Celebrated Exhibition Black Gold: Stories Untold to Reopen for Final Weekend
October 10 - 13, 2025
San Francisco, CA (October 7, 2025)—FOR-SITE’s acclaimed exhibition Black Gold: Stories Untold will reopen for one final weekend, Friday - Monday, October 10 - 13, from 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Black Gold features the work of 17 contemporary artists and collectives to illuminate the transformative impact of Black communities on California’s cultural, social, and political histories and contexts. Focusing on the period from the Gold Rush to Reconstruction following the Civil War (c. 1848–1877), the exhibition engages visitors with the powerful narratives and experiences of African Americans of the time. Since its opening on June 6 at Fort Point National Historic Site, Black Gold has welcomed more than 70,000 people of all ages and backgrounds, to enjoy incredible works of art, including more than two dozen new commissions, and to engage with remarkable yet lesser-known California stories.
As a result of the shutdown of the Federal government, Black Gold closed ahead of its November 2 scheduled conclusion. Thanks to the generous support of several FOR-SITE patrons and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, a major partner for the exhibition, and in collaboration with the National Park Service, FOR-SITE is able to reopen the exhibition for this final weekend.
To celebrate the conclusion of Black Gold, FOR-SITE will host two performances on Sunday, October 12, at 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. The Untold Stories Performances feature staged monologues by actors representing historic figures highlighted in the exhibition. This includes Sam Ademola as George Washington Dennis, Rotimi Agbabiaka as Frederick Douglass, and Edris Cooper as Mary Ellen Pleasant. Untold Stories Performances are written and directed by Rotimi Agbabiaka.
FOR-SITE invites the public to join in the experience of Black Gold this coming weekend, and to take the opportunity to connect with significant artworks by 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.
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.
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, Cosmo Whyte, and Hank Willis Thomas.
Representative Artworks
Trina Michelle Robinson
Transposing Landscapes: A Requiem for Charles Young, 2025
Demetri Broxton
Eyes That Have Seen the Ocean Will Not Tremble at the Sight of the Lagoon, 2025
Yinka Shonibare, CBE
Man Moving Up, 2022
Adam Davis
Jantae Spinks Holding Family Portrait, Los Angeles, CA, 2021
Hank Willis Thomas
Solidarity, 2023
Alison Saar
Lost Boys, 2001
About Fort Point
A former military fortification located beneath the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point National Historic Site was constructed to protect San Francisco’s harbor from potential naval threats as the region became rich with the discovery of gold. The fort was completed in 1861, but never saw active military engagement. Today, it is an important historic location within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is managed by the National Park Service. Black Gold: Stories Untold will activate this historic site through contemporary art, connecting the resonances of the past to critical issues of our present. The exhibition marks the sixth collaboration between FOR-SITE, the National Park Service, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, resulting in new models of park visitor engagement through site-specific art presented on public land.
Host Committee
Cecilia Aviles, Janice Barger, Lorna Meyer Calas, Joanna Drake, MJ Elmore, Merrilee Harris, Karla Martin, Meridee Moore, Annie Robinson Woods, Sarah Woodward
Ambassadors
Michelle Branch, 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
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, Karla Martin, 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