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"content": "\u003cp>In the weeks of protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments across the country became the focus of intense, righteous energy. For too long, the demonstrators argued, these representations of oppression and violence — sometimes, of outright sedition — had presided over public spaces, warping our understanding of America’s past.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some instances, the statues had been the subject of years of organizing and petitions for removal, to no avail. So in 2020, people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824381/historical-figures-reassessed-after-george-floyds-death\">took matters into their own hands\u003c/a>, either tagging the monuments’ pedestals, pouring red paint on them or toppling the statues altogether. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"919\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-1536x706.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2048x941.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A monument to invisible labor\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Civic Center is home to nearly a quarter of the city’s monuments, the most prominent of which sits between the main library and the Asian Art Museum. Created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger, the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> tells a selective and glorified story of California’s founding, illustrated by the white Americans (plus a few Spanish and Mexican leaders) who conquered the land and its Indigenous people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Memorializing the everyday\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"885\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991397\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-160x71.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-768x340.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-1536x679.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2048x906.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Artist Adrián Arias works on a ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros.’ Right: ‘A Sweet Route’ at the Carnaval parade in San Francisco on May 24, 2026. (Courtesy of Adrián Arias)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"brightly painted wooden monument in park with playground behind\" class=\"wp-image-13991403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros’ at Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission District of San Francisco on July 6, 2026, honors and celebrates immigrant ice cream vendors. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Monuments to the future\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the most up-to-date list of Shaping Legacy artworks and events, \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">\u003cem>click here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stacey Carter’s ‘CRANE project’ will illuminate the Hunters Point Shipyard Gantry Crane Oct. 9–11 and 16–18.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the weeks of protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments across the country became the focus of intense, righteous energy. For too long, the demonstrators argued, these representations of oppression and violence — sometimes, of outright sedition — had presided over public spaces, warping our understanding of America’s past.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the weeks of protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments across the country became the focus of intense, righteous energy. For too long, the demonstrators argued, these representations of oppression and violence — sometimes, of outright sedition — had presided over public spaces, warping our understanding of America’s past.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In some instances, the statues had been the subject of years of organizing and petitions for removal, to no avail. So in 2020, people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824381/historical-figures-reassessed-after-george-floyds-death\">took matters into their own hands\u003c/a>, either tagging the monuments’ pedestals, pouring red paint on them or toppling the statues altogether. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In some instances, the statues had been the subject of years of organizing and petitions for removal, to no avail. So in 2020, people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824381/historical-figures-reassessed-after-george-floyds-death\">took matters into their own hands\u003c/a>, either tagging the monuments’ pedestals, pouring red paint on them or toppling the statues altogether. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-1536x706.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2048x941.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "A monument to invisible labor",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A monument to invisible labor\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A monument to invisible labor\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Civic Center is home to nearly a quarter of the city’s monuments, the most prominent of which sits between the main library and the Asian Art Museum. Created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger, the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> tells a selective and glorified story of California’s founding, illustrated by the white Americans (plus a few Spanish and Mexican leaders) who conquered the land and its Indigenous people. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Civic Center is home to nearly a quarter of the city’s monuments, the most prominent of which sits between the main library and the Asian Art Museum. Created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger, the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> tells a selective and glorified story of California’s founding, illustrated by the white Americans (plus a few Spanish and Mexican leaders) who conquered the land and its Indigenous people. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "‘More work to be done’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991397\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-160x71.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-768x340.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-1536x679.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2048x906.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Artist Adrián Arias works on a ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros.’ Right: ‘A Sweet Route’ at the Carnaval parade in San Francisco on May 24, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991397\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Artist Adrián Arias works on a ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros.’ Right: ‘A Sweet Route’ at the Carnaval parade in San Francisco on May 24, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"brightly painted wooden monument in park with playground behind\" class=\"wp-image-13991403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros’ at Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission District of San Francisco on July 6, 2026, honors and celebrates immigrant ice cream vendors.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the most up-to-date list of Shaping Legacy artworks and events, \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">\u003cem>click here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stacey Carter’s ‘CRANE project’ will illuminate the Hunters Point Shipyard Gantry Crane Oct. 9–11 and 16–18.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the weeks of protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments across the country became the focus of intense, righteous energy. For too long, the demonstrators argued, these representations of oppression and violence — sometimes, of outright sedition — had presided over public spaces, warping our understanding of America’s past.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some instances, the statues had been the subject of years of organizing and petitions for removal, to no avail. So in 2020, people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824381/historical-figures-reassessed-after-george-floyds-death\">took matters into their own hands\u003c/a>, either tagging the monuments’ pedestals, pouring red paint on them or toppling the statues altogether. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"919\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-1536x706.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2048x941.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A monument to invisible labor\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Civic Center is home to nearly a quarter of the city’s monuments, the most prominent of which sits between the main library and the Asian Art Museum. Created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger, the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> tells a selective and glorified story of California’s founding, illustrated by the white Americans (plus a few Spanish and Mexican leaders) who conquered the land and its Indigenous people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Memorializing the everyday\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"885\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991397\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-160x71.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-768x340.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-1536x679.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2048x906.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Artist Adrián Arias works on a ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros.’ Right: ‘A Sweet Route’ at the Carnaval parade in San Francisco on May 24, 2026. (Courtesy of Adrián Arias)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"brightly painted wooden monument in park with playground behind\" class=\"wp-image-13991403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros’ at Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission District of San Francisco on July 6, 2026, honors and celebrates immigrant ice cream vendors. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Monuments to the future\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the most up-to-date list of Shaping Legacy artworks and events, \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">\u003cem>click here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stacey Carter’s ‘CRANE project’ will illuminate the Hunters Point Shipyard Gantry Crane Oct. 9–11 and 16–18.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "nude-sculpture-embarcadero-seeks-another-six-month-extension-sf",
"title": "‘Temporary’ Public Art Seeks Another Six-Month Extension From SF",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s been nearly a year since \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, Marco Cochrane’s 48-foot-tall metal sculpture of a nude woman, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">arrived at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza\u003c/a>. Now the project is seeking \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--february-18-2026--visual-arts-committee-meeting\">approval from city agencies\u003c/a> to extend the artwork’s temporary installation for another six months, until Oct. 5, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> was originally approved for a period of six months to one year by the San Francisco Arts Commission, which oversees the city’s public art, and Recreation and Parks, which oversees Embarcadero Plaza. In September 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/30/embaracadero-naked-lady-statue-extension-march-2026/\">SF Standard\u003c/a> reported that Recreation and Parks had officially extended the sculpture’s stay through March 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without another extension, the sculpture will be deinstalled by April 7, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13981940']The piece is part of the ever-growing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13981940/big-art-loop-burning-man-san-francisco-sijbrandij-foundation\">Big Art Loop\u003c/a>, an initiative funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation to place up to 100 pieces of temporary, large-scale public art around San Francisco. The project installed around 20 pieces of sculpture in city parks and along SF Port property in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A representative from Building 180, the agency that leads the project’s curation and operations, will make a presentation to the San Francisco Arts Commission’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--february-18-2026--visual-arts-committee-meeting\">Visual Arts Committee\u003c/a> on Wednesday, Feb. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The six-month extension must be approved by the Visual Arts Committee, the full Arts Commission and then Recreation and Parks. Both the Feb. 18 Visual Arts Committee meeting and the full Arts Commission meeting on March 2 will provide opportunities for public comment on the proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson confirmed that Recreation and Parks does not incur any costs from the installation of \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13986545']In a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/R-Evolution_Extension_Proposal_020926.pdf\">presentation\u003c/a> created by Building 180 and the Big Art Loop for next week’s meeting, \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is framed as a convenient placeholder until Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park renovations begin. Recreation and Parks \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/1819/Embarcadero-Plaza-and-Sue-Bierman-Park-R\">currently lists\u003c/a> that project’s construction start date as “TBD.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other arguments to extend the sculpture’s stay include a form of advertising for the Big Art Loop itself. “Extending the current installation sustains momentum while encouraging artists to submit proposals for future opportunities, rather than pausing activity at the site,” the presentation reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Surveys undertaken by Building 180 and the Big Art Loop show 85% of respondents support extending the artwork’s installation. The presentation does not detail how many people were surveyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--february-18-2026--visual-arts-committee-meeting\">Visual Arts Committee meeting\u003c/a> will take place Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. in City Hall’s room 416.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Big Art Loop organizers propose to keep ‘R-Evolution’ at Embarcadero Plaza until October 2026.\r\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s been nearly a year since \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, Marco Cochrane’s 48-foot-tall metal sculpture of a nude woman, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">arrived at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza\u003c/a>. Now the project is seeking \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--february-18-2026--visual-arts-committee-meeting\">approval from city agencies\u003c/a> to extend the artwork’s temporary installation for another six months, until Oct. 5, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> was originally approved for a period of six months to one year by the San Francisco Arts Commission, which oversees the city’s public art, and Recreation and Parks, which oversees Embarcadero Plaza. In September 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/30/embaracadero-naked-lady-statue-extension-march-2026/\">SF Standard\u003c/a> reported that Recreation and Parks had officially extended the sculpture’s stay through March 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without another extension, the sculpture will be deinstalled by April 7, 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The piece is part of the ever-growing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13981940/big-art-loop-burning-man-san-francisco-sijbrandij-foundation\">Big Art Loop\u003c/a>, an initiative funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation to place up to 100 pieces of temporary, large-scale public art around San Francisco. The project installed around 20 pieces of sculpture in city parks and along SF Port property in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A representative from Building 180, the agency that leads the project’s curation and operations, will make a presentation to the San Francisco Arts Commission’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--february-18-2026--visual-arts-committee-meeting\">Visual Arts Committee\u003c/a> on Wednesday, Feb. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The six-month extension must be approved by the Visual Arts Committee, the full Arts Commission and then Recreation and Parks. Both the Feb. 18 Visual Arts Committee meeting and the full Arts Commission meeting on March 2 will provide opportunities for public comment on the proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson confirmed that Recreation and Parks does not incur any costs from the installation of \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/R-Evolution_Extension_Proposal_020926.pdf\">presentation\u003c/a> created by Building 180 and the Big Art Loop for next week’s meeting, \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is framed as a convenient placeholder until Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park renovations begin. Recreation and Parks \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/1819/Embarcadero-Plaza-and-Sue-Bierman-Park-R\">currently lists\u003c/a> that project’s construction start date as “TBD.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other arguments to extend the sculpture’s stay include a form of advertising for the Big Art Loop itself. “Extending the current installation sustains momentum while encouraging artists to submit proposals for future opportunities, rather than pausing activity at the site,” the presentation reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Surveys undertaken by Building 180 and the Big Art Loop show 85% of respondents support extending the artwork’s installation. The presentation does not detail how many people were surveyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--february-18-2026--visual-arts-committee-meeting\">Visual Arts Committee meeting\u003c/a> will take place Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. in City Hall’s room 416.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Art needs money. That’s especially true in the case of large public sculptures. Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em>, a giant bow and arrow embedded in the grass at Rincon Park, wouldn’t have landed in San Francisco in 2002 without funding from Gap founders Donald and Doris F. Fisher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/claes-oldenburg-coosje-van-bruggen-thinking-big/\">Claes Oldenburg + Coosje van Bruggen: Thinking Big\u003c/a>\u003c/em> wouldn’t exist without the Fishers either. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sfmoma\">San Francisco Museum of Modern Art\u003c/a>’s new exhibition is as much a story of patronage as it is of the two modernist artists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13985145']Ten years ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11574512/shiny-new-sfmoma-a-whos-who-of-20th-century-art-so-whats-missing\">SFMOMA reopened\u003c/a> with nearly six times its former gallery space to accommodate the Fisher Collection. The Fishers’ 730-piece modern art collection, in a 100-year loan to SFMOMA, has thoroughly transformed the museum, much like one of Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s monumental sculptures transforms space around it. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Old and new modernity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> kicks off another kind of transformation. It’s the first gallery of \u003cem>Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10\u003c/em>, a full reinstallation of the collection (floors four through six are expected to reopen April 18). It will command approximately 60,000 of the museum’s 170,000 square feet of exhibition space. And the exhibition’s designers have taken the opportunity to invest a 21st-century modernity into an art museum founded in 1935.