San Francisco shimmers as ‘Illuminate SF’ returns
City by the Bay shines again at the ninth annual “Illuminate SF Festival of Light”.
The festival has grown from six eco-friendly light art exhibitions when it started in 2013 to 55 this year – with 41 of these permanent installations and most of them open to view.
Presented by the San Francisco Travel Association in collaboration with local citizen, art, and culture partners, the festival runs from January 31, 2022.
It celebrates the power of light with installations by well-known artists such as Jenny Holtzer, Joseph Kosuth, Leo Villareal, Hank Willis Thomas, Jim Campbell, Ivan Navarro and Johanna Grawunder.
New this year at Golden Gate Park is Psychedelic Photosynthesis, a brightly lit, moving projection on the Conservatory of Flowers, reminiscent of the Summer of Love in San Francisco. This installation was developed in collaboration with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and complements the endless parade of rare and unusual flowers on display in the conservatory.
Winter lights by Joshua Hubert will debut in the woods of Golden Gate Park on December 2nd. Hundreds of individually controlled LED floodlights create dynamic patterns that are programmed to flow over an entire acre of the park. The illuminated sculptures are located on the park’s 6th Avenue SkatePark.
Is also new de truth, a mix of poetry and poetic expressions that stretches along the 140-foot facade of the de Young Museum. The light installation created by the non-profit Illuminate changes every night and shows a variety of poets and people. On some nights there is a visual play of light without words. On December 3, de Truth will honor the four San Francisco Poet Laureates who died during the Covid era: Diane di Prima, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Hirshman and Janice Mirikitani.
The return “bigger and more interactive” this year is on December 2nd Intertwined, Charles Gadeken’s popular art installation. The exhibition transforms the peacock meadow of Golden Gate Park again into a forest with otherworldly shapes and constantly changing light, which allows visitors to explore winding paths, sit under colorful trees and admire sculptures inspired by nature that are made with light bloom.
This year’s ‘Illuminate SF Festival of Light’ highlights the city’s 41 permanent light art works and 14 temporary light art installations across the city’s 49 square miles.
In, an inaugural address Let’s light up SF The holiday projection mapping event will take place December 3rd through December 12th. Activation is being carried out by Downtown SF, the non-profit district serving the Financial District and Jackson Square, in partnership with A3 Visual.
Let’s Glow SF will be the largest holiday project mapping event in the United States. The nocturnal journey of light and color shows works by local and international artists. Stunning, whimsical, abstract and naturalistic images on the theme of winter are projected onto four iconic buildings in San Francisco’s financial district.
