A total of 100 artists, designers and students from the Bay area were asked to use the metaphor of a tree to make powerful visual statements about the environment for the project. The artwork will be displayed on light pole banners in high-traffic locations in downtown San Francisco for six months starting in April. At the end of the exhibition, the banners will be recycled into a range of fashionable products designed by Academy of Art University students. The products will then be auctioned off to raise money for Friends of the Urban Forest for tree plantings in the city.

Twenty one of the 100 banners for The Urban Forest Project were created by high school students and professional design mentors through a mentoring program hosted by AIGA SF. Many of the mentors and their students were present at the preview event, as were family members, guardians, teachers, counselors and friends.

A visual presentation of The Urban Forest Project featured images of the banner artwork produced by the mentoring program. Also on display was artwork produced by Academy of Art University students, faculty and alumni. After a series of introductions and remarks by the project partners, certificates were presented to the high school students from the mentoring program that featured their individual banners. They then gathered on stage with their mentors for a group photo.

Throughout the Opera House – workshops led by professional designers from AIGA SF – were held so that children and their families from the Bayview community could create their own Urban Forest Project artwork using the metaphor of a tree. In an effort to promote sustainability and reuse, the kids drew on large “press sheets” which were donated by Blanchette Press.

The Urban Forest Project partners in San Francisco represented at the event included: City and County of San Francisco, AIGA SF, Academy of Art University, Friends of the Urban Forest and Adobe Youth Voices. Also on hand were representatives from the five Bay area youth organizations that participated in the mentoring program: BAVC – Bay Area Video Coalition, San Francisco Youth Commission, San Francisco Cameraworks: First Exposures, Southern Exposure, Young Artists at Work/Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Blanchette Press contributed the press sheets for the workshops.

The Urban Forest Project, conceived and managed by Worldstudio, was first executed in New York City’s Times Square in the fall of 2006. San Francisco is among the first in a series of planned executions worldwide.

The San Francisco project is supported entirely by corporate sponsorship. The sponsorship deadline is February 26th. To learn more about how your organization can sponsor this unique environmental, public arts and educational initiative, please contact Andréa Pellegrino at apellegrino (at) worldstudioinc.com.

Banner designs left to right by Amber Sustaita of James Monroe Middle School, Samantha Worm of Sandia High School, Alex Zarate of Grant Middle School and Amanda Williams of Highland High School

In October, the first in a series of planned executions of The Urban Forest Project officially launched in Albuquerque, with banners by local artists and designers on display throughout downtown Albuquerque. This past week, student banners were unveiled at the Rio Grande Zoo at the BioPark. Over 80 Albuquerque area middle and high school students participated, with sixteen banners selected by a jury of creative professionals along with a City of Albuquerque representative. These banners, currently on display at the Zoo, will be up though the New Year.

In celebration of Earth and Arbor Days 2010, The Urban Forest Project, will launch in San Francisco, Toledo and Washington, DC in April. To learn more, please visit: www.ufp-global.com

Banner designs left to right by Janice Arroyo, Katya Crawford, Tristan Pittard, Rudi Backart, Janice Arroyo and Jamie Jett Walker

The Urban Forest Project launched in Albuquerque, NM on October 1st with a kick-off event at the Open Space Visitors Center. Banners by local artists and designers are currently displayed on light poles throughout downtown Albuquerque. Each banner incorporates the form or metaphor of the tree, making a powerful visual statement about the environment. The city is using the project as an education and messaging platform for AlbuquerqueGreen, the city’s innovative environmental program.

The banners will move to various high-traffic areas of the city through Spring 2010, at which time they will be recycled into unique tote bags designed for the project and sold exclusively through local Whole Foods Markets. Sales from the bags will benefit Tree New Mexico, supporting their tree planting efforts in Albuquerque and mission to “keep New Mexico clean, beautiful and healthy.”

K-12 public schools students will also have a chance to submit designs for additional banners that will be hung in November in the Rio Grande Zoo at the BioPark. Wells Fargo helped support this aspect of the program.

The Urban Forest Project was first executed in New York City’s Times Square in the fall of 2006 in partnership with the Times Square Alliance. Albuquerque is the first in a series of planned executions worldwide. Spring 2010 will see the project unfolding in San Francisco, Toledo and Washington, DC. To learn more, visit The Urban Forest Project website: www.ufp-global.com

This project, conceived and implemented by Worldstudio, is being presented in collaboration with: City of Albuquerque and Tree New Mexico, with generous support from Jamie Jett Walker, LithExcel, PNM Resources, Inc, Mesa del Sol, TaGG Studios, Wells Fargo and Whole Foods Market.

Once the banners come down, they will be recycled into unique tote bags designed exclusively for the project and sold at local Whole Foods Markets. Sales from the bags will benefit Tree New Mexico to support their tree planting efforts in Albuquerque and their mission to “keep New Mexico clean, beautiful and healthy.” The project would not have been possible without the generous support of sponsors including: Lithexcel, Mesa Del Sol, PNM, Wells Fargo and Whole Foods Market.

Worldstudio has been working in collaboration with the City of Albuquerque, Tree New Mexico, Open Space Visitor Center and the Albuquerque Biological Park to get the project off the ground. Albuquerque is the first in a series of planned executions, with projects being planned in San Francisco, Toledo and Washington, DC next year.

The Urban Forest Project, conceived by Worldstudio and developed in conjunction with AIGA NY and Times Square Alliance, was first executed in New York’s Times Square in the fall of 2006. To learn more about the project, please visit the global site or contact Andréa Pellegrino.