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large, colorful photos stretch across the walls, illustrating Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s public sculptures in situ. Object labels feature quotes from the artists. \u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> brings together small-scale models the Fishers collected of eight monumental public sculptures Oldenburg and van Bruggen made around the world. Smaller maquettes sit in glass vitrines while larger models sizable enough to look like finished sculptures sit on risers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show is a revision of what is known as a “white cube gallery,” a stark white-walled presentation of objects typically without much explanation. The inspiration for Apple Stores and third-wave coffee shops was a type of purist modernism championed by mid-20th-century art critic Clement Greenberg. For SFMOMA’s Chief Education and Community Engagement Officer Gamynne Guillotte, the white cube gallery is now a “period room,” an inherited historical vestige she describes as “an austere white space, the hard benches with no place to sit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is the museum of 2026?” Guillotte asks. “What does it look like if it’s not a white cube?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000.jpg\" alt=\"model of large-scale sculpture of matches and matchbook, partially burned\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1647\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000-160x132.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000-768x632.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000-1536x1265.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, ‘Sculpture in the Form of a Match Cover,’ 1987. \u003ccite>(SFMOMA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Private money, public spaces\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> arrives in a city that is not at all sure what it wants to do about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982175/big-art-loop-sijbrandij-foundation-san-francisco-public-art\">public sculpture\u003c/a>. Controversially, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983681/epicenter-skateboarding-book-review-jacob-rosenberg-vaillancourt-fountain-preservation\">Vaillancourt Fountain\u003c/a> is slated for storage, while a billionaire’s foundation has installed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">sculpture of a giant nude woman\u003c/a> outside the Ferry Building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The persistent — and unsubstantiated — rumor that \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> was commissioned to prevent any building from ever blocking the bay view from Gap’s headquarters across the street indicates a longstanding discomfort with the outsized power wealthy individuals wield to shape space for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ted Mann, SFMOMA’s project assistant curator for the Fisher Collection, noted that the Fishers did not dictate the form of Cupid’s Span nor would van Bruggen and Oldenburg have accepted it: “They really insisted that they maintain full authorship and control over the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Oldenburg and van Bruggen\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Claes Oldenburg (1929–2022) and Coosje van Bruggen (1942–2009) began their three-decade-long collaboration in 1976, one year after they met. Oldenburg was installing a sculpture at the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands, where van Bruggen was working as a curator. They wed in 1977.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oldenburg had built his career with renditions of everyday objects that playfully flipped their characteristics. Small objects became large. Hard objects became comically soft — e.g., \u003cem>Soft Typewriter\u003c/em>, a collapsing vinyl pillow of a nonfunctional machine. Van Bruggen studied art history at the University of Groningen before working as a curator at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their collaborations are characterized by humor and a novel approach to monuments. (It was van Bruggen’s idea to point the arrow of \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> into the ground as if the god of love had crashed into San Francisco, leaving more than just his heart behind.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As might be expected, a fabrication model of the sculpture is on view in \u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em>. “The Fisher Collection is amazing,” says Mann. “It has enabled the museum by bringing works that the museum would not otherwise have the capacity to collect from a high-value perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985206\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1499px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000.jpg\" alt=\"sculpture of apple core tilted on round pedestal\" width=\"1499\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985206\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000.jpg 1499w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000-768x1025.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000-1151x1536.jpg 1151w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1499px) 100vw, 1499px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, ‘Geometric Apple Core,’ 1991. \u003ccite>(SFMOMA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s true, we are lucky to be able to see playful works like Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/FC.576/\">Inverted Tie\u003c/a>\u003c/em> in person. At the same time, we might wonder how the choices made by private collectors shape the histories of art presented by museums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full-scale \u003cem>Inverted Tie\u003c/em>, a striped necktie coiling upwards like a charmed snake, stands in the middle of Frankfurt’s banking district. Made for DZ Bank, the 39-foot-tall sculpture pokes fun at the strangled and strangling habits of white-collar life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Coosje especially talks about [their sculptures] as kind of humane statements because there is this relation to the human body,” Mann says. At full scale, their monuments skewer domesticity with humor — it’s an effect that doesn’t quite happen at two to three feet. The museum visitor instead regards someone else’s domesticity: the unusually famous and unusually valuable personal art collection of the Fishers. Did they keep the maquettes in their living room? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13982175']Standing tall over the \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> model in SFMOMA’s gallery was its own kind of defamiliarization. It was my turn to be the giant. Then, when visiting \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> in Rincon Park, I wondered at my own smallness against the overwhelming largeness of art. That dual experience of donor largess — its ability to provide wonder \u003cem>and\u003c/em> its distorting scale — shapes the 21st-century art museum. It’s visible in endowed museum positions focused on donor preferences, in loans and gifts of artwork selected by donor taste, not to mention the tax breaks doled out to museum benefactors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guillotte hopes the new exhibition design choices in the Fisher Collection rehang create “an agora, like a commons.” So far, the redesign successfully addresses one of a museum’s greatest challenges: intimidation. Unlike a white cube gallery, \u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> offers numerous conversation starters. No need to read Wikipedia before your visit to have something to say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re making something that feels not quite like a living room,” Guillotte says, “but a space of warmth and exchange, I hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/claes-oldenburg-coosje-van-bruggen-thinking-big/\">Claes Oldenburg + Coosje van Bruggen: Thinking Big\u003c/a>’ is now on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (151 Third St., San Francisco).\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Art needs money. That’s especially true in the case of large public sculptures. Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em>, a giant bow and arrow embedded in the grass at Rincon Park, wouldn’t have landed in San Francisco in 2002 without funding from Gap founders Donald and Doris F. Fisher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/claes-oldenburg-coosje-van-bruggen-thinking-big/\">Claes Oldenburg + Coosje van Bruggen: Thinking Big\u003c/a>\u003c/em> wouldn’t exist without the Fishers either. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sfmoma\">San Francisco Museum of Modern Art\u003c/a>’s new exhibition is as much a story of patronage as it is of the two modernist artists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Ten years ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11574512/shiny-new-sfmoma-a-whos-who-of-20th-century-art-so-whats-missing\">SFMOMA reopened\u003c/a> with nearly six times its former gallery space to accommodate the Fisher Collection. The Fishers’ 730-piece modern art collection, in a 100-year loan to SFMOMA, has thoroughly transformed the museum, much like one of Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s monumental sculptures transforms space around it. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Old and new modernity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> kicks off another kind of transformation. It’s the first gallery of \u003cem>Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10\u003c/em>, a full reinstallation of the collection (floors four through six are expected to reopen April 18). It will command approximately 60,000 of the museum’s 170,000 square feet of exhibition space. And the exhibition’s designers have taken the opportunity to invest a 21st-century modernity into an art museum founded in 1935.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large, colorful photos stretch across the walls, illustrating Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s public sculptures in situ. Object labels feature quotes from the artists. \u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> brings together small-scale models the Fishers collected of eight monumental public sculptures Oldenburg and van Bruggen made around the world. Smaller maquettes sit in glass vitrines while larger models sizable enough to look like finished sculptures sit on risers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show is a revision of what is known as a “white cube gallery,” a stark white-walled presentation of objects typically without much explanation. The inspiration for Apple Stores and third-wave coffee shops was a type of purist modernism championed by mid-20th-century art critic Clement Greenberg. For SFMOMA’s Chief Education and Community Engagement Officer Gamynne Guillotte, the white cube gallery is now a “period room,” an inherited historical vestige she describes as “an austere white space, the hard benches with no place to sit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is the museum of 2026?” Guillotte asks. “What does it look like if it’s not a white cube?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000.jpg\" alt=\"model of large-scale sculpture of matches and matchbook, partially burned\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1647\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000-160x132.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000-768x632.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/11.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Sculpture-in-the-Form-of-a-Match-Cover_2000-1536x1265.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, ‘Sculpture in the Form of a Match Cover,’ 1987. \u003ccite>(SFMOMA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Private money, public spaces\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> arrives in a city that is not at all sure what it wants to do about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982175/big-art-loop-sijbrandij-foundation-san-francisco-public-art\">public sculpture\u003c/a>. Controversially, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13983681/epicenter-skateboarding-book-review-jacob-rosenberg-vaillancourt-fountain-preservation\">Vaillancourt Fountain\u003c/a> is slated for storage, while a billionaire’s foundation has installed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">sculpture of a giant nude woman\u003c/a> outside the Ferry Building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The persistent — and unsubstantiated — rumor that \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> was commissioned to prevent any building from ever blocking the bay view from Gap’s headquarters across the street indicates a longstanding discomfort with the outsized power wealthy individuals wield to shape space for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ted Mann, SFMOMA’s project assistant curator for the Fisher Collection, noted that the Fishers did not dictate the form of Cupid’s Span nor would van Bruggen and Oldenburg have accepted it: “They really insisted that they maintain full authorship and control over the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Oldenburg and van Bruggen\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Claes Oldenburg (1929–2022) and Coosje van Bruggen (1942–2009) began their three-decade-long collaboration in 1976, one year after they met. Oldenburg was installing a sculpture at the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands, where van Bruggen was working as a curator. They wed in 1977.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oldenburg had built his career with renditions of everyday objects that playfully flipped their characteristics. Small objects became large. Hard objects became comically soft — e.g., \u003cem>Soft Typewriter\u003c/em>, a collapsing vinyl pillow of a nonfunctional machine. Van Bruggen studied art history at the University of Groningen before working as a curator at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their collaborations are characterized by humor and a novel approach to monuments. (It was van Bruggen’s idea to point the arrow of \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> into the ground as if the god of love had crashed into San Francisco, leaving more than just his heart behind.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As might be expected, a fabrication model of the sculpture is on view in \u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em>. “The Fisher Collection is amazing,” says Mann. “It has enabled the museum by bringing works that the museum would not otherwise have the capacity to collect from a high-value perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985206\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1499px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000.jpg\" alt=\"sculpture of apple core tilted on round pedestal\" width=\"1499\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985206\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000.jpg 1499w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000-768x1025.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/10.-Claes-Oldenburg-and-Coosje-van-Bruggen-Geometric-Apple-Core_2000-1151x1536.jpg 1151w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1499px) 100vw, 1499px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, ‘Geometric Apple Core,’ 1991. \u003ccite>(SFMOMA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s true, we are lucky to be able to see playful works like Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/FC.576/\">Inverted Tie\u003c/a>\u003c/em> in person. At the same time, we might wonder how the choices made by private collectors shape the histories of art presented by museums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full-scale \u003cem>Inverted Tie\u003c/em>, a striped necktie coiling upwards like a charmed snake, stands in the middle of Frankfurt’s banking district. Made for DZ Bank, the 39-foot-tall sculpture pokes fun at the strangled and strangling habits of white-collar life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Coosje especially talks about [their sculptures] as kind of humane statements because there is this relation to the human body,” Mann says. At full scale, their monuments skewer domesticity with humor — it’s an effect that doesn’t quite happen at two to three feet. The museum visitor instead regards someone else’s domesticity: the unusually famous and unusually valuable personal art collection of the Fishers. Did they keep the maquettes in their living room? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Standing tall over the \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> model in SFMOMA’s gallery was its own kind of defamiliarization. It was my turn to be the giant. Then, when visiting \u003cem>Cupid’s Span\u003c/em> in Rincon Park, I wondered at my own smallness against the overwhelming largeness of art. That dual experience of donor largess — its ability to provide wonder \u003cem>and\u003c/em> its distorting scale — shapes the 21st-century art museum. It’s visible in endowed museum positions focused on donor preferences, in loans and gifts of artwork selected by donor taste, not to mention the tax breaks doled out to museum benefactors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guillotte hopes the new exhibition design choices in the Fisher Collection rehang create “an agora, like a commons.” So far, the redesign successfully addresses one of a museum’s greatest challenges: intimidation. Unlike a white cube gallery, \u003cem>Thinking Big\u003c/em> offers numerous conversation starters. No need to read Wikipedia before your visit to have something to say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re making something that feels not quite like a living room,” Guillotte says, “but a space of warmth and exchange, I hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/claes-oldenburg-coosje-van-bruggen-thinking-big/\">Claes Oldenburg + Coosje van Bruggen: Thinking Big\u003c/a>’ is now on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (151 Third St., San Francisco).\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "big-art-loop-sijbrandij-foundation-san-francisco-public-art",
"title": "Who Has a Say in the Flood of Public Art Coming to San Francisco?",
