New SOMA Full Building Mural Unveiling to Kick-off San Francisco Pride month

During the month of May 2022, five Bay Area mural artists will create a new work at 298 11th Street, in San Francisco, on the exterior of the Oasis nightclub/cabaret, one of the largest LGBTQ owned nightclubs in the United States, located in the heart of SOMA. The official unveiling will take place at the beginning of San Francisco Pride Month on Thursday, June 2nd at 3pm, with a celebration later that evening at Oasis from 9pm-2am, hosted by the artists and supporters.

Designed by Serge Gay Jr., Elliott C. Nathan, J Manuel Carmona, Simon Malvaez, and Christopher McCutcheon, the mural, titled “SHOWTIME”, will incorporate aspects of Oasis, SOMA, and the queer SF community at large; including LGBTQ nightlife, cabaret, disco, theater, drag, and leather culture. The mural is supported by the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and Oasis Arts.

"I’m absolutely in love with the talents of these artists”, says Oasis owner, D’Arcy Drollinger. “The fact that all five wanted to be involved in this project blew me away. What I’m most fascinated by is how five distinct artists, each with their own unique styles, have collaborated on such a cohesive design. I can’t wait to watch their process in real-time throughout May. I’m also incredibly grateful to the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and the San Francisco Arts Commission for joining me in this project to not only enhance the Oasis, but to employ local artists while keeping South of Market fabulously queer.”

"We are proud to be involved with such an impressive and beautiful piece of public art," said Bob Goldfarb, Executive Director of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District. "'SHOWTIME' will be a major addition to the vibrant artistic legacy of SOMA and we are pleased to be able to support local artists in its creation."

The 2,500 square foot mural will wrap the length of the building on both the 11th Street side and along Burns Court. It will depict representations of the community as well as highlighting queer and trans trailblazers such as Bambi Lake, Phatima Rude, Felicia Flames, Tippi, and José Sarria; pioneers who have made spaces like Oasis possible. Oasis has a history of community engagement and outreach, as with our programs such as Meals on Heels, the Oasis TV streaming platform, and nascent nonprofit arts initiative Oasis Arts. Through the mural project Oasis hopes to continue to foster collaboration in public arts spaces.

“QUEER ARTISTS FOR QUEER SPACES began in response to our community asking for a commitment to uplift and raise the profiles of artists within our circles and this project highlights not one, but five artists, each fabulously eclectic and individual in style and technique, to amplify the depth of talent within the Queer Community”, says Sister Celine Dionysus. “The dance between individual and collaborative expression mirrors the development of our community’s responses to so many challenges in the past. We work best when we work together, and our family is comprised of many different expressions, genders, and identities. It is with great Joy that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are able to celebrate our diversity with a mural on the walls of the old Oasis Baths and highlight the future that San Francisco’s Artists will manifest.”

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