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FOR-SITE Foundation workshop, Nevada City
Artist Programs

Artist Residencies

The FOR-SITE Foundation’s residency program supports artists in the creation of work that dynamically addresses various aspects of place, from natural history to cultural heritage and from the geologic to the geopolitical. The 50-acre residency site is located on the edge of the South Yuba River gorge, just outside the historic gold-mining town of Nevada City, California. FOR-SITE collaborates with institutional partners to select artists and present the work created during the residencies, extending these projects into the public realm.

**PLEASE NOTE: FOR-SITE’s residency program is currently on indefinite hiatus**

Fall 2009Mark DionThe Marvelous Museum: A Mark Dion Project

In work that appropriates archaeological and other scientific methods, Mark Dion examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world. The artist used the FOR-SITE residency to familiarize himself with the natural and social history of California as part of the conceptual development of The Marvelous Museum, an exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California.

Fall 2008Pae WhitePae White: In Between the Outside-In

Los Angeles–based installation artist Pae White explores issues of site and context while blurring any boundary that may remain between art and design. White’s time at the FOR-SITE residency culminated in an installation at New Langton Arts in San Francisco, In Between the Outside-In, that proposed new paradigms for art and landscape.

Summer 2008Chris DruryChris Drury: Mushrooms | Clouds

Chris Drury creates ephemeral assemblies of natural materials. His work explores the connections between nature and culture, inner and outer, systems within the body and systems on the planet. Drury often collaborates with scientists and technicians from a broad spectrum of disciplines. His FOR-SITE residency was part of a larger collaboration with the Nevada Museum of Art resulting in the exhibition Mushrooms | Clouds.

Fall 2006Shi GuoruiShi Guorui: Reproduction and Refashioning

In his FOR-SITE project, Beijing-based photographer Shi Guorui examined the landscape and history of California. He built a camera obscura at various locales, including Alcatraz Island, the de Young Museum, and Donner Pass, and created large-scale photograms of objects from the collections of the de Young Museum and of mining tools associated with the Nevada City area. The resulting exhibition, Reproduction and Refashioning, was presented at the de Young.

Fall 2005Cornelia ParkerNew Work by Cornelia Parker

London-based sculptor Cornelia Parker has earned a reputation for sculptural installations manifesting the theory that matter is never destroyed, but is merely transformed into something else. She used her time at FOR-SITE to create a work exploring, in her words, “ideas . . . of chance and intention, violence and calm, death, resurrection and the nature of the limbo.” The work, Anti-Mass, was presented in the exhibition New Work by Cornelia Parker at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Fall 2005Richard LongRichard Long: The Path Is the Place Is the Line

Distinguished British artist Richard Long has spent his career making art that expresses his connection to the land. Long is recognized for creating a kind of extended sculpture that is informed by his vigorous, solitary sense of quest. His FOR-SITE residency culminated in an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Path Is the Place Is the Line.

Top: FOR-SITE Foundation workshop, Nevada City

Artist Programs

  • Overview
  • Artist Residencies
  • Education Programs
    • Indwelling
    • Non-Site For-Site
    • Overstanding/Undermining
    • Loss for Words
    • After “After Nature”
    • Re-Presenting Experience: An Assessment of the Figure Within Landscape
  • Wauson Fellowships

Field Notes

  • Fall 2015 Education Program Perspective — Instructor Brian Conley

  • Fall 2015 Education Program Perspective — Frances Richard, Guest Instructor

  • Spring 2015 Education Program Perspective — Peter von Tiesenhausen, Guest Artist

Artist Editions

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  • #LandsEnd featured artist Andrea Chung’s video Come Back to Jamaica (2009), & Come Back to Yourself (2013), will be… https://t.co/HXwouRNnBa
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Occupying a suite of former military structures in the Presidio overlooking the San Francisco Bay, Home Land Security (2016) brought together works by contemporary artists and collectives from around the globe to reflect on the human dimensions and increasing complexity of national security, including the physical and psychological borders we create, protect, and cross in its name. 

The exhibition extended FOR-SITE’s focus on provocative art about place, inviting viewers into decommissioned batteries, an administrative building, and a chapel — some open to the public for the first time — that served for decades as key sites in the US Army’s Coastal Defense System. #ArtAboutPlace

