Nate Mahoney Studio

Tag: Performance art

  • Serendipity

    Serendipity

    Serendipity in the City: The Spark Behind My Small Business

    In starting my small business, The Urbanist, I was motivated by solid intuition, and the city itself conspired to give me a nudge. My venture, focused on helping people slow down and truly appreciate San Francisco, was born out of moments of pure serendipity.

    Serendipity and the power of community recently played a role. I joined The Kindredly, a community of entrepreneurs co-organized by good friends, Ariana and Luisa. At their recent event hosted by Mae, I met Tarita who introduced me to Cathy, the host of walking tours in the Castro. Kathy invited me to take her Cruising the Castro walking tour on the Saturday after black Friday.

    Cathy telling the story of the AIDS quilt.

    On Cathy’s Cruising the Castro walking tour, I met Heiko and Nicole visiting from southern Germany, currently, on a sabbatical year to explore the world. We admired the activist history of the neighborhood together, and then went our separate ways. Or so I thought.

    Later that very day, I was stationed at my pop-up kiosk at the Union Square Muni station, my kiosk business was barely a day old, when I looked up to see Heiko and Nicole. We laughed at the coincidence, and we all had the pink rose crystals from the Pink Triangle Park, which commemorates LGBTQ+ history in such a moving way. We even snapped a photo to send to Cathy, connecting the threads of our serendipitous meetings.

    We all had the crystals from our Castro walking tour that morning. Yana’s design for the SF walking map.

    As if the universe wasn’t done weaving the story, the couple booked my POPOS (Privately Owned Public Open Spaces) tour for Monday morning. That tour turned into another magical moment, Yana, the brilliant designer behind the San Francisco walking map, that we just finished printing at Colpa Press by Luca in the Mission, joined us just before our meeting to discuss plans for our New York City map design. I found myself guiding new friends from across the globe through hidden rooftop gardens and tucked-away plazas, while collaborating with a local creative talent I deeply admire. It just so happened that the couple’s next stop was to visit New York!

    That’s the heart of why I started this small business, The Urbanist: to create opportunities for spontaneous connection, discovery, and appreciation of the city. San Francisco is full of moments like this, glimpses of beauty and community, if we simply slow down to notice.

    If my first week in business at the kiosk was any sign, serendipity is not just a theme for my business, it’s at the core of my artist lifestyle, and the ethos for the experiences I hope to share with every curious person who engages in community with me.

    Yana, Heiko, and Nicole on my POPOS walking tour.

  • Kiosk in the Union Square Muni Station.

    Kiosk in the Union Square Muni Station.

    There’s something magical about Thanksgiving morning in the city. It’s quiet with many having traveled to the suburbs for turkey prep.

    However, this year instead of cooking, I had a last minute morning meeting with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, (SFMTA, better known as the iconic worm logo, MUNI) to finally get kiosk keys for the Union Square Muni Station.

    Autobus Worm, (2025) acrylic on canvas, 10” x 8” x 1” Nate Mahoney.

    This morning I was clutching a fresh set of keys that jingled like music for the holiday season!

    Today is about food, friends, and family for sure, but it’s a complex holiday that carries both joy and reflection. Embracing both sides of Thanksgiving allows us to celebrate family and food while honoring the truths of the past.

    This year was very special for me, it was about getting the keys to be ready for opening day, this Black Friday for theurbanist.com kiosk!

    I had been working behind the scenes with the city on permitting and with collaborators for months. Designing goods and services to help everyone enjoy the city like a local. We crafted our best welcoming urban conversation starters with welcome kits, walking maps, and our walking tours.

    Travelers and shoppers are about to rush through the station this Friday. I am ready to join the Black Friday buzz. There’s a unique thrill in opening the kiosk for business for the first time.

    I’m excited to be rolling up the shutters for the first time this Friday. The metallic click, click, click will feel like unlocking a tiny stage where personal, people-focused community building can happen.

    By the time the post-turkey crowds head to downtown for Black Friday, I’ll be right in the heart of it all. Union Square is already shimmering with lights, an ice skating rink, and the energy is contagious.

    Whether you’re a commuter, a holiday shopper, or just passing through, swing by our new kiosk. We’ve got Urbanist flair to share. You might even find a city-themed surprise or two in our just released 2026 Walking map design!

    2026 San Francisco Walking Map

    Here’s to starting the season by rolling up the gates at our new kiosk, with a smile, and to bring a whole lot of excitement for what’s ahead.

    Happy Thanksgiving and see you in person at the Kiosk!

    220 Geary Street San Francisco CA 94102. The kiosk is inside the Union Square Muni station.

    Land Acknowledgment. We acknowledge that this project takes place on the ancestral lands of Native Peoples. We acknowledge this not only in thanks to the Indigenous communities who have held a relationship with this land and stewarded it for generations, but also in recognition of the historical challenges. Additionally, we make this acknowledgement as a point of reflection for us all as we address these wrongs in an effort to heal our relationship with Native Peoples.

    Open 11 am to 6 pm for Black Friday, 2025.

