Their mandate is to raise awareness
and lobby for the re-appropriation
of medications that are already
in the marketplace to have them
tweaked a little bit and have them
used for people with rare diseases.
LO: Tell me about this year’s festival.
KM: This year’s theme is the Summer
of Love, and came from discussions
with the staff. We are usually
focused on Italy, but this year when
we discovered that it was the 50th
anniversary of the Summer of Love,
we just had to do it.
The art and the music are going to
be off the charts! It will be great
for the public and for the baby
boomers who have nostalgia for
that era and the millennials who
are curious about that era because
that’s where their parents came out
of. I think it’s a great way for us to
reach new audiences.
LO: Does the organization use a lot
of volunteers to make ends meet?
KM: This organization is so
dependent on volunteers it’s just
crazy. The hardest part of the job is
just getting enough people, because
not only do all the event staff
volunteer during the festival, but all
the artists and musicians volunteer
too.
And the idea that they are all down
there on the hot pavement in
100-degree weather drawing with
chalk for two days—it’s astounding
how much passion and commitment
the artists have to have to make
that happen.
LO: Where do the artists come
from?
KO: They come from Mexico and
Italy and throughout the U.S. We try
to provide them with some travel
stipends and some housing for the
out-of-town artists.
Some of these modern Madonnari
[street painters] participate in 10-12
of these kinds of events all over the
world, but San Rafael is one of the
David LaFlamme presents the music of It's A Beautiful Day Saturday, at Summer of Love:
An Art and Music Experience
premier locations and is considered
to be a major festival.
LO: Why do the artists do this?
LO: Do you think the arts have a
positive financial impact on the
community?
KM: The amount of positive
economic impact that the arts have
on the community is amazing.
The arts bring people downtown,
and then they patronize other
businesses, like going out to dinner.
I think the arts are really integral
to the health of any community.
And it has really developed into a
So when 10,000 people come
family of people. It is a reunion and downtown for two days to the
a circuit but they feel very taken
Italian Street Paining Festival, other
care of in San Rafael. We try to
businesses will benefit.
make them comfortable—there’s a
couple of big dinners that everyone LO: What is the main source of the
revenue?
comes to, so it’s a huge social and
family reunion every year. And I love KM: Most come from sponsorships.
the fact that it’s such a community-
A company will purchase a square
driven event with a strong history
and they get matched up with an
and amazing and incredible art.
artist, but there is a very strict policy
LO: What else does the foundation on not representing the company
within the art— there is a banner
do?
across the top. We do quite a bit
KM: We want to do other things
to make sure our sponsors are
that aren’t part of the festival
recognized and acknowledged, and
to raise awareness about street
many sponsors are repeats.
painting and also promote arts
education. So one of the things we LO: Are you enjoying putting on
the street festival?
do is we actually provide grants to
other nonprofits in Marin County.
KM: Being in Marin and being able
We just did a grants ceremony at
to do this kind of work and living
Artworks Downtown and we gave
here too—I love it!
about $4,000 in grants out to eight
For more information about
Italian Street Painting Marin, visit:
or nine organizations and last year
italianstreetpaintingmarin.org.
we gave out about $11,000.
KM: You cannot stop artists
from producing art. They have
tremendous passion and they want
to express themselves. This is also a
performance art because everything
is happening in real time and things
kind of evolve out of the street.
MARIN ARTS & CULTURE 15