Light Breaks Through
An artist's reflection on her life and Bayview Hunters Point.

By Samantha Calamari

It's 8:15 pm and Selam is waiting patiently outside of a building on 22nd and 3rd Streets. She is waiting for her cue, number 201 to be called, for an audition to model a new type of fiber made of corn. She's holding an application which asks questions like: Do you care enough about this planet to be conscious of the products that you use and how they effect the resource of this planet. She slowly nods her head at the paper.

"You know, if I am going to do this, these are the type of folks I want to do it with," she says.

This is a life of an artist struggling not only to make ends meet in the San Francisco Bayview Hunter's Point Community but also to claim her identity in the community. The former may be the greater challenge.

Selam, her head wrapped in a white linen cloth and her neck draped in jade and amber stones, does not intend to make a career out of modeling. She's merely trying to raise enough funds to get herself to Brazil by next February for an International Rainbow Gathering and to learn, among many things, the use of sustainable living methods such as building structures without nails. But exploring new lands is months away. Until then, she'll be hustling, selling her crafts such as necklaces and paintings, working at a fabric production company and maybe even modeling corn. Even this day is far from being over with a long line ahead and an even longer bus ride home on the MUNI 15 line to Revere Avenue and Hawes Street. Still, Selam musters up a tired smile and waits. Selamawit Mekowen was born in Eritrea, East Africa in the Winter of 1975 during a Civil War. Eritrea was fighting for independence from Ethiopia and in the middle of this fight was her father, a revolutionary and her mother, a seamstress. When Selam was only three years old, her mother walked 1,000 miles with Selam and her three other siblings to Sudan for the safety of her family. Soon after, her family fled to Germany where they remained for the majority of Selam's childhood. She would not return to Eritrea again for fourteen years.
	Photo by Jette Williams
	Eritrea born Selamawit Mekowen came to San Francisco to pursue her art and nurture her creative spirit. In the process she found a new homeland.

Discovering possibilities in art

In rural Germany, the war was far away. Selam was surrounded by farms where she rode horses and milked cows. Living in harmony with the natural world at a young age is a lifestyle that has left a lasting impression on her. Even during a recent trip to Hawaii, she was reminded of her strong connection with the natural rhythms of life and the lack of this connection in human-made systems.

"We don't even know where our water sources come from," she exclaims.

Her father's love for travel and exploration soon shined through in Selam. Throughout her adolescence she discovered various opportunities to explore her art. She says while growing up, she was always drawing and working with fabric and from there, her passion for art was formed. At 16, she moved away from home and attended a college in Munster, Germany to study art and design and after, went on to London and Amsterdam to theater set design.

At the dawn of her twenties, it came time to make her next step into adulthood. She decided to abandon the world of formal education and felt that Europe had little left for her. So, with a few packed bags, she made her way to California. She chose San Francisco because "I had watched the 'Streets of San Francisco' (TV show) growing up and saw the red bridge," she said. "I liked that bridge and wanted to go check it out."

During her first few years in the Bay Area, her voice and her vision became more obvious to her.

"San Francisco helped me mold what it is to be an artist," she said. "The teachers that I crossed are ones who helped me realize that I am a painter."

She found herself naturally drawn to artistic communities and people and continued to take classes at San Francisco City College.

"Going to school for me also opened me up to mounds and mounds of literature. In Germany, there were no African writers. So, that's what I was catching up on," she explained. "I was also not African-American which most people assume by looking at me. So, I didn't know the history. I didn't really know what this machinery had done and the suffering it had caused and how people have behaved. And everything opened up because I had been through similar stuff growing up in Germany but did not have a voice or a means of expression. For the first, time I knew it was not just me."

Founding an artist collective

Selam became a founding member of Blackberry Revolution, a collective of four female artists who wanted to create a women-based network where they could feel secure and safe and express themselves their passion through their art.

"We all carry this fire and if not directed, it comes out in non-productive or non-healthy ways." Selam explained the true purpose of the collective was to direct this fire.

Some of the events Blackberry Revolution held were dedicated to political causes hoping to influence and inspire the black community such as benefits for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a death-row convict and also seen as a political prisoner in some circles. During the events, Selam painted while spoken word artists rapped and rhymed. She would use her canvas to visually express the surrounding mood. With her bright strokes and her bright smile, she convinced other collective members to wear white as a symbol of peace and unity amongst the collective and to hold a prayer before each gig.