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"headTitle": "Who Has a Say in the Flood of Public Art Coming to San Francisco? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982183\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982183\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000.jpg\" alt=\"collage of sculptures superimposed over city skyline\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Already installed and proposed large-scale sculptures that will make up the Sijbrandij Foundation’s Big Art Loop, created by artists Dana Albany, Marco Cochrane, Peter Hazel, El Nino, Mathias Gmachl, Kristen Berg, Davis McCarty, Michael Christian, Bryan Tedrick, DeWitt Godfrey and Chris Wollard. \u003ccite>(Photo by Beth LaBerge/KQED; Collage by Sarah Hotchkiss)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People who make \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/public-art\">public art\u003c/a> are the first to tell you that it is not a speedy process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took eight long years for Jesse Schlesinger’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://kiosk.sfartscommission.org/objects-1/info?query=_ID%20%3D%20%22ALL%22%20and%20Disp_Obj_Type%20%3D%20%22Sculpture%22%20and%20Disp_Maker_1%20%3D%20%22Jesse%20Schlesinger%22&sort=7&objectName=Cover%20Record:%20Pacific%20Transit\">Pacific Transit\u003c/a>\u003c/i> to come to fruition in the Outer Sunset neighborhood, where the San Francisco Arts Commission installed his 10 bronze, stone and cast-concrete sculptures in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As challenging as those years were — and on occasion they intensely pushed the limits of my patience and were totally exasperating,” he says, “in the end, and what kept me at it, was that I would be afforded the opportunity to make work of this scale.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the SFAC commission came requirements for permanence and durability in a coastal environment. Both he and SFAC staff worked hard to reach out to and get buy-in from the neighborhood’s residents and small businesses, who in turn helped keep the project alive during the years of delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982179\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982179\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000.jpg\" alt=\"cast bronze driftwood, round stone and concrete plinths on city street\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three of the 10 pieces in Jesse Schlesinger’s ‘Pacific Transit,’ 2024; Bronze and stone on concrete at Judah and the Great Highway. \u003ccite>(Photo by Ethan Kaplan; Courtesy of the San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In stark contrast, the \u003ca href=\"https://sijbrandijfoundation.org/public-big-art\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a> has managed to place temporary public art around San Francisco with great speed. Since late 2024, the nonprofit established by billionaire Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder of GitLab, has funded eight pieces of “big art,” and plans to install another dozen along San Francisco’s eastern waterfront by the end of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13981940']Last week, the foundation and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DPPoC-QkjDk/?hl=en\">Mayor Daniel Lurie\u003c/a> announced the launch of a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13981940/big-art-loop-burning-man-san-francisco-sijbrandij-foundation\">Big Art Loop\u003c/a>” around the city, aiming to install up to 100 pieces of temporary large-scale public art over the next three years. Many of those pieces, inevitably, will be leftovers from Burning Man. “We’re fans of big art in general,” Sijbrandij told KQED, “but of course, yes, in San Francisco, a lot of the big art people make does visit Burning Man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this project, the Sijbrandij Foundation and the art agency Building 180, which oversees curation and operations, will radically alter the aesthetic and physical landscape of San Francisco. And they’ll do it with little to no oversight from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/about-commission/policies-guidelines/Public-ArtCivic-Art-Collection#2.%20Charter\">arts commission tasked by our city charter\u003c/a> with the approval of all public artworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: A billionaire aims to display 100 pieces of large-scale art around the city, which he’s allowed to do simply because he’s paying for it. And the city of San Francisco isn’t saying no to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981941\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000.jpg\" alt=\"recycled metal sculpture of mermaid on waterfront\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dana Albany’s ‘Coralee,’ installed at San Francisco Pier 1/2 as part of the Big Art Loop. \u003ccite>(Arianna Cunha)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Time to consider that public process’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To be clear, the Sijbrandij Foundation and Building 180 have gone about the Big Art Loop project through legal channels, completely by the book. The project’s first temporary art installations at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973169/temporary-public-art-great-highway-ocean-beach-plans\">Sunset Dunes\u003c/a>, in \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2339\">Golden Gate Park\u003c/a> and at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">Embarcadero Plaza\u003c/a> were all accomplished in partnership with the Recreation and Parks department, and passed through the Art Commission for approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The newest Sijbrandij-funded installation, Dana Albany’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13981940/big-art-loop-burning-man-san-francisco-sijbrandij-foundation\">Coralee\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, a recycled metal and glass mermaid, is situated at Pier ½, on Port of San Francisco property. It and the 11 pieces to come, stretching from Fisherman’s Wharf to Heron’s Head Park, were approved by the Port’s executive director, per the Port’s Public Art Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just because the Big Art Loop team has found a way to install large-scale sculpture in public spaces by going through city agencies that \u003ci>don’t\u003c/i> specialize in art, doesn’t mean it should.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sijbrandij told KQED that the project was partially inspired by how much big art is \u003ci>not\u003c/i> on display. “It gets built, these amazing pieces, and they’re sitting around in storage,” he said. “When I learned that, I was like, ‘Let’s get them out of storage and get them into the city so that they can enrich people’s days.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jill Manton, a public art professional and the former director of the SFAC’s Public Art Trust and Special Initiatives, believes the city could use more temporary public art. “I think there’s great benefits on many levels,” she told KQED, “to introducing art to the public in a way that they don’t feel like, ‘Wow, I don’t really love this. I have to live with it forever.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Manton wrote the 2012 legislation that created the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/about-commission/policies-guidelines/public-art-trust-fact-sheet\">Public Art Trust\u003c/a>, which allows private developers to put their \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/privately-owned-public-open-space-and-public-art\">1%-for-art requirement\u003c/a> into a funding pool in lieu of installing publicly accessible art themselves. The trust can pay for temporary or permanent public art, for the conservation of the Civic Art Collection, or can be made available to eligible cultural nonprofits for public-facing programs or capital improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982181\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982181\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000.jpg\" alt=\"large bronze of young woman in jogging gear in front of ferry building\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas J. Price’s ‘As Sounds Turn to Noise’ photographed in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building on July 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most recently, the trust paid for the temporary installation of Thomas J. Price’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/press-room/press-release/nine-foot-bronze-sculpture-internationally-renowned-artist\">As Sounds Turn to Noise\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, a 9-foot-tall statue of a young Black woman in jogging gear, right where \u003ci>Coralee\u003c/i> is now placed. It’s worth noting that Price’s piece, loaned by Hauser & Wirth gallery, wouldn’t meet the size requirements of the Big Art Loop, which wants work over 10 feet in height or width. The Big Art Loop is not going for subtlety; it seeks to interrupt the visual landscape and stop people in their tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_12055275']Manton says she didn’t get to install nearly as much temporary public artwork as she would have liked during her tenure. Certain established sites in the city — the Civic Center, Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley — have been the most common destinations for temporary sculpture. She also explains that many of the pieces the SFAC installed over the years did not go through a period of public feedback, due to their temporary nature. “For better or worse,” she says, “we didn’t hold open public meetings about the next big project coming to Civic Center.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now when I hear about a program like the Big Art Loop, where they’ve mapped out multiple locations, I think it’s time to consider that public process,” Manton says. “Because it’s not an occasional, every few years, every five years or something like that. It’s occurring with regular frequency now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schlesinger shares that sentiment. “I wish that some of these [Big Art Loop pieces] were going through the vetting process that I went through,” he says, even if these works are only installed for six months to a year. With the massive volume of artwork planned, “It just feels a little bit like a slippery slope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974425\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"giant metal mesh sculpture of nude woman in front of SF Ferry Building, crowd below\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People gather for the April 10, 2025 press preview of ‘R-Evolution, a 45-foot metal statue created by Petaluma artist Marco Cochrane, installed at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We’re already witnessing that slippery slope. Marco Cochrane’s \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> was placed in Embarcadero Plaza in April for a period of six months, with the option to extend its installation up to a year. The piece was quietly extended by Recreation and Parks through March 2026, as first reported by \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/30/embaracadero-naked-lady-statue-extension-march-2026/\">SF Standard\u003c/a>. A city spokesperson told KQED it could stay for even longer, pending approval by Recreation and Parks and the SFAC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the Building 180 team says securing public buy-in for Big Art Loop installations has been a challenge. “What we would love to learn from you is how do we get more feedback from the community?” the Building 180 account wrote to this reporter over Instagram. “No one shows up to commission meetings or community meetings anymore, we do outreach, flyers, show up to panels and no one responds. Except on social media?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One agency that does have experience in this regard is — you guessed it — the SFAC.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>We don’t have to reinvent the wheel\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the SFAC is involved in a piece of public art, a staff of arts professionals — trained curators, many of them — works with community members and neighborhood groups to spread the word about the project. An ad hoc review panel that includes project stakeholders evaluates proposals. The mayoral-appointed Visual Arts Committee and ultimately the full Arts Commission weigh in. And most importantly, an announced period of public feedback allows for in-person and written comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13938291']In the case of the renovation of the Chinatown Public Health Center, rigorous outreach via community groups was crucial to the decision to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938291/sfac-remove-dragon-relief-broadway-tunnel-chinatown\">remove Patti Bowler’s 1970 \u003ci>Dragon Relief\u003c/i>\u003c/a> from the building’s Broadway-facing façade — a sculpture that, incidentally, was installed without any say-so from the neighborhood’s residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could the Sijbrandij Foundation direct its Big Art Loop funding to the Public Art Trust, earmark it for large-scale temporary sculpture and let the SFAC do what they do best? Manton says that unfortunately, the Public Art Trust isn’t currently set up to receive private donations — just funds from eligible private developers. But there’s no reason that legislation couldn’t change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also points to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/get-involved/donate\">ArtCare\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that can receive donations towards the upkeep of the Civic Art Collection. Such funds helped restore Keith Haring’s \u003ci>Untitled (Three Dancing Figures)\u003c/i> in 2012 outside Moscone Center. Perhaps its scope could be expanded to receive funds from the Sijbrandij Foundation for temporary public artworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Mayor Lurie really wants to make the Big Art Loop a successful public-private partnership, why not utilize existing city expertise and remunerate city staffers for their time in the process? The only downsides I can think of are that the project might move slower (not necessarily a bad thing) and Building 180 wouldn’t get to pick all the art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974428\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Representatives of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Recreation and Parks, the Port of San Francisco, Building 180 and, at center, model Deja Solis and artist Marco Cochrane imitate the pose of ‘R-Evolution’ at Embarcadero Plaza. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead, we have private money funding large-scale art of its own choosing in some of San Francisco’s most iconic public spaces. The Big Art Loop, unlike the SFAC, is not tasked with the responsibility of displaying artworks that reflect “diversity in style, scale, media, and artistic sources as well as diverse cultural communities and perspectives.” The Big Art Loop looks for existing work only, which artists created with their own funds or fundraised towards — a prohibitive up-front expense for so many.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happens when the Big Art Loop runs out of Port and Recreation and Parks properties to place its 100 pieces on? For the loop to be truly equitable, it needs to spread its gift of temporary public art beyond established scenic destinations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the public’s role as the recipient of these gifts — let your appreciation or criticisms of this project be known in tangible ways. Email or call \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/415/Contact-Us\">Recreation and Parks\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfport.com/contactus\">Port of San Francisco\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/contact\">SFAC\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://building180.com/contact\">Building 180\u003c/a> \u003ci>and\u003c/i> the \u003ca href=\"mailto:foundation@sijbrandijfoundation.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a>. Tell them what you think of the Big Art Loop, which will be occupying your public space for the next three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Oct. 7: A previous version of this story mis-titled Jesse Schlesinger’s public artwork.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982183\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982183\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000.jpg\" alt=\"collage of sculptures superimposed over city skyline\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/BigArtOverSF2_2000-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Already installed and proposed large-scale sculptures that will make up the Sijbrandij Foundation’s Big Art Loop, created by artists Dana Albany, Marco Cochrane, Peter Hazel, El Nino, Mathias Gmachl, Kristen Berg, Davis McCarty, Michael Christian, Bryan Tedrick, DeWitt Godfrey and Chris Wollard. \u003ccite>(Photo by Beth LaBerge/KQED; Collage by Sarah Hotchkiss)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People who make \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/public-art\">public art\u003c/a> are the first to tell you that it is not a speedy process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took eight long years for Jesse Schlesinger’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://kiosk.sfartscommission.org/objects-1/info?query=_ID%20%3D%20%22ALL%22%20and%20Disp_Obj_Type%20%3D%20%22Sculpture%22%20and%20Disp_Maker_1%20%3D%20%22Jesse%20Schlesinger%22&sort=7&objectName=Cover%20Record:%20Pacific%20Transit\">Pacific Transit\u003c/a>\u003c/i> to come to fruition in the Outer Sunset neighborhood, where the San Francisco Arts Commission installed his 10 bronze, stone and cast-concrete sculptures in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As challenging as those years were — and on occasion they intensely pushed the limits of my patience and were totally exasperating,” he says, “in the end, and what kept me at it, was that I would be afforded the opportunity to make work of this scale.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the SFAC commission came requirements for permanence and durability in a coastal environment. Both he and SFAC staff worked hard to reach out to and get buy-in from the neighborhood’s residents and small businesses, who in turn helped keep the project alive during the years of delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982179\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982179\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000.jpg\" alt=\"cast bronze driftwood, round stone and concrete plinths on city street\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Schlesinger_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three of the 10 pieces in Jesse Schlesinger’s ‘Pacific Transit,’ 2024; Bronze and stone on concrete at Judah and the Great Highway. \u003ccite>(Photo by Ethan Kaplan; Courtesy of the San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In stark contrast, the \u003ca href=\"https://sijbrandijfoundation.org/public-big-art\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a> has managed to place temporary public art around San Francisco with great speed. Since late 2024, the nonprofit established by billionaire Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder of GitLab, has funded eight pieces of “big art,” and plans to install another dozen along San Francisco’s eastern waterfront by the end of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last week, the foundation and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DPPoC-QkjDk/?hl=en\">Mayor Daniel Lurie\u003c/a> announced the launch of a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13981940/big-art-loop-burning-man-san-francisco-sijbrandij-foundation\">Big Art Loop\u003c/a>” around the city, aiming to install up to 100 pieces of temporary large-scale public art over the next three years. Many of those pieces, inevitably, will be leftovers from Burning Man. “We’re fans of big art in general,” Sijbrandij told KQED, “but of course, yes, in San Francisco, a lot of the big art people make does visit Burning Man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this project, the Sijbrandij Foundation and the art agency Building 180, which oversees curation and operations, will radically alter the aesthetic and physical landscape of San Francisco. And they’ll do it with little to no oversight from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/about-commission/policies-guidelines/Public-ArtCivic-Art-Collection#2.%20Charter\">arts commission tasked by our city charter\u003c/a> with the approval of all public artworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: A billionaire aims to display 100 pieces of large-scale art around the city, which he’s allowed to do simply because he’s paying for it. And the city of San Francisco isn’t saying no to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13981941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13981941\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000.jpg\" alt=\"recycled metal sculpture of mermaid on waterfront\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Coralee-55_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dana Albany’s ‘Coralee,’ installed at San Francisco Pier 1/2 as part of the Big Art Loop. \u003ccite>(Arianna Cunha)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Time to consider that public process’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To be clear, the Sijbrandij Foundation and Building 180 have gone about the Big Art Loop project through legal channels, completely by the book. The project’s first temporary art installations at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973169/temporary-public-art-great-highway-ocean-beach-plans\">Sunset Dunes\u003c/a>, in \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2339\">Golden Gate Park\u003c/a> and at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">Embarcadero Plaza\u003c/a> were all accomplished in partnership with the Recreation and Parks department, and passed through the Art Commission for approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The newest Sijbrandij-funded installation, Dana Albany’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13981940/big-art-loop-burning-man-san-francisco-sijbrandij-foundation\">Coralee\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, a recycled metal and glass mermaid, is situated at Pier ½, on Port of San Francisco property. It and the 11 pieces to come, stretching from Fisherman’s Wharf to Heron’s Head Park, were approved by the Port’s executive director, per the Port’s Public Art Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just because the Big Art Loop team has found a way to install large-scale sculpture in public spaces by going through city agencies that \u003ci>don’t\u003c/i> specialize in art, doesn’t mean it should.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sijbrandij told KQED that the project was partially inspired by how much big art is \u003ci>not\u003c/i> on display. “It gets built, these amazing pieces, and they’re sitting around in storage,” he said. “When I learned that, I was like, ‘Let’s get them out of storage and get them into the city so that they can enrich people’s days.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jill Manton, a public art professional and the former director of the SFAC’s Public Art Trust and Special Initiatives, believes the city could use more temporary public art. “I think there’s great benefits on many levels,” she told KQED, “to introducing art to the public in a way that they don’t feel like, ‘Wow, I don’t really love this. I have to live with it forever.