    Open 24/7 at theurbanist.com

  • Prototyping

    Prototyping

    Thanks to Diane and Kate for leading a fun AI playground workshop.

    I’m using AI tools to create new products and services.

    For my art practice:

    1. AI Coffee: Scan a QR code sticker to order your coffee

    For my small business, The Urbanist.

    1. The Urbanist: Text Advice for how to use public transportation, food recommendations, and for city tips.
    2. The Urbanist. Safe Streets: Text message supportive advice for confidently navigating the city.

    Tool or Tools utilized: Figma Make, Twillio, Terminal, Python, Flask, Claude, Chat GPT. 

    What worked well: Figma make went very well for generating a prototype. Setting up an account and verifying phone numbers on Twillio was easy. 

    What didn’t: Getting python running on terminal was tricky, I’m new to coding so learning a lot asking Chat GPT how to get it to work 

    Next steps: Prototyping and coding this so it actually works with a phone number ported to Twillio. 

    Links: 

  • Retail inspiration

    Retail inspiration

    Walking into a retail store in person is still an inspirational experience for me.

    There you are, innocently looking for dish soap, and suddenly you’re holding a panini press you didn’t know you needed, imagining all the grilled cheese glory your future holds.

    IRL Retail has this magical way of telling you stories about the life you could lead, usually one with fresher breath, cooler sneakers, and at least three throw pillows more than you currently own.

    The beauty of it is that retail isn’t pretending to be high art. It’s basically a friendly neighbor who says, “Hey, want to see something cool?” and then hands you a vacuum that can also talk to your phone.

    It’s not sophisticated, but it is sneaky. One minute, you’re thinking about new running shoes; the next, you’re signing up for a half marathon you didn’t even know existed.

    What makes retail inspiring is its casual belief in your potential. Every aisle whispers tiny pep talks: “With this blender, you will love kale smoothies!” or “These pens will finally make you that organized person you always wanted to be.”

    It’s a low-stakes, high-impact theater of possibility. Sure, you might leave with a glow-in-the-dark dog leash and no dog, but isn’t that the kind of optimism life needs?

  • The Urbanist

    The Urbanist

    Why did I create an urban-focused small business?

    I’m working on refining my ‘why’ statement as a work in progress:

    I created a small business to help people thrive in the city at the intersection of local community, urban inspiration, art, and design. 

    My passion to support people in the city is based on my own experience. I looked for a place to call home after leaving the suburbs. I moved to the city looking for creative inspiration and queer safe space. But, it was a challenge to adapt without knowing how to find belonging and the high cost of living had me operating in survival mode. 

    Now, the city is my home, I want to put all of my urban problem solving skills to good use, helping others[a] here feel welcome and able to find what they are looking for by creating goods, services, and community building. This is how I want to show up as an artist[b] in the city and how I want to interact with the world. 

    When I started this business, I focused on things people needed. I interviewed people and curated a welcome kit through partnerships with other small businesses. The first Welcome to San Francisco Kits were sold to brides to give to their out of town wedding guests in 2014. These kits now exist as a resource for all kinds of visitors – whether visiting or relocating, their contents offer locally made products that help welcome you to the city that has so much to offer.

    I want to grow and become a sustainable business by evolving these welcome kits and to offer services that build community[c]. It’s a future goal is to help people find affordable[d] housing in the city. 

    I thoroughly enjoy living in the city and want to also make my job enjoyable. I celebrate the serendipity that occurs when people come together and I want to use humor and inject joy into my process, making it healthy, fun, and the end result both lively, human, and engaging. I want this small business to be able to thrive while maintaining its unique voice in the fast-paced urban environment.

    —The Urbanist

    Welcoming essentials for urban explorers. Taking the sense of secrecy out of urban exploration while leaving all the adventure, The Urbanist aims to offer mindful, sustainable, and essential services to the community, fostering a sense of accessibility and familiarity for visitors, tourists, and relocating urban explorers.

  • AI Coffee

    AI Coffee

    A performance art project to create a pop-up coffee shop that runs on an experimental Chat GPT conversation. The whole thing is a mechanical Turk. Perhaps this project should be called OZ coffee. In reference to the Wizard of Oz, who is always pulling levers behind the scenes.


    Original Proposal UX flow:


    1. Scan a QR code at the coffee pop up to begin a SMS chat conversation to order your coffee.

    2. Prompt: What kind of coffee would you like and can I have your name for the order? (It’s free)

    3. The customers name is hand written on the counter by a wand to suggest what could be automated with the delivery process while a lively conversation goes back and forth about the coffee order.

    4. No matter what the customer orders, they just get a regular coffee from a basic Keurig machine behind the curtain.

    5. The last message in the conversation will be asking to provide a 1 star review to be helpful to future customers. ⭐️

    Check out this review of AI coffee on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/Fc3MiDAqS2YVCxx57?g_st=i

    Over 100,000 views on Google maps!

    Sound effects from an espresso machine steaming milk will be played during the conversation.


    Scan the QR code to start a conversational AI coffee order.

    I made printed stickers and they are perfect for your laptop! Reach out if you’d like to order one.

    Screenshot