The Red Poppy Art House, formerly known as Porfilio Is, has come to be a flower that pulls from the soil of interdisciplinary innovation and creative activity. Borders are dissolved. A crossroads for the art located on the corner of 23rd and Folsom in San Francisco's Mission district.

The Red Poppy Art House is a working artist studio, gallery, and performance space dedicated to providing an accessible and intimate experience of the arts. The art house hosts interdisciplinary arts events, collaborative exhibitions, classes, small concerts, and programs for the children of the community. From the Art House's mission statement: "We are dedicated to providing an accessible and intimate experience of the arts. We are convinced that the joy and power of the arts lay in the creative process much more than in the creative product. We are committed to bringing that process into the public light." 7x7 SF magazine named the Art House San Francisco's Best All Around Art Venue "having established itself as the de facto hub of anything and everything culturally inclined." Visit the Art House here.

In 2004, we partnered with nuestro compañero Todd Brown, the Art House's founder, director, resident artist, to help support this soul pocket of culture through a critical stage. Eight months later, the Art House had progressed to the point where it was financially able to take off on its own.

One of the Art House's most exciting and successful projects is MAPP, the Mission Arts and Performance Project, named "BEST ART ALL OVER THE HOOD" in the SF Bay Guardian 2006's Best of the Bay issue. Every other first Saturday of the month, the MAPP starts off with a full afternoon of activities for youth. Mural & sidewalk art, face painting, tie dye, drum circle, dance, and healthy snacks. At night, the Mission barrio becomes alive with grassroots art, with art and performances in garages, basements, gardens... There's no way to see everything, but this is part of the fun. It happens all at once, like a creative bomb going off in the neighborhood.

Imagine walking down a neighborhood street on a summer evening in the mission neighborhood of San Francisco. There are dozens of people and some families strolling about with a festive spirit in the air. You realize that some sort of street/neighborhood event is in progress, but you don't see any big signs, or big speakers, or commercial street booths. People are entering garages. You hear a pulse of music lilting from its open doors and, to your surprise, it hardly looks like a garage at all. The walls are lined with paintings warmly lit by a mix of track lights and clamp-spots. There is light food and wine. Presently, the music stops and everyone's attention's falls on two individuals occupying a space in the back that clearly suggests a stage-like setting. The two begin a dialogue, a two-person act, both comical and serious. It lasts 15 minutes and the music returns and the mingling continues. You head down the street and immediately come upon another garage, this one full of works by mostly Colombian artists. There is some traditional music playing. Soon a salsa trio will follow, after a performance by a poet. You are struck by the openness of the people you observe. They appear welcoming and warmly receive new people who enter the garage. Someone hands you a flyer. It has a map with a list of garages with their corresponding locations, guest artists, and performers. The line-up spans painting, photography, performance-installations, poetry/spoken word, theater, dance, live jazz, Latin folk music, and dj's spinning down-tempo grooves. There's red garages and blue garages, and even a children's garage featuring children's art and educational material about developing arts programs for elementary schools. Some garages are connected with local non-profits, and a couple are hosted by local galleries, hosting a range of work from young emerging painters to others well seasoned in their careers. The majority appear to be hosted by the local residents. In fact some of the garages you enter seem to almost be a picnic of family and friends, not even having any art, people just taking part in the festive air and activity of the night. The diversity is well apparent, though different groups seem to be more centralized in certain locations. Much of the signs and information are in Spanish as well as English.