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Manton wrote the 2012 legislation that created the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/about-commission/policies-guidelines/public-art-trust-fact-sheet\">Public Art Trust\u003c/a>, which allows private developers to put their \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/privately-owned-public-open-space-and-public-art\">1%-for-art requirement\u003c/a> into a funding pool in lieu of installing publicly accessible art themselves. The trust can pay for temporary or permanent public art, for the conservation of the Civic Art Collection, or can be made available to eligible cultural nonprofits for public-facing programs or capital improvements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982181\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982181\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000.jpg\" alt=\"large bronze of young woman in jogging gear in front of ferry building\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2161499390_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas J. Price’s ‘As Sounds Turn to Noise’ photographed in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building on July 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most recently, the trust paid for the temporary installation of Thomas J. Price’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/press-room/press-release/nine-foot-bronze-sculpture-internationally-renowned-artist\">As Sounds Turn to Noise\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, a 9-foot-tall statue of a young Black woman in jogging gear, right where \u003ci>Coralee\u003c/i> is now placed. It’s worth noting that Price’s piece, loaned by Hauser & Wirth gallery, wouldn’t meet the size requirements of the Big Art Loop, which wants work over 10 feet in height or width. The Big Art Loop is not going for subtlety; it seeks to interrupt the visual landscape and stop people in their tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Manton says she didn’t get to install nearly as much temporary public artwork as she would have liked during her tenure. Certain established sites in the city — the Civic Center, Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley — have been the most common destinations for temporary sculpture. She also explains that many of the pieces the SFAC installed over the years did not go through a period of public feedback, due to their temporary nature. “For better or worse,” she says, “we didn’t hold open public meetings about the next big project coming to Civic Center.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now when I hear about a program like the Big Art Loop, where they’ve mapped out multiple locations, I think it’s time to consider that public process,” Manton says. “Because it’s not an occasional, every few years, every five years or something like that. It’s occurring with regular frequency now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schlesinger shares that sentiment. “I wish that some of these [Big Art Loop pieces] were going through the vetting process that I went through,” he says, even if these works are only installed for six months to a year. With the massive volume of artwork planned, “It just feels a little bit like a slippery slope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974425\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"giant metal mesh sculpture of nude woman in front of SF Ferry Building, crowd below\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People gather for the April 10, 2025 press preview of ‘R-Evolution, a 45-foot metal statue created by Petaluma artist Marco Cochrane, installed at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We’re already witnessing that slippery slope. Marco Cochrane’s \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> was placed in Embarcadero Plaza in April for a period of six months, with the option to extend its installation up to a year. The piece was quietly extended by Recreation and Parks through March 2026, as first reported by \u003ca href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/30/embaracadero-naked-lady-statue-extension-march-2026/\">SF Standard\u003c/a>. A city spokesperson told KQED it could stay for even longer, pending approval by Recreation and Parks and the SFAC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the Building 180 team says securing public buy-in for Big Art Loop installations has been a challenge. “What we would love to learn from you is how do we get more feedback from the community?” the Building 180 account wrote to this reporter over Instagram. “No one shows up to commission meetings or community meetings anymore, we do outreach, flyers, show up to panels and no one responds. Except on social media?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One agency that does have experience in this regard is — you guessed it — the SFAC.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>We don’t have to reinvent the wheel\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the SFAC is involved in a piece of public art, a staff of arts professionals — trained curators, many of them — works with community members and neighborhood groups to spread the word about the project. An ad hoc review panel that includes project stakeholders evaluates proposals. The mayoral-appointed Visual Arts Committee and ultimately the full Arts Commission weigh in. And most importantly, an announced period of public feedback allows for in-person and written comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In the case of the renovation of the Chinatown Public Health Center, rigorous outreach via community groups was crucial to the decision to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938291/sfac-remove-dragon-relief-broadway-tunnel-chinatown\">remove Patti Bowler’s 1970 \u003ci>Dragon Relief\u003c/i>\u003c/a> from the building’s Broadway-facing façade — a sculpture that, incidentally, was installed without any say-so from the neighborhood’s residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could the Sijbrandij Foundation direct its Big Art Loop funding to the Public Art Trust, earmark it for large-scale temporary sculpture and let the SFAC do what they do best? Manton says that unfortunately, the Public Art Trust isn’t currently set up to receive private donations — just funds from eligible private developers. But there’s no reason that legislation couldn’t change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also points to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/get-involved/donate\">ArtCare\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that can receive donations towards the upkeep of the Civic Art Collection. Such funds helped restore Keith Haring’s \u003ci>Untitled (Three Dancing Figures)\u003c/i> in 2012 outside Moscone Center. Perhaps its scope could be expanded to receive funds from the Sijbrandij Foundation for temporary public artworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Mayor Lurie really wants to make the Big Art Loop a successful public-private partnership, why not utilize existing city expertise and remunerate city staffers for their time in the process? The only downsides I can think of are that the project might move slower (not necessarily a bad thing) and Building 180 wouldn’t get to pick all the art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974428\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Representatives of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Recreation and Parks, the Port of San Francisco, Building 180 and, at center, model Deja Solis and artist Marco Cochrane imitate the pose of ‘R-Evolution’ at Embarcadero Plaza. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Instead, we have private money funding large-scale art of its own choosing in some of San Francisco’s most iconic public spaces. The Big Art Loop, unlike the SFAC, is not tasked with the responsibility of displaying artworks that reflect “diversity in style, scale, media, and artistic sources as well as diverse cultural communities and perspectives.” The Big Art Loop looks for existing work only, which artists created with their own funds or fundraised towards — a prohibitive up-front expense for so many.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What happens when the Big Art Loop runs out of Port and Recreation and Parks properties to place its 100 pieces on? For the loop to be truly equitable, it needs to spread its gift of temporary public art beyond established scenic destinations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the public’s role as the recipient of these gifts — let your appreciation or criticisms of this project be known in tangible ways. Email or call \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/415/Contact-Us\">Recreation and Parks\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfport.com/contactus\">Port of San Francisco\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/our-role-impact/contact\">SFAC\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://building180.com/contact\">Building 180\u003c/a> \u003ci>and\u003c/i> the \u003ca href=\"mailto:foundation@sijbrandijfoundation.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a>. Tell them what you think of the Big Art Loop, which will be occupying your public space for the next three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Oct. 7: A previous version of this story mis-titled Jesse Schlesinger’s public artwork.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "More Big Burning Man Art Is Coming to San Francisco",
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"content": "\u003cp>Five months after the installation of \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">R-Evolution\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, the giant metal sculpture of a nude woman in Embarcadero Plaza, and just two months since the appearance of the sea-serpent \u003ci>Naga\u003c/i> in Golden Gate Park, the \u003ca href=\"https://sijbrandijfoundation.org/\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a> has unveiled the latest piece of “big art” in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13982175']\u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.danaalbanyart.com/coralee\">Coralee\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, an 18-foot-long mermaid made from recycled metal and glass by Bay Area artist Dana Albany, is now installed at the Port of San Francisco’s Pier ½ through September 2026. Made at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, England for the exhibition \u003ci>Radical Horizons: The Art of Burning Man\u003c/i>, the sculpture is, according to the artist, “a symbol of feminine strength and beauty, a modern-day heroine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Coralee\u003c/em> is also the official harbinger of a major announcement: Over the next three years, the Sijbrandij Foundation plans to fund the installation of up to 100 pieces of large-scale, temporary public art in San Francisco, forming a 34-mile path around the city dubbed the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.bigartloop.org/\">Big Art Loop\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San Francisco would be fine without this,” Sid Sijbrandij told KQED, “but our goal is to activate public spaces, foster civic pride and create shared moments through art.” Sijbrandij, the former CEO of GitLab, is working with the art agency Building 180 for the curation and operations of the Big Art Loop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, the private foundation has spent $2 million to situate eight artworks across the city, at Sunset Dunes, in Golden Gate Park, on Market Street, and along the Embarcadero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sijbrandij hopes to get other funders interested in the project, explaining that it will take “a lot of effort and probably other donors” to reach the project goal of 100 artworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to \u003ci>Coralee\u003c/i>, 11 pieces are planned for installation this fall on Port-owned property along the city’s eastern waterfront, between Heron’s Head Park and Fisherman’s Wharf. A public event on Nov. 6 will celebrate this first phase of the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1kDqQMcpTsD7Sbgz4hJCAWOx-B5lytZE&ehbc=2E312F\" width=\"640\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A map of the Big Art Loop incorporates existing, permanent public art pieces like Ruth Asawa’s \u003ci>Aurora\u003c/i> along the Embarcadero and Mildred Howard’s \u003ci>Promissory Notes\u003c/i> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13920940/new-southeast-community-center-bayview-art-sfac-sfpuc\">Southeast Community Center\u003c/a>. Recently installed pieces funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation are currently clustered along the Great Highway, JFK Drive and the Embarcadero. The southern border of the loop, through Ingleside, the Excelsior and McLaren Park, contains just a few pieces of existing public art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Building 180 co-founder and CEO Shannon Riley, the Big Art Loop already has a database of large-scale artwork available for the project. Building 180 and the Sijbrandij Foundation have also put out \u003ca href=\"https://form.fillout.com/t/grfaCBwmKaus\">an open call for existing sculptures\u003c/a> over 10 feet in height or length.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artworks will be selected for the Big Art Loop based on feasibility requirements, scale, availability and cost, along with input from local residents and community groups, said Riley. “Something I think that’s unique and different that we hadn’t done with \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>,” Riley told KQED, “is that we’re really leaning into our partners to help curate and select what they think is going to fit their community. We’re doing more community work than we have in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974425\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"giant metal mesh sculpture of nude woman in front of SF Ferry Building, crowd below\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People gather for the April 10, 2025 press preview of ‘R-Evolution, a 45-foot metal statue created by Petaluma artist Marco Cochrane, installed at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unlike \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> (renewed for another six months at Embarcadero Plaza), which passed through the Arts Commission for approval — with a modicum of opportunity for public feedback — the artwork heading to the city’s waterfront sites did not go through the Arts Commission, and were presented just once in \u003ca href=\"https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/50364?view_id=92&redirect=true\">a publicly accessible meeting of the Port Commission\u003c/a> on July 8, 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a period of public comment at that meeting, representatives from the San Francisco Giants and the Ferry Building voiced their support for the project, along with one call from a member of the general public (in favor) and a prewritten letter from Ariel Sutro, co-founder of Coven, a nonprofit accelerator for “big art.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Per the Port’s public art program, the person who ultimately approves so-called “unsolicited art” — that is, art proposed by an artist or sponsor for a Port site — is the Port’s executive director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13981044']Along with Albany’s \u003ci>Coralee\u003c/i>, the next phase of the Big Art Loop includes work by artists Peter Hazel, El Nino, Mathias Gmachl, Davis McCarty, Michael Christian, Bryan Tedrick, DeWitt Godfrey and Chris Wollard. Eight of these artists have exhibited their work at Burning Man; many of the pieces slated for installation along the waterfront had their debuts at the festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sijbrandij said he’s attended Burning Man four times. “One of the highlights was the beautiful art,” he said. “We’ve always wondered why you could have that beautiful art there, but it wasn’t anywhere else. And Burning Man is — although it’s a very inclusive community — it’s not very inclusive to get there. It’s expensive and impractical for people to visit. So we’re really excited to bring some of the Burning Man arts to the city. With the caveat that, like, half of it isn’t from Burning Man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Big Art Loop arrives as the San Francisco Arts Commission \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/find-opportunities/calls-for-artists/shaping-legacy-temporary-public-art-projects\">launches its own effort to situate temporary artworks in public space\u003c/a>, in response to an audit of the city’s existing monuments and memorials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SFAC-funded public art projects will cap the three-year Shaping Legacy project, which engaged underrepresented communities in discussions about the city’s “commemorative landscape.” Selected works, which will be approved by the arts commission’s Visual Arts Committee and then the full commission (where public feedback is also encouraged), are anticipated to take place between April 2026 and October 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Update Oct. 8: Kristen Berg’s name was removed from the list of artists included in the next phase of the Big Art Loop.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Five months after the installation of \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974401/r-evolution-marco-cochrane-embarcadero-plaza-nude-woman-sculpture\">R-Evolution\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, the giant metal sculpture of a nude woman in Embarcadero Plaza, and just two months since the appearance of the sea-serpent \u003ci>Naga\u003c/i> in Golden Gate Park, the \u003ca href=\"https://sijbrandijfoundation.org/\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a> has unveiled the latest piece of “big art” in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.danaalbanyart.com/coralee\">Coralee\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, an 18-foot-long mermaid made from recycled metal and glass by Bay Area artist Dana Albany, is now installed at the Port of San Francisco’s Pier ½ through September 2026. Made at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, England for the exhibition \u003ci>Radical Horizons: The Art of Burning Man\u003c/i>, the sculpture is, according to the artist, “a symbol of feminine strength and beauty, a modern-day heroine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Coralee\u003c/em> is also the official harbinger of a major announcement: Over the next three years, the Sijbrandij Foundation plans to fund the installation of up to 100 pieces of large-scale, temporary public art in San Francisco, forming a 34-mile path around the city dubbed the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.bigartloop.org/\">Big Art Loop\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San Francisco would be fine without this,” Sid Sijbrandij told KQED, “but our goal is to activate public spaces, foster civic pride and create shared moments through art.” Sijbrandij, the former CEO of GitLab, is working with the art agency Building 180 for the curation and operations of the Big Art Loop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, the private foundation has spent $2 million to situate eight artworks across the city, at Sunset Dunes, in Golden Gate Park, on Market Street, and along the Embarcadero.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sijbrandij hopes to get other funders interested in the project, explaining that it will take “a lot of effort and probably other donors” to reach the project goal of 100 artworks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to \u003ci>Coralee\u003c/i>, 11 pieces are planned for installation this fall on Port-owned property along the city’s eastern waterfront, between Heron’s Head Park and Fisherman’s Wharf. A public event on Nov. 6 will celebrate this first phase of the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1kDqQMcpTsD7Sbgz4hJCAWOx-B5lytZE&ehbc=2E312F\" width=\"640\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A map of the Big Art Loop incorporates existing, permanent public art pieces like Ruth Asawa’s \u003ci>Aurora\u003c/i> along the Embarcadero and Mildred Howard’s \u003ci>Promissory Notes\u003c/i> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13920940/new-southeast-community-center-bayview-art-sfac-sfpuc\">Southeast Community Center\u003c/a>. Recently installed pieces funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation are currently clustered along the Great Highway, JFK Drive and the Embarcadero. The southern border of the loop, through Ingleside, the Excelsior and McLaren Park, contains just a few pieces of existing public art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Building 180 co-founder and CEO Shannon Riley, the Big Art Loop already has a database of large-scale artwork available for the project. Building 180 and the Sijbrandij Foundation have also put out \u003ca href=\"https://form.fillout.com/t/grfaCBwmKaus\">an open call for existing sculptures\u003c/a> over 10 feet in height or length.