Spoken word artist Shanta Williams first meet Selam through Blackberry Revolution. She says, "working with Selam was the most positive part of the entire experience. Once Selam sees where she wants to go, she is quite determined to get there." It is not surprising to Shanta that Selam now is attempting to join other communities through ritual and art.

Selam began to discover ways to support herself through her art. For a time, she traveled through countries, some times on a raggae tour, selling jewelry and henna tattoos. This modern day gypsy lifestyle seemed to fit Selam well because of her free spirit and lack of responsibilities. During here travels, she met various characters and learned about new lands. Every time she needed to settle back down, San Francisco was waiting for her with open arms.

Then in 1999, Selam's apartment building was sold and she was out of a place to live. "There was no more space in San Francisco [for artists]." she said. "I also wanted to be in a black community and have my presence shed light and inspiration." To her luck, a room opened in a warehouse space two blocks away from the Hunter Points projects.

A sense of community

Soon after her move, she found that the Bayview Hunters Point community's struggles were different than those she experienced in the rest of San Francisco. Poor transportation and pollution were not only disadvantages that came as a shock. Furthermore, the threats of violence that she had been warned of before she moved to the area were secondary. She did not fear the people in the neighborhood because Bayview Hunters Point residents were mostly black and she felt safe around such a community. What scared Selam was the disconnection people had with their surroundings. Seeing people littering in their own streets, in their own homes is what disturbed her the most.

Still, Selam has found the ability to smile through the depression she has experienced. "There is a Swahili proverb that goes 'You are what your reflection is.'" Selam finds it crucial to live by this saying, grinning and making eye contact with those she passes. Walking down the middle of a street to avoid the trash and cars cluttering the sidewalks, children call to her: "hey, crazy African lady." When Selam hears this, she laughs and is more inspired to have the children get to know her.

From the start of her living in Bayview Hunters Point, she made an effort to walk the neighborhood blocks and honor the families and the thriving communities. Seeing the youngsters play around her, she realized that their energy is plentiful but misdirected. She began to tell the children 'hey, I'm your big sister'. And they began to treat her with more respect. At times, her and her roommates have invited the children into their homes and to eat with them. "Once you bring them warmth and see them for what they are which is just children, there's no more fear," Selam smiled.

Being a part of the Hunters Point community and the artist community at the same time has brought it's own strife. She sees that the relationship between Bayview Hunters Point residents and the new, mostly-white, artist community in the area is simply non-existent. "The artists are scared because they have no contact with the community and community don't even try to know the artist," she explained.

With the lack of relationship between these two communities that share the same area coupled with her recent reconnection to the natural world in Hawaii, the need to start community building and skill sharing became more apparent to her. She began to develop a vision for a project to reach out to people on a more intimate level. The project entails hosting a Sunday afternoon "marketplace" where different communities could congregate and create a space to share dance, art and music. The marketplace would be held in her own warehouse space and be opened to the public including Bayview Hunters Point residents.

"Ritual is what is missing from the Bayview Hunters Point community," she said. "This would be a way for people to redirect their skills in a positive way."

Still, engaging the Bayview Hunters Point community is a challenge because as Selam recognizes, there is a missing generation in Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. The teenagers and the elders are the main population who are still residing in the area while the majority of people from the ages of 18-45 have moved out. This is the population that she sees would be really interested in the marketplace.

Inspiring youth

Reaching the children is an act Selam more sees as an everyday part of her life. She has subtly intertwined ways of influencing this community and showing the room for creativity anywhere. "We can show the children that if you are waiting for a bus, you can drum, or you can dance."

Selam has faith that Bayview Hunters Point community will positively turn around in the future but it will take a better public transportation system, efforts to clean up the pollution in full force and creation of some type of attraction. Selam is interesting in seeing a community center built where there could be a recording studio and art classes.

Although she still sees Eritrea as her true home, Selam has had the gift to humbly bring warmth to strangers and strengthen bonds in communities. It is difficult to predict how long Bayview Hunters Point will be a place of residence for Selam. With the change of the winds, she could be whisked off to Brazil, Hawaii or back to Eritrea. The one thing that is certain, she has managed to greet the Bayview Hunters Point community with a wide smile and this alone has left a lasting impression to those around her.

According to Selam, "I know I have a job to do and that job has something to do with bringing people together and transcending the pain on this planet to joy."