotion, and dignity in motion. More info

For a brief season, Market Street becomes a gallery.