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artworks will be selected for the Big Art Loop based on feasibility requirements, scale, availability and cost, along with input from local residents and community groups, said Riley. “Something I think that’s unique and different that we hadn’t done with \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>,” Riley told KQED, “is that we’re really leaning into our partners to help curate and select what they think is going to fit their community. We’re doing more community work than we have in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974425\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"giant metal mesh sculpture of nude woman in front of SF Ferry Building, crowd below\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-10_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People gather for the April 10, 2025 press preview of ‘R-Evolution, a 45-foot metal statue created by Petaluma artist Marco Cochrane, installed at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unlike \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> (renewed for another six months at Embarcadero Plaza), which passed through the Arts Commission for approval — with a modicum of opportunity for public feedback — the artwork heading to the city’s waterfront sites did not go through the Arts Commission, and were presented just once in \u003ca href=\"https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/50364?view_id=92&redirect=true\">a publicly accessible meeting of the Port Commission\u003c/a> on July 8, 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a period of public comment at that meeting, representatives from the San Francisco Giants and the Ferry Building voiced their support for the project, along with one call from a member of the general public (in favor) and a prewritten letter from Ariel Sutro, co-founder of Coven, a nonprofit accelerator for “big art.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Per the Port’s public art program, the person who ultimately approves so-called “unsolicited art” — that is, art proposed by an artist or sponsor for a Port site — is the Port’s executive director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Along with Albany’s \u003ci>Coralee\u003c/i>, the next phase of the Big Art Loop includes work by artists Peter Hazel, El Nino, Mathias Gmachl, Davis McCarty, Michael Christian, Bryan Tedrick, DeWitt Godfrey and Chris Wollard. Eight of these artists have exhibited their work at Burning Man; many of the pieces slated for installation along the waterfront had their debuts at the festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sijbrandij said he’s attended Burning Man four times. “One of the highlights was the beautiful art,” he said. “We’ve always wondered why you could have that beautiful art there, but it wasn’t anywhere else. And Burning Man is — although it’s a very inclusive community — it’s not very inclusive to get there. It’s expensive and impractical for people to visit. So we’re really excited to bring some of the Burning Man arts to the city. With the caveat that, like, half of it isn’t from Burning Man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Big Art Loop arrives as the San Francisco Arts Commission \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/find-opportunities/calls-for-artists/shaping-legacy-temporary-public-art-projects\">launches its own effort to situate temporary artworks in public space\u003c/a>, in response to an audit of the city’s existing monuments and memorials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SFAC-funded public art projects will cap the three-year Shaping Legacy project, which engaged underrepresented communities in discussions about the city’s “commemorative landscape.” Selected works, which will be approved by the arts commission’s Visual Arts Committee and then the full commission (where public feedback is also encouraged), are anticipated to take place between April 2026 and October 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Update Oct. 8: Kristen Berg’s name was removed from the list of artists included in the next phase of the Big Art Loop.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In San Francisco’s Chinatown, Portsmouth Square’s renovation may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044728/sf-chinatown-park-makeover-delayed-thanks-to-trump-tariffs\">delayed\u003c/a>, but the neighborhood’s artistic future is already in the works. Local residents are being asked to weigh in on the finalists for two planned public artworks — an \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-sculpture\">entrance plaza sculpture\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-clubhouse-wall\">clubhouse wall\u003c/a> — that will eventually fill the revamped space. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_12044728,news_11973503']This opportunity provides community members the chance to be seen and heard, ensuring that the public art chosen for Portsmouth Square truly reflects the people who live, work and gather in Chinatown. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Providing public comments is an essential part of our public art selection process,” notes Coma Te, director of communications for the San Francisco Arts Commission. “We encourage all those who are interested, especially those that actively use the public space or who live nearby, to share their feedback.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community members can share feedback online through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-sculpture\">SFAC website\u003c/a>, in person at 667 Grant Ave. and 41 Ross Alley (Thursday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.) and during weekly tabling at the Chinatown Rose Pak Station. Public comments for the proposals will be accepted through July 21 until 5 p.m. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-sculpture\">Entryway sculpture\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Serving as a visual invitation to Portsmouth Square, the entryway sculpture will sit at the corner of Walter U Lum and Washington Streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978666\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1341px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop.jpg\" alt=\"tree and cast of tree connected by flat awning, lit at night\" width=\"1341\" height=\"1018\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978666\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop.jpg 1341w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop-768x583.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1341px) 100vw, 1341px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nighttime rendering of lee + boles faw’s proposal ‘Living Room/Living Gate.’ \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Living Room/Living Gate\u003c/i> by lee + boles faw\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nDesigned to embody the message, “when you welcome a guest, you have found your home,” this sculpture highlights Chinatown’s spirit of hospitality and community. The sculpture features a bronze cast of a magnolia tree that stood in Portsmouth Square for over 60 years (and will be cut down during construction), paired with a gilded wooden beam and a living magnolia growing nearby. The artists propose to form a sculptural gateway that bridges generations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978673\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000.jpg\" alt=\"two metal lion heads with boot-shaped bases\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1374\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978673\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000-1536x1055.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A rendering of the bronze guardian lions in Bijun Liang’s ‘鞋天鞋地 (xietian xiedi)’ proposal. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>鞋天鞋地 (xietian xiedi)\u003c/i> by Bijun Liang\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nAn interactive bronze sculpture of two boot-shaped guardian lions, \u003cem>鞋天鞋地 (xietian xiedi)\u003c/em> invites people to touch, engage with and make the sculpture their own, celebrating Chinatown’s spirit of movement, resilience and everyday joy. Rooted in Liang’s personal history as an immigrant raised in the neighborhood, the piece honors the past while looking boldly toward what’s next. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978667\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000.jpg\" alt=\"rendering of tree sculpture with different fruits hanging from branches\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1534\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000-768x589.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000-1536x1178.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A detail from the rendering of Cathy Lu’s ‘Nuwa’s Hand (Fruits of Chinatown)’ proposal. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Nuwa’s Hand (Fruits of Chinatown)\u003c/i> by Cathy Lu\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nThis 11-foot-tall bronze and aluminum sculpture of a mythic tree is rooted in the hand of the Chinese creation goddess, Nuwa. With cast fruits from Chinatown markets growing from its branches, the piece blends ancient symbolism with everyday life to celebrate hybridity, resilience and cultural abundance. Drawing from Lu’s long-standing exploration of diasporic identity, the work reimagines Chinatown as a living, evolving space shaped by its people and their stories. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-clubhouse-wall\">Clubhouse wall\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Installed on the interior and exterior walls of the new Portsmouth Square clubhouse, this artwork will likely be made with mosaics or ceramic tile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978675\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000.jpg\" alt=\"illustration of children riding phoenix with inset illustrations of daily life\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1511\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978675\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000-768x580.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000-1536x1160.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A detail of the interior wall in Kayan Cheung-Miaw’s ‘Rising Phoenix’ proposal. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Rising Phoenix\u003c/i> by Kayan Cheung-Miaw\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nDrawing from a comic-inspired art style, Cheung-Miaw’s design captures themes of struggle, resilience, renewal and individual acts of heroism rooted in the histories of Chinatown and Manilatown. At its center is a phoenix, symbolizing abundance, harmony and collective care, which rises as a tribute to the strength and interconnectedness of the community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000.jpg\" alt=\"rendering of large community space with yellow and red walls\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A renderings of Jenifer K Wofford’s ‘Community Treasures’ proposal for the interior and exterior clubhouse wall. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Community Treasures\u003c/i> by Jenifer K Wofford\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nReferencing traditional Chinese cabinets, this wall will include illustrations of precious treasures (like festival lanterns and mahjong tiles, or food like dan tat, baos and zong) that reflect Chinatown’s historical, cultural and community values. Several shelves intentionally remain empty as they await objects that will be created in future community workshops. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978676\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000.jpg\" alt=\"red and pink illustration with curving dragon and text in multiple languages\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1482\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978676\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000-768x569.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000-1536x1138.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christine Wong Yap’s ‘Generations of Love and Care’ proposal for the interior wall of the clubhouse. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Generations of Love and Care\u003c/i> by Christine Wong Yap\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nYap’s \u003ci>Generations of Love and Care\u003c/i> features drawings of elderly and young lion dancers in a bold graphic style with warm tones of peachy pink and coral. Made with porcelain enamel on steel, the proposed artwork will include hand-lettered text in multiple languages and interactive features like rubbing plates and a photo-friendly silhouette.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In San Francisco’s Chinatown, Portsmouth Square’s renovation may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044728/sf-chinatown-park-makeover-delayed-thanks-to-trump-tariffs\">delayed\u003c/a>, but the neighborhood’s artistic future is already in the works. Local residents are being asked to weigh in on the finalists for two planned public artworks — an \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-sculpture\">entrance plaza sculpture\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-clubhouse-wall\">clubhouse wall\u003c/a> — that will eventually fill the revamped space. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This opportunity provides community members the chance to be seen and heard, ensuring that the public art chosen for Portsmouth Square truly reflects the people who live, work and gather in Chinatown. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Providing public comments is an essential part of our public art selection process,” notes Coma Te, director of communications for the San Francisco Arts Commission. “We encourage all those who are interested, especially those that actively use the public space or who live nearby, to share their feedback.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community members can share feedback online through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-sculpture\">SFAC website\u003c/a>, in person at 667 Grant Ave. and 41 Ross Alley (Thursday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.) and during weekly tabling at the Chinatown Rose Pak Station. Public comments for the proposals will be accepted through July 21 until 5 p.m. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-sculpture\">Entryway sculpture\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Serving as a visual invitation to Portsmouth Square, the entryway sculpture will sit at the corner of Walter U Lum and Washington Streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978666\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1341px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop.jpg\" alt=\"tree and cast of tree connected by flat awning, lit at night\" width=\"1341\" height=\"1018\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978666\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop.jpg 1341w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Lee-Boles-Faw_crop-768x583.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1341px) 100vw, 1341px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nighttime rendering of lee + boles faw’s proposal ‘Living Room/Living Gate.’ \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Living Room/Living Gate\u003c/i> by lee + boles faw\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nDesigned to embody the message, “when you welcome a guest, you have found your home,” this sculpture highlights Chinatown’s spirit of hospitality and community. The sculpture features a bronze cast of a magnolia tree that stood in Portsmouth Square for over 60 years (and will be cut down during construction), paired with a gilded wooden beam and a living magnolia growing nearby. The artists propose to form a sculptural gateway that bridges generations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978673\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000.jpg\" alt=\"two metal lion heads with boot-shaped bases\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1374\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978673\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Bijun_proposal-poster_2000-1536x1055.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A rendering of the bronze guardian lions in Bijun Liang’s ‘鞋天鞋地 (xietian xiedi)’ proposal. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>鞋天鞋地 (xietian xiedi)\u003c/i> by Bijun Liang\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nAn interactive bronze sculpture of two boot-shaped guardian lions, \u003cem>鞋天鞋地 (xietian xiedi)\u003c/em> invites people to touch, engage with and make the sculpture their own, celebrating Chinatown’s spirit of movement, resilience and everyday joy. Rooted in Liang’s personal history as an immigrant raised in the neighborhood, the piece honors the past while looking boldly toward what’s next. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978667\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000.jpg\" alt=\"rendering of tree sculpture with different fruits hanging from branches\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1534\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000-160x123.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000-768x589.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CathyLu_2000-1536x1178.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A detail from the rendering of Cathy Lu’s ‘Nuwa’s Hand (Fruits of Chinatown)’ proposal. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Nuwa’s Hand (Fruits of Chinatown)\u003c/i> by Cathy Lu\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nThis 11-foot-tall bronze and aluminum sculpture of a mythic tree is rooted in the hand of the Chinese creation goddess, Nuwa. With cast fruits from Chinatown markets growing from its branches, the piece blends ancient symbolism with everyday life to celebrate hybridity, resilience and cultural abundance. Drawing from Lu’s long-standing exploration of diasporic identity, the work reimagines Chinatown as a living, evolving space shaped by its people and their stories. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/art-proposals-portsmouth-square-clubhouse-wall\">Clubhouse wall\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Installed on the interior and exterior walls of the new Portsmouth Square clubhouse, this artwork will likely be made with mosaics or ceramic tile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978675\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000.jpg\" alt=\"illustration of children riding phoenix with inset illustrations of daily life\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1511\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978675\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000-768x580.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/CHEUNG_1_2000-1536x1160.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A detail of the interior wall in Kayan Cheung-Miaw’s ‘Rising Phoenix’ proposal. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Rising Phoenix\u003c/i> by Kayan Cheung-Miaw\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nDrawing from a comic-inspired art style, Cheung-Miaw’s design captures themes of struggle, resilience, renewal and individual acts of heroism rooted in the histories of Chinatown and Manilatown. At its center is a phoenix, symbolizing abundance, harmony and collective care, which rises as a tribute to the strength and interconnectedness of the community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000.jpg\" alt=\"rendering of large community space with yellow and red walls\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978674\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/10b-Wofford-CommunityTreasures_final_2000-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A renderings of Jenifer K Wofford’s ‘Community Treasures’ proposal for the interior and exterior clubhouse wall. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Community Treasures\u003c/i> by Jenifer K Wofford\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nReferencing traditional Chinese cabinets, this wall will include illustrations of precious treasures (like festival lanterns and mahjong tiles, or food like dan tat, baos and zong) that reflect Chinatown’s historical, cultural and community values. Several shelves intentionally remain empty as they await objects that will be created in future community workshops. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978676\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000.jpg\" alt=\"red and pink illustration with curving dragon and text in multiple languages\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1482\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978676\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000-768x569.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/SFAC-PSQ-ProposalBoard-Christine-Wong-Yap_2000-1536x1138.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christine Wong Yap’s ‘Generations of Love and Care’ proposal for the interior wall of the clubhouse. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Arts Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Generations of Love and Care\u003c/i> by Christine Wong Yap\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\nYap’s \u003ci>Generations of Love and Care\u003c/i> features drawings of elderly and young lion dancers in a bold graphic style with warm tones of peachy pink and coral. Made with porcelain enamel on steel, the proposed artwork will include hand-lettered text in multiple languages and interactive features like rubbing plates and a photo-friendly silhouette.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "bay-area-summer-djing-glass-blowing-ceramics-sewing-gardening",
