Art

Explore Art in the Parks today with any of these creative works now open for visitors. Come back soon to see more current exhibitions and programs—new opportunities and creative works are always making their way to to the national parks!

From foggy Sutro Baths to Alcatraz, Art in the Parks showcases site-specific works within national park settings that provide opportunities for reflection about nature and the unique culture of the San Francisco Bay Area. Proposals are accepted on a quarterly basis.

Art in the Parks works with with a variety of community partners to bring the arts to park settings to provide new ways of experiencing and learning about place.

A life-sized, 82-foot blue whale art installation sculpture was exhibited at the west end of Crissy Field. Made from recycled plastic collected in California, the sculpture sought to address the serious issue of plastic pollution threatening our oceans.

This exhibition presented by the FOR-SITE Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service, the Presidio Trust and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, can now be seen online.

Ai Weiwei created seven large-scale sculpture, sound, and mixed-media site-specific artworks for installation in four places on Alcatraz Island: the two-story New Industries Building, where "privileged" inmates were permitted to work; the main ward and psychiatric observation cells of the Alcatraz Hospital; the A Block cells, the only remaining section of the military prison that was constructed in the early 20th century; and the Alcatraz Dining Hall. With the exception of the Dining Hall, these spaces are not usually open to visitors, but all were open to the public throughout the run of the @Large exhibition.

Presented by the FOR-SITE Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei brought his works to Alcatraz Island until spring of 2015.

Tunes on Trails, a program from the Art in the Parks initiative, brings musicians to perform on trails in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. These free pop-up performances invite passersby on the trails to stop and enjoy the music--and the scenery

We Players has collaborated with the Art in the Parks Program for years, bringing performances to several National Parks sites.

May 22 2013-May 26, 2014 | Crissy Field | sculpture

Eight large sculptures were displayed across Crissy Field from May 2013 to May 2014, with the Golden Gate Bridge serving as a source of inspiration and a narrative backdrop.