Community Art
We're creating a sense of welcome, belonging, and inclusion through art.
So, building on a long tradition, we welcome new audiences to the Presidio through the language of art. A current focus is at Presidio Tunnel Tops, where temporary installations offer visitors new ways to experience and enjoy the park.
NOW ON VIEW: SUPERBLOOMS BY TOSHA STIMAGE
Oakland-based multi-disciplinary artist Tosha Stimage is the third and final artist selected for the Presidio Public Art Mentorship program. Known for her innovative use of various mediums to explore language creation, Tosha will transform the space between the Presidio Transit Center and the enclosed Picnic Pavilion at Presidio Tunnel Tops with a large-scale art installation this July.
Artist Tosha Stimage
Tosha, the founder of SAINTFLORA, a floral design company specializing in unconventional flower experiences, integrates her expertise in floral art to craft installations that re-contextualize materials and histories with fresh perspectives. “Flowers put us back in the ‘circle’ and connect us to labor, land, and each other,” she shares. “I’m incredibly excited to explore the flora of the Presidio and use it to spark curiosity and fresh perspectives.”
Collaborating with Artist and Presidio Activator Favianna Rodriguez, SUPERBLOOMS aims to engage visitors through curiosity and nature, creating an accessible and inclusive dialogue around complex social and environmental topics. The mentorship program, initiated by Favianna, highlights BIPOC artists and fosters public art that invites exploration and conversation.
Tosha’s art invites personal and collective engagement, offering workshops at Crissy Field Center and moments of discovery throughout the park. “I hope my work opens people up to new perspectives and makes them curious about narratives that haven’t always been available,” Tosha explains. Learn more in the Q&A with Artist Tosha Stimage.
PRESIDIO PUBLIC ART MENTORSHIP PILOT PROGRAM
The Presidio Public Art Mentorship pilot is an experimental program for emerging and mid-career BIPOC artists to develop temporary public art installations at Presidio Tunnel Tops.
This pilot program is an effort to create a more welcoming and inclusive park through public art. Presidio Activator, Artist, and Activist Favianna Rodriguez serves as a coach to support artists in scaling their ideas to create temporary public art installations that speak to diverse communities.
Art Installation: Ancestral Futurism - Looking Back to Repair the Future
To welcome new communities, in 2022-2023 the Presidio Tunnel Tops opening season featured a temporary outdoor mural installation by Favianna Rodriguez. Favianna was the first artist to be selected as part of the Presidio Public Art Mentorship program, an experimental pilot program for emerging and mid-career BIPOC artists to develop temporary public art installations at Presidio Tunnel Tops.
Ancestral Futurism: Looking Back to Repair the Future honored the diversity and interconnectedness of all humans, land, flora and fauna that have lived in this ecosystem throughout the centuries. It depicted a vision for an interconnected future that begins with examining the colonial and repressive history of the Presidio.
The artistic renderings uplifted the stories, experiences, and images of BIPOC communities with an emphasis on the Ramaytush Ohlone, the original stewards of the land. Abstract symbols reflected plants and creatures that were once abundant in the region. Additionally, the themes of justice, freedom, and belonging are weaved throughout the artwork. Learn more in the Q&A with Artist and Presidio Activator Favianna Rodriguez.
Artist Favianna Rodriguez
Favianna is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and social activist who also served as a Presidio Activator for the opening year of Presidio Tunnel Tops. An important goal of the artwork is to spur conversations and ideas about how the Presidio can be repositioned as a place of welcome, inclusion, and belonging for all people and communities. Parts of Ancestral Futurism can still be seen in front of the Presidio Visitor Center. Banners are also on display in the Presidio Plaza and Outpost Plaza welcoming visitors to the ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone.
Previous Installations: Iconic Visions by Felicia Gabaldon
Fine art painter Felicia Gabaldon was selected to be the second of three artists to install artwork at Presidio Tunnel Tops as part of the Presidio Public Art Mentorship program.
In Iconic Visions, Felicia created large-scale ground murals of images of Presidio creatures like coyote, quail, and Monarch butterfly.
Felicia is originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and currently resides in Oakland where she’s resident artist at Faultline Artspace. She uses nostalgic illustrations to manifest the natural beauty of the American Southwest while also re-examining it.
Influenced by desert landscapes and drawing from her identity as an American Indian of the Choctaw Tribe with Spanish Heritage, her paintings represent a distant reverence of self-discovery, culture, and history. Her art can be seen in galleries in San Francisco or as far away as the ARTSCAPE SAGA urban art project in Gothenburg, Sweden.
“Moving to the Bay Area was very inspiring in terms of the art landscape in a big city,” Felicia shared. “I started to gather inspiration from this space as well as New Mexico. Finding my voice allowed me to express myself culturally and indigenously. I hope that when people see my art, they also feel welcome to express themselves.”