"title": "Get Away From the News This Summer With These 7 Bay Area Diversions",
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"headTitle": "Get Away From the News This Summer With These 7 Bay Area Diversions | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2025\">2025 Summer Arts Guide to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more\u003c/a> in the Bay Area.\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You, reading this: put your phone down! (After you read this, that is.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our phones are full of stimulating images, sounds, news and entertainment, all packaged in apps and sites strategically designed so we’ll scroll until the world ends or our batteries die — whichever comes first. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research shows that the average person in the U.S. spends an accumulated \u003ca href=\"https://talkerresearch.com/media-consumption-trend-report/\">36 days per year scrolling\u003c/a>. We’re constantly inundated with advertisements, updates from friends and news to make you fear the world outside your door. Even checking the weather app is a walk on the wild side. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, it’s summer, and in the Bay Area, you already know what that means: brisk foggy mornings, warm afternoons and memorable nights. So stop scrolling. Start seeking adventure, in-person friendships, and solo time. Craft making, sunset chasing. New scars and healthy ways of healing old wounds. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some ways to get your palms on plans that are worthwhile. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1616px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Taking some molten glass out of a fiery glory hole in preparation to mold it into a a beautiful object.\" width=\"1616\" height=\"1080\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taking some molten glass out of a fiery glory hole in preparation to mold it into a a beautiful object. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Glass-Blowing Classes \u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Glass-blowing is a craft that takes time, concentration and strength. While photos of the process look cool, you won’t want to hold your phone up for a selfie while you’re juggling a glob of liquid glass near an extremely hot oven. Inherent dangers abound, but luckily, safety guides and instructors can guide you along the way. If you’re interested in glass blowing, check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrucible.org/departments/glass-blowing/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADjriNi9saI87E32Ui-3-tkeBT3X-&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2tHABhCiARIsANZzDWpOr-4y_k3Y5f8Pf2xDvvznZjDkjQHY9DTDfFotuey7FypfDILPKRUaAnoYEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds\">The Crucible\u003c/a> in Oakland, \u003ca href=\"https://bagi.org/\">The Bay Area Glass Institute\u003c/a> in San Jose, \u003ca href=\"https://www.artescapesonoma.com/\">Art Escape\u003c/a> in Sonoma or \u003ca href=\"https://www.glasshandstudio.com/classes.php\">Glass Hand Studio\u003c/a> in Alameda. (San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.publicglass.org/\">Public Glass\u003c/a> is closed until June 8 for a furnace rebuild, but will resume operations afterward — including classes for kids.)\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Ceramics and Pottery Workshops\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The thing about throwing clay is that it takes core strength. It takes focus. And it’ll cover your hands with so much clay that you won’t want to pick up your phone, no matter how insane the latest push notification about Washington D.C. might be. Plus, you’ll leave the class with a new piece of tableware, a new lamp or the classic: an ashtray. With locations in San Francisco, Oakland and San Mateo, \u003ca href=\"https://www.clayroomsf.com/\">The Clayroom\u003c/a> offers 6-week classes running from May through June. San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.claybythebaysf.com/classes/\">Clay By The Bay\u003c/a> has classes starting May 12, and San Jose’s \u003ca href=\"https://higherfirestudios.com/events-calendar/\">Higher Fire Studios\u003c/a> offer a continuous schedule of classes. Meanwhile in El Cerrito, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mudworks-pottery.com/menu-4\">Mudworks Studios\u003c/a> has classes all summer. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13862915\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_.jpg\" alt=\"DJ Lamont Young.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1200\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13862915\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-1200x750.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Lamont Young. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>DJing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Into stitching things together, but tailored for people’s ears? Try your hand at DJing. In the Mission District, San Francisco fixture \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fingersnapsmediaarts/?hl=en\">DJ Lamont\u003c/a> leads a collaborative summertime \u003ca href=\"https://www.fingersnaps.net/learn-to-dj-each-one-teach-one-summer-2025\">“each one teach one” DJing workshop\u003c/a> at Fingersnaps Media, with classes July 9–Aug. 13. Other spots with lessons on the turntables are San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://bluebearmusic.org/classes/dj-electronic-music/\">Blue Bear School of Music\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.washburnstudio.com/dj-courses\">Washburn Studio and Music School\u003c/a>, as well as Oakland’s women-led collective, \u003ca href=\"https://www.herdjclub.com/\">Her DJ Club\u003c/a>. It takes two hands and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQMO3HJkSLA\">deep concentration\u003c/a> — a perfect combo to keep you off your phone.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Sewing, Embroidering and Quiltmaking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What’s a better way to reclaim your screen time than making your own summer clothes?! At Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://communityfits.as.me/schedule/e410891c\">Community Fits\u003c/a>, you can “sip and stitch” with the collective or take solo lessons to learn how to hem your new cutoffs. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.creativereuse.org/\">East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse\u003c/a> also offers sewing classes, lessons on embroidering and even a Sashiko mending workshop. And if you’re really looking to invest in the art of threads, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/folkfibers/?hl=en\">Maura Ambrose\u003c/a> hosts \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creative-quilting-with-botanical-fabrics-tickets-1328841262989?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">a day-long quiltmaking event\u003c/a> in Oakland on June 13. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976312\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1333px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘The Dog,’ by Adrian Xuana, at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Public Art\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ok, maybe you’re more of a passive observer. (That’s why you’re scrolling constantly.) We’ve got you covered: outdoor art exhibitions. Out in the Presidio, you can see flowers in bloom, artwork by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/favianna1/\">Favianna Rodriguez\u003c/a> and, if fog permits, the Golden Gate Bridge. Across town, Yerba Buena Gardens has become home to \u003ca href=\"https://yerbabuenagardens.org/events/alebrijes-and-nahuales/\">eight different 22-foot tall Alebrijes and Nahuales\u003c/a> designed by seven different artists, on view through June 22. Across the bridge at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.creativeshields.com/marinship-1\">Marin Gateway Shopping Center\u003c/a> and at bus stops in the surrounding area are images depicting \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11898287/how-black-shipyard-workers-in-marin-helped-win-world-war-ii\">Marinship\u003c/a>, the WWII-era shipbuilding company that once called that town home. And in downtown Oakland on Webster between 14th and 15th, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_2828.jpg\">a mural inspired by the Bay’s newest professional sports franchise, The Valkyries\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Gardening\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Here’s a way to enjoy the Mediterranean climate of the Bay Area: play in some dirt! Just about every community hosts a community garden, and programs like the \u003ca href=\"http://www.vallejopeoplesgarden.org/p/get-involved.html\">Vallejo People’s Garden\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://grpg.org/get-involved/volunteer/\">Guadalupe Community Garden\u003c/a> in San Jose give first-timers an opportunity to get their hands in the dirt and learn about horticulture. In the East Bay, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://plantingjustice.org/pages/what-we-do/volunteer\">Planting Justice\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDg_BIc1iWARFdlnVD_X_R13DKnqCP_cxqaJRhsgZpgsWpig/viewform\">The People’s Garden\u003c/a>, where you can volunteer to work the land, and the UC Berkeley College of Agriculture and Natural Resources offers a \u003ca href=\"https://ucanr.edu/search/all?keys=&sort_by=field_start_date&field_event_date=1&f%5B0%5D=format:live_event&route=events\">series of lectures and workshops\u003c/a> to help anyone looking to grow an even greener thumb. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of adults and children hang out on bikes at a park.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Riders convene for the 17th annual Scraper Bike Day and Halloween Bike Ride in Arroyo Viejo Park in Oakland on Oct. 31, 2023. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Just Get Out of the House\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>You can remove yourself from the rat race by attending a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-burnout-and-overwhelm-workshop-tickets-1347101951199?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Free Burnout and Overwhelm Workshop\u003c/a> in San Francisco on May 24. Or dive even deeper into the matrix \u003cem>and\u003c/em> have some say about the interwebs at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-wikipedians-workshop-tickets-1255419045159?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Bay Area Wikipedians Workshop\u003c/a>, with meetups in May, June, July and August. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can make mixed media pieces and collages at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.mightymightystudio.com/book-online\">Mighty Mighty Studio\u003c/a>. You can \u003ca href=\"https://www.scrap-sf.org/workshops\">learn all about Assemblage at SCRAP\u003c/a>, a creative reuse center in San Francisco. You can build your own Scraper Bike in Deep East Oakland as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DJTHMhDRK-_/\">Scraper Bike team\u003c/a> hosts a week-long workshop at Arroyo Viejo Park in early June. Hell, you can learn to print photos on plants at Vallejo’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/autonomous.gallery\">Autonomous Gallery\u003c/a>. Even the \u003ca href=\"https://artstudio.berkeley.edu/our-classes/\">UC Berkeley Art Studio\u003c/a> has everything from calligraphy to printmaking, with summer classes that run from June 2 until Aug. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lastly, if nothing else speaks to you? Check out your local library. They have giveaways, events and these things called books … which are kind of like phones! They’re informative, entertaining, and some have images — and they never require charging. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Life Pro Tip: You can't doomscroll if you're sewing, gardening or DJing.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2025\">2025 Summer Arts Guide to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more\u003c/a> in the Bay Area.\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You, reading this: put your phone down! (After you read this, that is.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our phones are full of stimulating images, sounds, news and entertainment, all packaged in apps and sites strategically designed so we’ll scroll until the world ends or our batteries die — whichever comes first. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research shows that the average person in the U.S. spends an accumulated \u003ca href=\"https://talkerresearch.com/media-consumption-trend-report/\">36 days per year scrolling\u003c/a>. We’re constantly inundated with advertisements, updates from friends and news to make you fear the world outside your door. Even checking the weather app is a walk on the wild side. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, it’s summer, and in the Bay Area, you already know what that means: brisk foggy mornings, warm afternoons and memorable nights. So stop scrolling. Start seeking adventure, in-person friendships, and solo time. Craft making, sunset chasing. New scars and healthy ways of healing old wounds. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some ways to get your palms on plans that are worthwhile. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1616px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Taking some molten glass out of a fiery glory hole in preparation to mold it into a a beautiful object.\" width=\"1616\" height=\"1080\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Image-from-iOS-12-copy-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taking some molten glass out of a fiery glory hole in preparation to mold it into a a beautiful object. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Glass-Blowing Classes \u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Glass-blowing is a craft that takes time, concentration and strength. While photos of the process look cool, you won’t want to hold your phone up for a selfie while you’re juggling a glob of liquid glass near an extremely hot oven. Inherent dangers abound, but luckily, safety guides and instructors can guide you along the way. If you’re interested in glass blowing, check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.thecrucible.org/departments/glass-blowing/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADjriNi9saI87E32Ui-3-tkeBT3X-&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2tHABhCiARIsANZzDWpOr-4y_k3Y5f8Pf2xDvvznZjDkjQHY9DTDfFotuey7FypfDILPKRUaAnoYEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds\">The Crucible\u003c/a> in Oakland, \u003ca href=\"https://bagi.org/\">The Bay Area Glass Institute\u003c/a> in San Jose, \u003ca href=\"https://www.artescapesonoma.com/\">Art Escape\u003c/a> in Sonoma or \u003ca href=\"https://www.glasshandstudio.com/classes.php\">Glass Hand Studio\u003c/a> in Alameda. (San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.publicglass.org/\">Public Glass\u003c/a> is closed until June 8 for a furnace rebuild, but will resume operations afterward — including classes for kids.)\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Ceramics and Pottery Workshops\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The thing about throwing clay is that it takes core strength. It takes focus. And it’ll cover your hands with so much clay that you won’t want to pick up your phone, no matter how insane the latest push notification about Washington D.C. might be. Plus, you’ll leave the class with a new piece of tableware, a new lamp or the classic: an ashtray. With locations in San Francisco, Oakland and San Mateo, \u003ca href=\"https://www.clayroomsf.com/\">The Clayroom\u003c/a> offers 6-week classes running from May through June. San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.claybythebaysf.com/classes/\">Clay By The Bay\u003c/a> has classes starting May 12, and San Jose’s \u003ca href=\"https://higherfirestudios.com/events-calendar/\">Higher Fire Studios\u003c/a> offer a continuous schedule of classes. Meanwhile in El Cerrito, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mudworks-pottery.com/menu-4\">Mudworks Studios\u003c/a> has classes all summer. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13862915\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_.jpg\" alt=\"DJ Lamont Young.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1200\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13862915\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/DJLamont.MAIN_-1200x750.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Lamont Young. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>DJing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Into stitching things together, but tailored for people’s ears? Try your hand at DJing. In the Mission District, San Francisco fixture \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fingersnapsmediaarts/?hl=en\">DJ Lamont\u003c/a> leads a collaborative summertime \u003ca href=\"https://www.fingersnaps.net/learn-to-dj-each-one-teach-one-summer-2025\">“each one teach one” DJing workshop\u003c/a> at Fingersnaps Media, with classes July 9–Aug. 13. Other spots with lessons on the turntables are San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://bluebearmusic.org/classes/dj-electronic-music/\">Blue Bear School of Music\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.washburnstudio.com/dj-courses\">Washburn Studio and Music School\u003c/a>, as well as Oakland’s women-led collective, \u003ca href=\"https://www.herdjclub.com/\">Her DJ Club\u003c/a>. It takes two hands and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQMO3HJkSLA\">deep concentration\u003c/a> — a perfect combo to keep you off your phone.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Sewing, Embroidering and Quiltmaking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What’s a better way to reclaim your screen time than making your own summer clothes?! At Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://communityfits.as.me/schedule/e410891c\">Community Fits\u003c/a>, you can “sip and stitch” with the collective or take solo lessons to learn how to hem your new cutoffs. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.creativereuse.org/\">East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse\u003c/a> also offers sewing classes, lessons on embroidering and even a Sashiko mending workshop. And if you’re really looking to invest in the art of threads, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/folkfibers/?hl=en\">Maura Ambrose\u003c/a> hosts \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creative-quilting-with-botanical-fabrics-tickets-1328841262989?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">a day-long quiltmaking event\u003c/a> in Oakland on June 13. