Final 2026 Art on Market Street Poster Series Honors Black San Francisco and Western Addition History

SAN FRANCISCO, October 13, 2026 – The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is pleased to present the fourth and final 2026 Art on Market Street poster series installation by artist Amir Khadar that honors Black San Francisco and Western Addition history. 

Khadar’s poster series will be displayed along Market Street, between 7th and Steuart streets, at 15 SFMTA transit shelters through the end of 2026.

Commissioned as part of the 2026 Art on Market Street Poster Series theme, Now & Then: Living Memories, artists were asked to draw inspiration from unrecorded, newly unearthed, and unconventional San Francisco histories. 

Khadar’s six poster designs honor the visionary work of San Franciscans who have fought displacement and worked to preserve the cultural legacy of the Western Addition. Khadar’s illustrations use collage-like compositions to explore the histories of Black San Franciscans, migration, labor, community organizing, and housing justice.

“Artists are essential to San Francisco. They tell our stories, preserve our histories, and help us see our city in new ways,” said Matthew Goudeau, Executive Director of Arts and Culture. “Amir Khadar’s work is a beautiful example of how artists connect us to the people, places, and experiences that have shaped San Francisco. By bringing these stories into our shared public spaces, we celebrate both our city's rich cultural heritage and the artists who make it visible.”

Each poster features illustrated elements inspired by the people, places, and histories that have shaped Black San Francisco and the Western Addition. Through a visual language that mimics collage, Khadar brings together historical references and community stories to create opportunities for viewers to engage with these histories at different levels.

The series highlights the following themes and community figures:

• Great Migration
• Maritime Workers
• Harlem of the West
• Reverend Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani
• Western Addition Community Organization (WACO)
• Mary Helen Rogers

“My poster series features illustrations that honor the visionary work of San Franciscans who resisted displacement within the Western Addition community,” said artist Amir Khadar. “Through this series I hope for viewers to reflect on the effects of large-scale displacement on Black San Franciscans, and to think critically about the impacts of urban renewal.”

The 2026 Art on Market Street Poster Series, Now & Then: Living Memories, focuses on previously unrecorded, newly unearthed, and unconventional San Francisco histories. Since 1992, SFAC has commissioned new artworks for the program annually in partnership with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Clear Channel. Now in its 34th year, the program has partnered with more than 130 artists since its inception, commissioning more than $1.2 million worth of art. Up to four artists are commissioned annually to create a series of at least six unique works responding to a San Francisco-specific theme. Other artists featured in the 2026 series include Adrian Arias, Colin Kimzey and Vida Kuang.

For more information about the Art on Market Street Poster Series, visit sf.gov/art-on-market-street-poster-series.

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About the Artist
Amir Khadar is a Sierra Leonean-American multidisciplinary artist, illustrator, and designer from Minneapolis, MN, currently living nomadically. Their practice explores ancestry, mythology, justice, imagination, and dreaming through the lens of Black diasporic and Indigenous traditions. Working across drawing, digital art, textiles, beadwork, sculpture, and design, Amir builds pre/post-colonial worlds where ritual, ancestral knowledge, and collective care prevail over imperialist and carceral logics.

About the Art on Market Street Poster Series
The San Francisco Arts Commission has commissioned new artworks from artists on an annual basis since 1992 in partnership with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Clear Channel. Now in its 33rd year, the program has partnered with over 130 artists since its inception, commissioning over $1.2 million worth of art, showcasing a wide breadth of artistic styles, themes and topics centered around San Francisco. Up to four artists are commissioned annually by the Arts Commission to create a series of at least six unique works of art that responds to a theme specific to San Francisco. To learn more, visit sf.gov/art-on-market-street-poster-series.

About the San Francisco Arts Commission 
The San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy. Our programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Investments, Public Art, SFAC Galleries, and Art Vendor Licensing. To learn more, visit https://www.sf.gov/artscommission