Image: DÍAZ LEWIS, 34,000 PILLOWS, 2016–ONGOING (VIEW FROM OUTSIDE BATTERY BOUTELLE); USED AND DONATED CLOTHING AND KAPOK FIBER FILLING; COURTESY THE ARTISTS AND ASPECT/RATIO, CHICAGO; © DÍAZ LEWIS; PHOTO: ROBERT DIVERS HERRICK
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Occupying a suite of former military structures in the Presidio overlooking the San Francisco Bay, Home Land Security (2016) brought together works by contemporary artists and collectives from around the globe to reflect on the human dimensions and increasing complexity of national security, including the physical and psychological borders we create, protect, and cross in its name.  The exhibition extended FOR-SITE’s focus on provocative art about place, inviting viewers into decommissioned batteries, an administrative building, and a chapel — some open to the public for the first time — that served for decades as key sites in the US Army’s Coastal Defense System. #ArtAboutPlace Image: DÍAZ LEWIS, 34,000 PILLOWS, 2016–ONGOING (VIEW FROM OUTSIDE BATTERY BOUTELLE); USED AND DONATED CLOTHING AND KAPOK FIBER FILLING; COURTESY THE ARTISTS AND ASPECT/RATIO, CHICAGO; © DÍAZ LEWIS; PHOTO: ROBERT DIVERS HERRICK
1 day ago
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1/9
@anateresafernandez’s Sanctuary rug design, titled Erasure, showcases a work from a series of the same name for which the artist documented a performance of erasure: painting her body black with thick acrylic paint in front of a black background. The resulting video and suite of signature large-scale, hyperrealist paintings leave only glimpses of color—in this case, a searing pair of eyes. Fernández performed this act of removal and mourning in response to the 2014 disappearance and presumed murder of forty-three young male student-activists in Ayotzinapa, Mexico. For the artist, this unconscionable act raises critical questions: “Whose life can be erased so quickly? Why are some sectors of our community treated in such a disposable way? What do we need to do as a society to be seen and treated equally, like valued human beings?”

In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
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@anateresafernandez’s Sanctuary rug design, titled Erasure, showcases a work from a series of the same name for which the artist documented a performance of erasure: painting her body black with thick acrylic paint in front of a black background. The resulting video and suite of signature large-scale, hyperrealist paintings leave only glimpses of color—in this case, a searing pair of eyes. Fernández performed this act of removal and mourning in response to the 2014 disappearance and presumed murder of forty-three young male student-activists in Ayotzinapa, Mexico. For the artist, this unconscionable act raises critical questions: “Whose life can be erased so quickly? Why are some sectors of our community treated in such a disposable way? What do we need to do as a society to be seen and treated equally, like valued human beings?” In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
4 days ago
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2/9
Titled Here we die, @mpane.aime’s design for Sanctuary was based on one of his carved plywood portraits from a series of the same name. He creates these portraits with an ancient tool called an adze, which allows him to scrape away layers of wood and reveal his subject by reduction. Each panel is roughly twelve by twelve inches: the equivalent of a human head’s surface area. “Because my work deals with problems of race and the stereotypes of black people, the three layers within four-millimeter-thick plywood make me think of the three layers within human skin,” he explains. Despite the dark histories underlying his work, Mpane’s portraits are not somber: his embrace of bright color lends an air of inextinguishable hope and promise.

In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
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Titled Here we die, @mpane.aime’s design for Sanctuary was based on one of his carved plywood portraits from a series of the same name. He creates these portraits with an ancient tool called an adze, which allows him to scrape away layers of wood and reveal his subject by reduction. Each panel is roughly twelve by twelve inches: the equivalent of a human head’s surface area. “Because my work deals with problems of race and the stereotypes of black people, the three layers within four-millimeter-thick plywood make me think of the three layers within human skin,” he explains. Despite the dark histories underlying his work, Mpane’s portraits are not somber: his embrace of bright color lends an air of inextinguishable hope and promise. In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
7 days ago
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3/9
@hankwillisthomas Sanctuary contribution, titled Keep the Faith Baby, comes from a series invoking buttons and slogans from political campaigns and social movements from the last 50 years, removing them from their original context to allow audiences to reinterpret the messaging through a contemporary lens. Thomas remembers encountering a button bearing this particular wording as a child. The phrase, used by New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, originally served to communicate the hope and profound faith that fueled the American civil rights movement. “It may sound trite, but commercialism is the new religion. We are all believers. Even the most radical of us,” Thomas has said. “It’s not propaganda anymore.”

The notion of sanctuary—both physical and psychological—has been fundamental in shaping a sense of selfhood and social identity throughout human history. But in an era of increasing global migration and rising nationalism, the right to safe haven is under threat, and the necessity for compassion is greater than ever. Seeking to address these issues and ideas, In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
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@hankwillisthomas Sanctuary contribution, titled Keep the Faith Baby, comes from a series invoking buttons and slogans from political campaigns and social movements from the last 50 years, removing them from their original context to allow audiences to reinterpret the messaging through a contemporary lens. Thomas remembers encountering a button bearing this particular wording as a child. The phrase, used by New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, originally served to communicate the hope and profound faith that fueled the American civil rights movement. “It may sound trite, but commercialism is the new religion. We are all believers. Even the most radical of us,” Thomas has said. “It’s not propaganda anymore.” The notion of sanctuary—both physical and psychological—has been fundamental in shaping a sense of selfhood and social identity throughout human history. But in an era of increasing global migration and rising nationalism, the right to safe haven is under threat, and the necessity for compassion is greater than ever. Seeking to address these issues and ideas, In 2017 FOR-SITE invited 36 artists from 21 different countries to design contemporary rugs reflecting on sanctuary, offering visitors a multiplicity of perspectives on the basic human need for refuge, protection, and sacred ground.
1 week ago
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4/9
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
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Deinstall continues! While we are on hiatus, keep in touch by subscribing to our newsletter at the link in bio.
2 weeks ago
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5/9
Susanne Cockrell’s (@aradicalstitch ), Indwelling invited students to move their toolkits, studio, and lens of production to the Sierra Nevada and work through their own experiences of being on the land. Through guided walks, and meetings with local artists, community groups, herbalists and trackers students focused on understanding the complex relationships between their art practices and a sense of indwelling.

