Christopher Statton

Christopher Statton is an American arts administrator, artist, philanthropist, and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Statton is best known for his role in establishing San Francisco’s oldest continuously running theater, the Roxie Theater as a non-profit during his four-year tenure as Executive Director, 2010 – 2013.[1] In 2013 he was awarded the Marlon Riggs Award by the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for “his significant contribution to San Francisco’s film community through the Roxie Theater over the past four years.” [2] In 2013, San Francisco District 9 Supervisor David Campos awarded Statton with a Certificate of Honor for his “important and tireless work with the Roxie.” Statton resigned from the Roxie in 2013 due to health concerns.

"Wall of Shame & Solutions by artists Christopher Statton, Megan Wilson, and Mike Reger on Clarion Alley, San Francisco

Born with haemophilia, Statton was one of the 6,000 – 10,000 hemophiliacs to be infected with both HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated haemophilia blood products in the early eighties by the pharmaceutical companies that were producing concentrate factor VIII, namely the Bayer Corporation. Living with these diseases for all or most of his life (he's had HIV and hepatitis C since he was four-years-old) has led Statton to be a fierce activist for social and economic justice.[3] In 2006 he co-founded the project Sidewalk Sideshow with Reverend Paul Gaffney as a project of the Marin Interfaith Street Chaplaincy. The project produces music shows with San Rafael’s street and homeless community. In 2013 Statton co-launched the Roxie Theater’s Lights. Camera. Action! Awards to honor Bay Area social justice documentary filmmakers. The inaugural Awards honored the filmmaking team Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (filmmaker) and filmmaker Hima B for the significant contributions these filmmakers have had in bringing attention and awareness to the challenges of those living with HIV/AIDS.[4] Currently Statton is working with The Gubbio Project, which provides an average of 100 people from the street community with safety and rest on the pews in the sanctuary of St. Boniface church in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood each weekday from 6am to 3pm. The Gubbio Project also provides toiletries, blankets, clothing vouchers, referrals, clean bathrooms, and haircuts for its community.

Statton is also an artist and one of the core organizers of the Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP). In 2014 he collaborated with artists and CAMP organizers Megan Wilson and Mike Reger to create the mural "Wall of Shame & Solutions" on Clarion Alley in San Francisco’s Mission District to call out the City’s government officials on the highly contested policies that are impacting the changing character of San Francisco.[5] In 2015 Statton collaborated with poet Tony Robles to create the mural "No Clear-Cutting Our Community" on Clarion Alley, protesting Forest City Enterprises' 5M development in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. [6]

Statton and collaborator Megan Wilson launched the public project Better Homes & Gardens Today in fall 2014, creating a limited edition of 300 pairs of hand-painted signs with the word “Home” in different languages accompanied by a flower. Statton and Wilson state the project’s goals to: “1) Heighten awareness around 'home' and the realities of homelessness; 2) Cultivate a dialog within communities and amongst disparate groups – especially with those in the tech sector who are having a significant impact on housing instability in the Bay Area - about the funding and policy change that is needed to help end homelessness; and 3) To raise money to benefit the Gubbio Project, the Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco, and At The Crossroads, organizations working to address homelessness in San Francisco.” [7]

References

  1. ↑ Chris Statton resigns from Roxie Cinema board
  2. ↑ 2013 SAN FRANCISCO FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS
  3. ↑ 2013 The Most Positive of Positive People
  4. ↑ Roxie fundraiser fetes queer filmmakers
  5. ↑ Housing round-up: LGBT tenants, a singing protest, and a very sad mural
  6. ↑ http://missionlocal.org/2015/08/developments-in-development-opposition/
  7. ↑ Storefront Home, Artists Explore Homelessness

External links

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