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976312\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1333px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976312\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_3051-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘The Dog,’ by Adrian Xuana, at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Public Art\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ok, maybe you’re more of a passive observer. (That’s why you’re scrolling constantly.) We’ve got you covered: outdoor art exhibitions. Out in the Presidio, you can see flowers in bloom, artwork by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/favianna1/\">Favianna Rodriguez\u003c/a> and, if fog permits, the Golden Gate Bridge. Across town, Yerba Buena Gardens has become home to \u003ca href=\"https://yerbabuenagardens.org/events/alebrijes-and-nahuales/\">eight different 22-foot tall Alebrijes and Nahuales\u003c/a> designed by seven different artists, on view through June 22. Across the bridge at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.creativeshields.com/marinship-1\">Marin Gateway Shopping Center\u003c/a> and at bus stops in the surrounding area are images depicting \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11898287/how-black-shipyard-workers-in-marin-helped-win-world-war-ii\">Marinship\u003c/a>, the WWII-era shipbuilding company that once called that town home. And in downtown Oakland on Webster between 14th and 15th, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/img_2828.jpg\">a mural inspired by the Bay’s newest professional sports franchise, The Valkyries\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Gardening\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Here’s a way to enjoy the Mediterranean climate of the Bay Area: play in some dirt! Just about every community hosts a community garden, and programs like the \u003ca href=\"http://www.vallejopeoplesgarden.org/p/get-involved.html\">Vallejo People’s Garden\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://grpg.org/get-involved/volunteer/\">Guadalupe Community Garden\u003c/a> in San Jose give first-timers an opportunity to get their hands in the dirt and learn about horticulture. In the East Bay, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://plantingjustice.org/pages/what-we-do/volunteer\">Planting Justice\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDg_BIc1iWARFdlnVD_X_R13DKnqCP_cxqaJRhsgZpgsWpig/viewform\">The People’s Garden\u003c/a>, where you can volunteer to work the land, and the UC Berkeley College of Agriculture and Natural Resources offers a \u003ca href=\"https://ucanr.edu/search/all?keys=&sort_by=field_start_date&field_event_date=1&f%5B0%5D=format:live_event&route=events\">series of lectures and workshops\u003c/a> to help anyone looking to grow an even greener thumb. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of adults and children hang out on bikes at a park.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937346\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231101-SCRAPERBIKE_HALLOWEEN_KQED_MANUELORBEGOZO-3-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Riders convene for the 17th annual Scraper Bike Day and Halloween Bike Ride in Arroyo Viejo Park in Oakland on Oct. 31, 2023. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Just Get Out of the House\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>You can remove yourself from the rat race by attending a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-burnout-and-overwhelm-workshop-tickets-1347101951199?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Free Burnout and Overwhelm Workshop\u003c/a> in San Francisco on May 24. Or dive even deeper into the matrix \u003cem>and\u003c/em> have some say about the interwebs at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-wikipedians-workshop-tickets-1255419045159?aff=ebdssbdestsearch\">Bay Area Wikipedians Workshop\u003c/a>, with meetups in May, June, July and August. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can make mixed media pieces and collages at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.mightymightystudio.com/book-online\">Mighty Mighty Studio\u003c/a>. You can \u003ca href=\"https://www.scrap-sf.org/workshops\">learn all about Assemblage at SCRAP\u003c/a>, a creative reuse center in San Francisco. You can build your own Scraper Bike in Deep East Oakland as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DJTHMhDRK-_/\">Scraper Bike team\u003c/a> hosts a week-long workshop at Arroyo Viejo Park in early June. Hell, you can learn to print photos on plants at Vallejo’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/autonomous.gallery\">Autonomous Gallery\u003c/a>. Even the \u003ca href=\"https://artstudio.berkeley.edu/our-classes/\">UC Berkeley Art Studio\u003c/a> has everything from calligraphy to printmaking, with summer classes that run from June 2 until Aug. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lastly, if nothing else speaks to you? Check out your local library. They have giveaways, events and these things called books … which are kind of like phones! They’re informative, entertaining, and some have images — and they never require charging. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On April 10, Marco Cochrane’s 45-foot-tall metal sculpture of a nude woman, titled \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, was unveiled to the public at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza. She will stand there, her butt facing the Ferry Building, her mechanized chest “breathing” for one hour each day, for at least six months, possibly a whole year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I gazed up at this monumental steel and mesh sculpture on Thursday, I felt embarrassed for the city of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Look, I don’t write negative reviews often. When I do pan something, it’s in the interest of public service (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13894558/immersive-van-gogh-review-san-francisco\">\u003ci>should\u003c/i> you pay $40 for that?\u003c/a>), and with the acknowledgement that I might not be the intended audience of a certain thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of several problems with \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is that we are \u003ci>all\u003c/i> the audience for this thing, and no one asked us if we wanted it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974427\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974427\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"view of backside of giant metal sculpture of nude woman, looking down Market Street\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view of ‘R-Evolution’ that greets people from the Ferry Building. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I admit, the Burning Man aesthetic is not my aesthetic. While \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is certainly a feat of engineering and fabrication, it doesn’t succeed for me as a standalone artwork removed from the stark landscape and pounding EDM of the Playa. Also, why would we seek to occlude our \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101895411/forum-from-the-archives-what-the-ferry-building-tells-us-about-san-franciscos-history-of-reinvention\">hard-won view\u003c/a> of the Ferry Building?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13972152']Embarcadero Plaza, shadeless, polarizing, is a complex site filled with real pieces of \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/embarcadero-vaillancourt-fountain-19591582.php\">architectural\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/hXrdZ5kWRqs?feature=shared\">cultural\u003c/a> history. (Save the Vaillancourt Fountain!) \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, made for a party in the desert, has no relationship to its new urban surroundings and everyday city life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then there’s the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.marcocochrane.com/about\">feminism\u003c/a>” of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco, like all American cities, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11794018/san-francisco-report-reveals-large-discrepancy-of-public-spaces-named-after-women\">a major gender imbalance\u003c/a> when it comes to its public art — both in terms of who’s represented by it and who made it. We even passed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11695768/s-f-moves-toward-requiring-more-representation-of-women-in-public-spaces\">2018 ordinance\u003c/a> declaring that a meager 30% of statues, street signs and parks on city-owned property should honor historical women. Since then, we’ve added \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/dr-maya-angelou-monument\">just one such monument\u003c/a> to our Civic Art Collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974426\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974426\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"woman stands next to man with mic\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">L–R: ‘R-Evolution’ model Deja Solis and artist Marco Cochrane at the April 10, 2025 press preview at Embarcadero Plaza. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And though \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is based on real-life model Deja Solis (as impossibly proportioned as she seems), she is neither a historical figure nor named. That may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/102774/rebel-girls-from-bay-area-history-alma-de-bretteville-spreckels-philanthropist-firecracker\">Alma de Bretteville Spreckels\u003c/a> atop the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Monument\">Dewey Monument\u003c/a> in Union Square, but really she’s just a symbol of colonial military victory. People are tired of retrograde symbols; according to San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://sfartscommission.org/sites/default/files/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_07_2023.pdf\">Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee\u003c/a>, the Dewey Monument is one of the least-liked monuments in the Civic Art Collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, in a very old-fashioned way, is not a singular person, but a self-declared symbol of “divine feminine energy” — a giant nude sculpture of a woman made by a man. We should know by now that a depiction of a woman is not inherently feminist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when we give our public space over to third-party art agencies and privately funded artwork, maybe all we can expect is out-of-place aesthetics and half-baked messages of representation. (Similarly plopped-down temporary artworks now dot the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973169/temporary-public-art-great-highway-ocean-beach-plans\">Great Highway\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://goldenmileproject.org/\">JFK Drive\u003c/a>, thanks to agencies like \u003ca href=\"https://building180.com/\">Building 180\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://illuminate.org/\">Illuminate\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974428\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"nine people stand on platform in mountain yoga pose with eyes closed, giant sculpture legs behind them\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Representatives of the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Port of San Francisco, Recreation and Parks, Building 180 and, at center, model Deja Solis and artist Marco Cochrane, imitate the pose of ‘R-Evolution’ at Embarcadero Plaza. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So how did \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> even get here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sculpture, which was built on Treasure Island and debuted at Burning Man in 2015, was originally meant for temporary installation at Union Square. The \u003ca href=\"https://visitunionsquaresf.com/\">Union Square Alliance\u003c/a>, which includes neighborhood business owners, was very excited for the attention (and foot traffic) the sculpture might bring to the beleaguered commercial district. But at the last minute, engineers deemed the 32,000-pound sculpture too heavy for the plaza tiles and the garage below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Recreation and Parks Department pivoted to another location: Embarcadero Plaza. In a March 3 meeting, when the San Francisco Arts Commission approved the installation in an 11-to-1 vote, several commissioners noted the sculpture is “controversial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioner JD Beltran, the lone nay, noted that had this been an SFAC commission, “one of the things that \u003ci>we\u003c/i> do, that has not been done … is that we seek pretty extensive public comment about the effect of the statue on the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974429\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974429\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed.jpg\" alt=\"person shades eyes and looks up next to giant metal mesh foot\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A person looks up at ‘R-Evolution’ in Embarcadero Plaza on April 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is a temporary installation, privately funded by the \u003ca href=\"https://sijbrandijfoundation.org/\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a>, organized by Building 180, and hosted by Recreation and Parks, it did not go through a period of public feedback. The commission received just \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/Written_public_comment_-_Full_Commission_March_3_2025.pdf\">three emails\u003c/a> prior to their March 3 meeting, most worried about the sculpture’s effect on plaza vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13974032']In contrast, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/projects/potrero-yard-modernization-project\">Potrero Yard Modernization Project\u003c/a>, a bus maintenance facility and affordable housing development set to be built across the street from KQED, allowed for two weeks of comment on its public art components. Posters put up around the neighborhood made sure everyone in the vicinity knew how to add their two cents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately the review panel for the bus depot may not choose the art I would like to see from my office window, but that’s OK. My opinion was requested and absorbed by someone at some point in the decision-making process. I am the public, I had a say in my art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is public art only in the most literal sense: It exists in public space. But the public — as in, the people — had nothing to do with it.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On April 10, Marco Cochrane’s 45-foot-tall metal sculpture of a nude woman, titled \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, was unveiled to the public at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza. She will stand there, her butt facing the Ferry Building, her mechanized chest “breathing” for one hour each day, for at least six months, possibly a whole year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I gazed up at this monumental steel and mesh sculpture on Thursday, I felt embarrassed for the city of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Look, I don’t write negative reviews often. When I do pan something, it’s in the interest of public service (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13894558/immersive-van-gogh-review-san-francisco\">\u003ci>should\u003c/i> you pay $40 for that?\u003c/a>), and with the acknowledgement that I might not be the intended audience of a certain thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of several problems with \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is that we are \u003ci>all\u003c/i> the audience for this thing, and no one asked us if we wanted it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974427\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974427\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"view of backside of giant metal sculpture of nude woman, looking down Market Street\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-27_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view of ‘R-Evolution’ that greets people from the Ferry Building. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I admit, the Burning Man aesthetic is not my aesthetic. While \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is certainly a feat of engineering and fabrication, it doesn’t succeed for me as a standalone artwork removed from the stark landscape and pounding EDM of the Playa. Also, why would we seek to occlude our \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101895411/forum-from-the-archives-what-the-ferry-building-tells-us-about-san-franciscos-history-of-reinvention\">hard-won view\u003c/a> of the Ferry Building?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Embarcadero Plaza, shadeless, polarizing, is a complex site filled with real pieces of \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/embarcadero-vaillancourt-fountain-19591582.php\">architectural\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/hXrdZ5kWRqs?feature=shared\">cultural\u003c/a> history. (Save the Vaillancourt Fountain!) \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, made for a party in the desert, has no relationship to its new urban surroundings and everyday city life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then there’s the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.marcocochrane.com/about\">feminism\u003c/a>” of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco, like all American cities, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11794018/san-francisco-report-reveals-large-discrepancy-of-public-spaces-named-after-women\">a major gender imbalance\u003c/a> when it comes to its public art — both in terms of who’s represented by it and who made it. We even passed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11695768/s-f-moves-toward-requiring-more-representation-of-women-in-public-spaces\">2018 ordinance\u003c/a> declaring that a meager 30% of statues, street signs and parks on city-owned property should honor historical women. Since then, we’ve added \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfartscommission.org/content/dr-maya-angelou-monument\">just one such monument\u003c/a> to our Civic Art Collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974426\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974426\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"woman stands next to man with mic\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-16_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">L–R: ‘R-Evolution’ model Deja Solis and artist Marco Cochrane at the April 10, 2025 press preview at Embarcadero Plaza. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And though \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is based on real-life model Deja Solis (as impossibly proportioned as she seems), she is neither a historical figure nor named. That may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/102774/rebel-girls-from-bay-area-history-alma-de-bretteville-spreckels-philanthropist-firecracker\">Alma de Bretteville Spreckels\u003c/a> atop the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Monument\">Dewey Monument\u003c/a> in Union Square, but really she’s just a symbol of colonial military victory. People are tired of retrograde symbols; according to San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://sfartscommission.org/sites/default/files/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_07_2023.pdf\">Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee\u003c/a>, the Dewey Monument is one of the least-liked monuments in the Civic Art Collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i>, in a very old-fashioned way, is not a singular person, but a self-declared symbol of “divine feminine energy” — a giant nude sculpture of a woman made by a man. We should know by now that a depiction of a woman is not inherently feminist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when we give our public space over to third-party art agencies and privately funded artwork, maybe all we can expect is out-of-place aesthetics and half-baked messages of representation. (Similarly plopped-down temporary artworks now dot the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973169/temporary-public-art-great-highway-ocean-beach-plans\">Great Highway\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://goldenmileproject.org/\">JFK Drive\u003c/a>, thanks to agencies like \u003ca href=\"https://building180.com/\">Building 180\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://illuminate.org/\">Illuminate\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974428\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974428\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"nine people stand on platform in mountain yoga pose with eyes closed, giant sculpture legs behind them\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Representatives of the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Port of San Francisco, Recreation and Parks, Building 180 and, at center, model Deja Solis and artist Marco Cochrane, imitate the pose of ‘R-Evolution’ at Embarcadero Plaza. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So how did \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> even get here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sculpture, which was built on Treasure Island and debuted at Burning Man in 2015, was originally meant for temporary installation at Union Square. The \u003ca href=\"https://visitunionsquaresf.com/\">Union Square Alliance\u003c/a>, which includes neighborhood business owners, was very excited for the attention (and foot traffic) the sculpture might bring to the beleaguered commercial district. But at the last minute, engineers deemed the 32,000-pound sculpture too heavy for the plaza tiles and the garage below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Recreation and Parks Department pivoted to another location: Embarcadero Plaza. In a March 3 meeting, when the San Francisco Arts Commission approved the installation in an 11-to-1 vote, several commissioners noted the sculpture is “controversial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioner JD Beltran, the lone nay, noted that had this been an SFAC commission, “one of the things that \u003ci>we\u003c/i> do, that has not been done … is that we seek pretty extensive public comment about the effect of the statue on the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13974429\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13974429\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed.jpg\" alt=\"person shades eyes and looks up next to giant metal mesh foot\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/20240410_GiantNakedLadyEmbarcadero_GC-28_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A person looks up at ‘R-Evolution’ in Embarcadero Plaza on April 10, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because \u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is a temporary installation, privately funded by the \u003ca href=\"https://sijbrandijfoundation.org/\">Sijbrandij Foundation\u003c/a>, organized by Building 180, and hosted by Recreation and Parks, it did not go through a period of public feedback. The commission received just \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/Written_public_comment_-_Full_Commission_March_3_2025.pdf\">three emails\u003c/a> prior to their March 3 meeting, most worried about the sculpture’s effect on plaza vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In contrast, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfmta.com/projects/potrero-yard-modernization-project\">Potrero Yard Modernization Project\u003c/a>, a bus maintenance facility and affordable housing development set to be built across the street from KQED, allowed for two weeks of comment on its public art components. Posters put up around the neighborhood made sure everyone in the vicinity knew how to add their two cents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately the review panel for the bus depot may not choose the art I would like to see from my office window, but that’s OK. My opinion was requested and absorbed by someone at some point in the decision-making process. I am the public, I had a say in my art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>R-Evolution\u003c/i> is public art only in the most literal sense: It exists in public space. But the public — as in, the people — had nothing to do with it.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "temporary-public-art-great-highway-ocean-beach-plans",