Since 2003, FOR-SITE’s education program has enriched the experience of graduate-level art students with learning opportunities that extend beyond the traditional academic curriculum.

Image: Susanne Cockrell’s, Indwelling, 2016, California College of the Arts
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Susanne Cockrell’s (@aradicalstitch ), Indwelling invited students to move their toolkits, studio, and lens of production to the Sierra Nevada and work through their own experiences of being on the land. Through guided walks, and meetings with local artists, community groups, herbalists and trackers students focused on understanding the complex relationships between their art practices and a sense of indwelling. Since 2003, FOR-SITE’s education program has enriched the experience of graduate-level art students with learning opportunities that extend beyond the traditional academic curriculum. Image: Susanne Cockrell’s, Indwelling, 2016, California College of the Arts
3 weeks ago
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6/9
Established in 2003, the FOR-SITE Foundation is dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place. Our exhibitions and commissions artist residencies, and education programs are based in the belief that art can inspire fresh thinking and important dialogue about our natural and cultural environment.

Image: Artist Chris Drury at work
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Established in 2003, the FOR-SITE Foundation is dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place. Our exhibitions and commissions artist residencies, and education programs are based in the belief that art can inspire fresh thinking and important dialogue about our natural and cultural environment. Image: Artist Chris Drury at work
3 weeks ago
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7/9
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
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Reflections from preschool students who visited #LandsEnd
3 weeks ago
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8/9
In honor of #Earthday we want to acknowledge that the former Cliff House and the Lands End exhibition were sited on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Yelamu, a local tribe of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples and the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula.

While we appreciate the beauty of the Golden Gate National Park, we must acknowledge that Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization
displaced and eradicated Native peoples across California, including the Yelamu beginning in the 18th Century. We offer respect to
the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramaytush Community and affirm their sovereign rights as First Peoples.

We recognize the Ramaytush Ohlone's enduring commitment to steward the Earth. Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge in how
we care for the lands, waters, and all the people must inspire our actions to achieve a truly ecologically sustainable future for San Francisco and our planet.

#LandsEnd featured works by a group of artists from around the world that strived to remind viewers of our interconnectedness via global currents of water and air, and to encourage visitors  to partake in all the fresh ideas and perspectives that emerge from the rising tides as we head deeper into this tumultuous century. The exhibition featured works by @suzannehusky  @brianjungen @catriona.jeffries @andreachungstudio 
@tylerpark_presents 
@angelo.filomeno  @galerielelong 
@project88mumbai 
@chester_arnold_painter 
@cclarkgallery @gerada_art @anateresafernandez 
@cclarkgallery @danielbeltraphoto @edelmangallery 
@adam5100 @dougaitkenworkshop 
@studioolafureliasson 
@mcevoyarts @elizabethellenwood 
@maja_petric 
@winstonwachter @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen 
@mcevoyarts @gulnurozdaglar @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen #williamtwiley #DougAitken #tuulanarhinen 
#andygoldsworthy #onebeachplastic #shumonahmed
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In honor of #Earthday we want to acknowledge that the former Cliff House and the Lands End exhibition were sited on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Yelamu, a local tribe of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples and the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. While we appreciate the beauty of the Golden Gate National Park, we must acknowledge that Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization displaced and eradicated Native peoples across California, including the Yelamu beginning in the 18th Century. We offer respect to the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramaytush Community and affirm their sovereign rights as First Peoples. We recognize the Ramaytush Ohlone's enduring commitment to steward the Earth. Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge in how we care for the lands, waters, and all the people must inspire our actions to achieve a truly ecologically sustainable future for San Francisco and our planet. #LandsEnd featured works by a group of artists from around the world that strived to remind viewers of our interconnectedness via global currents of water and air, and to encourage visitors to partake in all the fresh ideas and perspectives that emerge from the rising tides as we head deeper into this tumultuous century. The exhibition featured works by @suzannehusky  @brianjungen @catriona.jeffries @andreachungstudio @tylerpark_presents @angelo.filomeno  @galerielelong @project88mumbai @chester_arnold_painter @cclarkgallery @gerada_art @anateresafernandez @cclarkgallery @danielbeltraphoto @edelmangallery @adam5100 @dougaitkenworkshop @studioolafureliasson @mcevoyarts @elizabethellenwood @maja_petric @winstonwachter @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen @mcevoyarts @gulnurozdaglar @paewhitestudio @jana.winderen #williamtwiley #DougAitken #tuulanarhinen #andygoldsworthy #onebeachplastic #shumonahmed
4 weeks ago
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9/9

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