Introducing the new "Illuminate Live Performance Series" in Golden Gate Park.
Join Illuminate, along with SF Rec & Park and the SF Parks Alliance, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday afternoons for free live music at the fully-renovated (and pitch perfect) Golden Gate Bandshell in the Music Concourse.
Check out the upcoming schedule.
MONUMENTAL RECKONING
On June 18, Illuminate and artist Dana King unveiled Monumental Reckoning, an extraordinary new installation in Golden Gate Park.
Monumental Reckoning fully encircles the memorial to Francis Scott Key that was partially toppled by protestors last Juneteenth by placing “350 ancestors” standing in judgment. The 350 individual statues all linked together around the Key memorial represent the first slaves that came to the US from Africa.
In a ceremony that drew more than 1,000 people into the park, San Francisco Mayor London Breed formally unveiled King’s dramatic presentation.
A temporary installation, Monumental Reckoning will remain in the park for two years.
Here’s a three-minute video on the project.
The unveiling took place on Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. An interrelated Illuminate project – the elevation of the words “Lift Every Voice” atop the newly-renovated Spreckels Temple of Music, is expected to follow later this year.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900, the same year the Spreckels Temple of Music opened. For more than a century, it has been sung as the Black national anthem. Born in 1871, Johnson’s 150th birthday falls on Juneteenth this year. Once elevated atop the bandshell, Weldon’s words will sit directly across the Music Concourse from King’s “ancestors.”
For more information on Monumental Reckoning, please visit www.monumentalreckoning.org
Grace Light
Now deemed Covid-safe, Grace Light is back at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.
Grace Light wowed audiences since its debut in the months before Covid and it’s return has been highly anticipated. Created by San Francisco artist George Zisiadis and supported by an original score by Gabriel Gold, Grace Light ‘s 100-foot curtain of shifting light offers an extraordinary, almost other-worldly experience. As light emanates from the uppermost eaves directly above Grace Cathedral’s famed labyrinth, a slight atmospheric haze envelopes viewers in a colossal curtain of gorgeously shifting light.
Tickets for Grace Light (which are free of charge) can only be secured through Evenbrite. Tickets will become available at noon on the 15th of each month for the following month. It’s highly competitive, so please be prepared to log on at noon on the 15th.
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Revival!
Illuminate’s renovation of the bandshell in Golden Gate Park is complete.
Formally called the Spreckels Temple of Music, the bandshell was slated to debut in time to celebrate the Park’s 150th anniversary in April but the project was halted in March due to Covid-19 restrictions. When restrictions on work were finally lifted, work commenced again and final work on the massive upgrade was completed. The full renovation features a brilliant new multi-level stage, professional-grade theatrical lighting, and a state-of-the-art new sound system.-
This project, led by philanthropists Carla and David Crane – with support from JP Conte – marks a new beginning for this long-dormant and underutilized jewel for public performance. When it’s safe to return fully to the park, a sparkling new Spreckles will be front and center.
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Conservatory of Flowers
Experience the nightly brilliance of Photosynthesis in Golden Gate Park. Illuminate and SF Rec & Park are lighting up the famed Conservatory of Flowers again this year. Come out and see it after dark!
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Illuminate is proud to announce the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund has joined us as our newest Illuminary providing critical operating support. Thank you for your extraordinary commitment to public art in San Francisco.
Learn more about our Illuminary program
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ILLUMINATE
Illuminate's mission is to rally large groups of people together to create impossible works of public art that, through awe, free humanity's better nature.
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