Kapwa Gardens is a Filipino-inspired oasis 5 years in the making.
San Francisco has dozens of awesome community spaces dotted around the City, and this latest project in SoMa doesn’t disappoint. On the weekend of April 16-17, Kultivate Labs will celebrate the grand opening of Kapwa Gardens, a parking lot now converted into a lively art and wellness space for the community.
The Kapwa Gardens website mentions a variety of plans for the space. Since COVID-19 hit, the design has been modified to accommodate social distancing, but long term plans still include the following:
- Health and wellness: sound baths, tai chi, yoga, Zumba, dance, and a youth basketball league.
- Art: Public murals on the walls that surround the space.
- Projection mapping: A Filipino shadow puppetry show from Bindlestiff studio.
- Musical performances: A performance stage for musical acts, DJs, theatre, and dance.
- Culinary destination: Rotating food trucks, tents, and kiosks.
- Senior empowerment: A partnership with the Filipino Community Development Corporation (FCDC) & the Mint Mall Resident Association to empower local seniors to run a small food kiosk.
At the moment, the garden is offering cocktail nights, yoga classes, self-defense classes, martial arts classes, free COVID testing, and more. Note that Kapwa Gardens will be closed this Sunday, April 18 for a private event. See the full calendar here.
According to Kapwa Gardens’ website, kapwa is a Filipino spiritual belief of interconnectedness. “Kapwa is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others. Kapwa is an extension of deep empathy.”
Kapwa Gardens started as the UNDSCVRD Court, a prototype that ran for 2 months to great success at the hands of Kultivate Labs, a nonprofit business accelerator. The City then awarded the company this large parking lot at 967 Mission, where they built this incredible new space. Visit Kapwa Gardens Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
[Featured Image: @kapwagardens via Instagram]