Black Gold: Stories Untold
June 6 – October 13, 2025 at Fort Point National Historic Site
Featuring the work of 17 contemporary artists and collectives and including many new commissions, Black Gold: Stories Untold illuminates the experiences of African Americans who lived in California from the Gold Rush to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War (c. 1848–1877), highlighting the transformative impact of Black communities on the state’s cultural, social, and political environs. Black Gold was inspired in part by Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California, a public education campaign produced by the ACLU of Northern California, one of FOR-SITE’s community partners. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. An expansive, full-color catalogue from Radius Books accompanies the exhibition.
Black Gold: Stories Untold
Artists
Akea Brionne, Demetri Broxton, Adrian L. Burrell, the artists of Creativity Explored, Adam Davis, Cheryl Derricotte, Carla Edwards, Mildred Howard, Isaac Julien, Tiff Massey, Umar Rashid, Trina Michelle Robinson, Alison Saar, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Bryan Keith Thomas, and Hank Willis Thomas
Featured Works
Akea Brionne, Mary Ellen Pleasant, 2025
Demetri Broxton, Eyes That Have Seen the Ocean Will Not Tremble at the Sight of the Lagoon, 2025
Demetri Broxton, However Far the Stream Flows, It Never Forgets Its Source, 2025
Adrian L. Burrell, Gloria, 2025
Adam Davis, Black Magic, 2020–ongoing
Cheryl Derricotte, The Best Table in San Francisco, 2025
Carla Edwards, Tear, 2024
Mildred Howard, Untold Histories / Hidden Truths, 2025
Isaac Julien, works from the Lessons of the Hour series, all 2019
Tiff Massey, 72 Reasons I’m Not Playin, 2025
Umar Rashid, By Land. By Sea. By Star., 2025
Trina Michelle Robinson, Transposing Landscapes: A Requiem for Charles Young, 2025
Alison Saar, Lost Boys, 2001
Yinka Shonibare CBE, Man Moving Up, 2022
Yinka Shonibare CBE, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle (Maquette), 2007
Bryan Keith Thomas, “Heirloom” Gilded Box, 2025 (detail)
Cosmo Whyte, Soldiers, 2025
Works by the Artists of Creativity Explored: Alissa Bledsoe, Samedi Djeimguero, Daniel Green, Joseph "JayD" Green, Ayana Norwood, Joseph Omolayole, Lance Rivers, DeAndre Smith-King, and Gerald Wiggins
Hank Willis Thomas, Solidarity, 2023
Hank Willis Thomas, Black Righteous Space (video), 2012
Unless otherwise noted, all exhibition photography by Robert Divers Herrick.
Black Gold Host Committee
Cecilia Aviles, Janice Barger, Lorna Meyer Calas, Joanna Drake, MJ Elmore, Merrilee Harris, Meridee Moore, Annie Robinson Woods, Sarah Woodward
Black Gold: Stories Untold is made possible by the generosity of FOR-SITE's supporters and friends.
Black Gold Ambassadors
Charles Collins, Xavier Cunningham, Drusie Davis, Brenda Drake, Ted Gioia, Lydia Haile, Paul Henderson, Maria Jenson, Eve King, George McCalman, Meridee Moore, Ralph Remington, Abby Schnair, Claire Spaht, Cheryl Ward
Advisory Committee
Susan D. Anderson, History Curator and Program Manager, California African American Museum
Dr. Tiffany Barber, Assistant Professor of African American Art, University of California, Los Angeles
Osei Bonsu, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern
Tammerlin Drummond, Principal Communications Strategist, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Dr. Jacqueline Francis, Dean, Humanities & Sciences Division, California College of the Arts
David C. Howse, President, California College of the Arts
Key Jo Lee, Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs, Museum of the African Diaspora
Claudia Schmuckli, Curator-in-Charge, Contemporary Art and Programming, Fine Art Museums, San Francisco
Dexter Wimberly, Independent Curator
Black Gold Sponsors
Trailblazers
The ARB Fund, Drusie and Jim Davis, Roger Evans and Aey Phanachet, Leila Marcus, Lorna Meyer Calas and Dennis Calas
Entrepreneurs
Janice and Matt Barger, Jennifer Caldwell and John Fisher, MJ Elmore, Merrilee Harris, Beverly and Peter Lipman, Delle Maxwell, Meridee Moore, Sonja Hoel Perkins, Claire and Holden Spaht, Jack and Susy Wadsworth
Champions
Barn Road Foundation, Joachim Bechtle and Hannah Herzog, Black Arts Movement Business District Community Development Corporation, Dagmar Dolby, Joanna Drake and Christopher Smith, Randi and Bob Fisher, Christine and Curtis Gardner, Craig Hartman and Jan O’Brien, Stephanie and Bill Mellin, Polaris Fund, Abby and Gene Schnair, Anne Robinson Woods and Monty Woods, TomKat Foundation, Sarah and Dave Woodward
Activists
John Atwater and Diana Nelson, Michelle Branch, Shawn and Brook Byers, Elizabeth Brown & Hamilton Candee, Scott Elaine Case, Heidi Castelein, Angela and Scott Crabill, Brenda Drake, Cheryl Haines, Tad J. Freese and Brook Hartzell, Kaitlyn and Mike Krieger, Chris and Michele Meany, Jim and Maureen Miller, Kate and Wes Mitchell, Janet Mohle-Boetani, Anna Ortiz Morfit, Laura Pantaleo and Michael Lukan, Gina and Dave Pell, Mary Robinson, John Sanger, Jessica Silverman, Joe Tobin & Dede Johnston, Dr. Kathleen Welsh and Dr. Bill Plautz, Bobbie and Mike Wilsey, Zlot Buell + Associates
FOR-SITE Visionaries
The ARB Fund, Roger Evans and Aey Phanachet, Randi and Bob Fisher, Susan Karp and Paul Haahr, Beverly and Peter Lipman, Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman, Sakana Foundation, Syzygy Foundation, Sally Zheng
In-Kind Supporters
3D Virtual Design Technology, Inc. (3DVDT), Shelter Co, Uncle Nearest