"title": "Temporary Public Art for Great Highway Unveiled",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s difficult to get San Franciscans to agree on pretty much anything when it comes to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031300/this-stretch-san-franciscos-great-highway-now-permanently-closed-cars\">the Great Highway\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lucas Lux, president of \u003ca href=\"https://oceanbeachpark.org/\">Friends of Ocean Beach Park\u003c/a>, says consensus did emerge when it came to discussions around public art. Lux’s nonprofit is working with San Francisco Recreation and Parks to “activate” the two-mile stretch of roadway for the April 12 grand opening of the \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/1824/The-Great-Park-Naming-Contest\">yet-to-be-named park\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the victory of Prop K, we also spoke with numerous community leaders, neighbors and local art professionals on how best to approach art at the new park,” Lux said in an online meeting with the media on Monday. “The vast majority of people want the ocean to remain the star of the space, and want art and park features that compliment and don’t overwhelm the natural beauty of the coast.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973188\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1606px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973188\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling.jpg\" alt=\"sunset over beach with wooden phone booth structure in foregorund\" width=\"1606\" height=\"1204\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling.jpg 1606w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1606px) 100vw, 1606px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Grimm and Jamae Tasker’s piece, ‘Ocean Calling’ is inspired by the Ōtsuchi wind phone in Japan, an unconnected phonebooth where people can have one-sided conversations with the dead. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Friends of Ocean Beach Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He then presented images and renderings of 11 new murals and five sculptures, privately funded by Friends of Ocean Beach Park and other donors, that will be temporarily installed along the Great Highway for up to one year. The planned artwork includes colorful paintings on asphalt at major intersections, a crab sculpture that doubles as an optical illusion and metal giraffe sculptures near the San Francisco Zoo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 18 artists selected for the park’s opening installations, all but one are from the Bay Area, with four artists making their public art debuts. They are: Zach Coffin, Emily Fromm, Chris Granillo, Sarah Grimm and Jamae Tasker, Peter Hazel, Matley Hurd, Orlie K, Alice Lee, Cameron Moberg, Josue Rojas, Joey Rose, Wesley Skinner, Martin Taylor and Christina Xu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Work on two of the murals, a “playscape” panorama by Emily Fromm and an homage to local flora and fauna by Orlie Kapitulnik (aka Orlie K), is already underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973190\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973190\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000.jpg\" alt=\"wide image of long mural of beach activities and person repainting mural over white spray paint\" width=\"2000\" height=\"874\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-800x350.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-1020x446.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-160x70.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-768x336.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-1536x671.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-1920x839.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Fromm’s mural on the Judah Street bathrooms was vandalized over the weekend. Volunteers helped her repair the damage. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Friends of Ocean Beach Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_12031698']As the very visible harbingers of the changes to come, Fromm and Kapitulnik have experienced the tension in the neighborhood firsthand. Fromm’s mural was just days away from completion when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031698/volunteers-restore-vandalized-mural-as-oceanfront-park-project-moves-forward\">it was vandalized\u003c/a> with white spray paint sometime between Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, right when the Great Highway closed to car traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The message “JOEL LIE$ #RECALL” — a reference to Sunset Supervisor Joel Engardio’s support of Proposition K and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12016404/divide-over-sfs-great-highway-closure-sparks-recall-push-against-supervisor\">subsequent efforts to recall him\u003c/a> — was written in what appeared to be the same white paint on the highway surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Having been there for six weeks, I’d say 75% or more of the interactions I received were super, super positive, and people have been really excited,” Fromm said in Monday’s meeting. “Around that time of the closure especially, we had some people who made us feel unsafe and said really hurtful things. And we appreciate you all for stepping up so, so much because when you’re out there all by yourself, it can be a little bit daunting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000.jpg\" alt=\"wide mural of plants and animals as digital rendering on photograph\" width=\"2000\" height=\"761\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-800x304.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-1020x388.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-160x61.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-768x292.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-1536x584.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-1920x731.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A rendering of Orlie K’s mural, to be installed on the bathrooms at Taraval Street. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Friends of Ocean Beach Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shannon Riley, CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://building180.com/\">Building 180\u003c/a>, the art production agency that helped Friends of Ocean Beach Park select the muralists and sponsored three of the sculptures, said over 60 volunteers helped Fromm restore her mural over the weekend. Fromm said she’s on track to complete the piece and put the final protective layer on by the end of this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lux stated that protecting the artists involved in the project is even more important than protecting the art. “We hope that people will find more productive and respectful ways to express their opinions than destroying the artwork,” he said. Friends of Ocean Beach Park is spending $400,000 on the artwork and other preparations for the park’s opening day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_12031300,news_12028190']During the Great Highway’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031300/this-stretch-san-franciscos-great-highway-now-permanently-closed-cars\">monthlong closure\u003c/a>, the city will conduct its annual sand relocation from the north end of Ocean Beach to the south. As the artwork is installed, Recreation and Parks will use the month-long closure to add seating and recreation areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some Outer Sunset residents have raised concerns about the environmental impact of the artwork, Lux stressed that everything installed over the coming month is temporary. “The people of San Francisco, through voting on Prop K, have removed the element that is not natural to the landscape that has been causing the most harm — and that’s automobile pollution,” Lux said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said \u003ca href=\"https://oceanbeachpark.org/art\">welcomes feedback\u003c/a> on the pieces, as well as the contact information of artists who want to be involved in future open calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The work we’re doing is activating day one of the park, which is just the beginning,” Lux stressed. “Rec and Parks is launching a public engagement process to guide long-term improvements, and we hope that our artistic placemaking work helps inform the community’s engagement with that process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the San Francisco Arts Commission will present the full list of planned artwork to the SFAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--march-19-2025--visual-arts-committee-meetinga\">Visual Arts Committee on Wednesday, March 19\u003c/a> at 2 p.m. General public comment will take place in person near the beginning of the meeting.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Eleven murals and five sculptures are planned for the two-mile stretch of road alongside Ocean Beach.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s difficult to get San Franciscans to agree on pretty much anything when it comes to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031300/this-stretch-san-franciscos-great-highway-now-permanently-closed-cars\">the Great Highway\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Lucas Lux, president of \u003ca href=\"https://oceanbeachpark.org/\">Friends of Ocean Beach Park\u003c/a>, says consensus did emerge when it came to discussions around public art. Lux’s nonprofit is working with San Francisco Recreation and Parks to “activate” the two-mile stretch of roadway for the April 12 grand opening of the \u003ca href=\"https://sfrecpark.org/1824/The-Great-Park-Naming-Contest\">yet-to-be-named park\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the victory of Prop K, we also spoke with numerous community leaders, neighbors and local art professionals on how best to approach art at the new park,” Lux said in an online meeting with the media on Monday. “The vast majority of people want the ocean to remain the star of the space, and want art and park features that compliment and don’t overwhelm the natural beauty of the coast.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973188\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1606px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973188\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling.jpg\" alt=\"sunset over beach with wooden phone booth structure in foregorund\" width=\"1606\" height=\"1204\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling.jpg 1606w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OceanCalling-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1606px) 100vw, 1606px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Grimm and Jamae Tasker’s piece, ‘Ocean Calling’ is inspired by the Ōtsuchi wind phone in Japan, an unconnected phonebooth where people can have one-sided conversations with the dead. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Friends of Ocean Beach Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He then presented images and renderings of 11 new murals and five sculptures, privately funded by Friends of Ocean Beach Park and other donors, that will be temporarily installed along the Great Highway for up to one year. The planned artwork includes colorful paintings on asphalt at major intersections, a crab sculpture that doubles as an optical illusion and metal giraffe sculptures near the San Francisco Zoo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 18 artists selected for the park’s opening installations, all but one are from the Bay Area, with four artists making their public art debuts. They are: Zach Coffin, Emily Fromm, Chris Granillo, Sarah Grimm and Jamae Tasker, Peter Hazel, Matley Hurd, Orlie K, Alice Lee, Cameron Moberg, Josue Rojas, Joey Rose, Wesley Skinner, Martin Taylor and Christina Xu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Work on two of the murals, a “playscape” panorama by Emily Fromm and an homage to local flora and fauna by Orlie Kapitulnik (aka Orlie K), is already underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973190\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973190\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000.jpg\" alt=\"wide image of long mural of beach activities and person repainting mural over white spray paint\" width=\"2000\" height=\"874\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-800x350.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-1020x446.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-160x70.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-768x336.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-1536x671.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/Fromm_2000-1920x839.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Fromm’s mural on the Judah Street bathrooms was vandalized over the weekend. Volunteers helped her repair the damage. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Friends of Ocean Beach Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As the very visible harbingers of the changes to come, Fromm and Kapitulnik have experienced the tension in the neighborhood firsthand. Fromm’s mural was just days away from completion when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031698/volunteers-restore-vandalized-mural-as-oceanfront-park-project-moves-forward\">it was vandalized\u003c/a> with white spray paint sometime between Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, right when the Great Highway closed to car traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The message “JOEL LIE$ #RECALL” — a reference to Sunset Supervisor Joel Engardio’s support of Proposition K and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12016404/divide-over-sfs-great-highway-closure-sparks-recall-push-against-supervisor\">subsequent efforts to recall him\u003c/a> — was written in what appeared to be the same white paint on the highway surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Having been there for six weeks, I’d say 75% or more of the interactions I received were super, super positive, and people have been really excited,” Fromm said in Monday’s meeting. “Around that time of the closure especially, we had some people who made us feel unsafe and said really hurtful things. And we appreciate you all for stepping up so, so much because when you’re out there all by yourself, it can be a little bit daunting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000.jpg\" alt=\"wide mural of plants and animals as digital rendering on photograph\" width=\"2000\" height=\"761\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-800x304.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-1020x388.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-160x61.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-768x292.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-1536x584.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/OrlieK_2000-1920x731.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A rendering of Orlie K’s mural, to be installed on the bathrooms at Taraval Street. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Friends of Ocean Beach Park)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shannon Riley, CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://building180.com/\">Building 180\u003c/a>, the art production agency that helped Friends of Ocean Beach Park select the muralists and sponsored three of the sculptures, said over 60 volunteers helped Fromm restore her mural over the weekend. Fromm said she’s on track to complete the piece and put the final protective layer on by the end of this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lux stated that protecting the artists involved in the project is even more important than protecting the art. “We hope that people will find more productive and respectful ways to express their opinions than destroying the artwork,” he said. Friends of Ocean Beach Park is spending $400,000 on the artwork and other preparations for the park’s opening day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>During the Great Highway’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12031300/this-stretch-san-franciscos-great-highway-now-permanently-closed-cars\">monthlong closure\u003c/a>, the city will conduct its annual sand relocation from the north end of Ocean Beach to the south. As the artwork is installed, Recreation and Parks will use the month-long closure to add seating and recreation areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some Outer Sunset residents have raised concerns about the environmental impact of the artwork, Lux stressed that everything installed over the coming month is temporary. “The people of San Francisco, through voting on Prop K, have removed the element that is not natural to the landscape that has been causing the most harm — and that’s automobile pollution,” Lux said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said \u003ca href=\"https://oceanbeachpark.org/art\">welcomes feedback\u003c/a> on the pieces, as well as the contact information of artists who want to be involved in future open calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The work we’re doing is activating day one of the park, which is just the beginning,” Lux stressed. “Rec and Parks is launching a public engagement process to guide long-term improvements, and we hope that our artistic placemaking work helps inform the community’s engagement with that process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the San Francisco Arts Commission will present the full list of planned artwork to the SFAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/meeting--march-19-2025--visual-arts-committee-meetinga\">Visual Arts Committee on Wednesday, March 19\u003c/a> at 2 p.m. General public comment will take place in person near the beginning of the meeting.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
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"meta": {
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"source": "WNYC"
},
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
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"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
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"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
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