FOR-SITE Foundation
  • Share
  • Search
  • Contact
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff, Board, Partners
    • Press Room
    • Contact
    • Website Credits
  • Projects
    • Overview
    • On View
    • Past
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Artist Programs
  • Places
    • Alcatraz Island
    • Fort Mason
    • Fort Winfield Scott
    • Fort Point
    • The Presidio
    • Nevada City Residency
  • Events
  • Field Notes
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donor Events
    • Supporters
    • Visionaries
  • Shop
09-07-16

Allison Stone talks Art in the Presidio

AllisonStone

Allison Stone has worked for the Presidio Trust for 15 years. A planner by training, she has supported many post-to-park transformations, from creating a world-class trails system to restoring the park’s largest watershed. Today she directs the newly formed Park Programs team, which focuses on sharing the Presidio with the public through activities including art programs. One of those is the new Home Land Security exhibition at the Presidio’s Fort Winfield Scott.

Why have art in the Presidio?

Parks are inherently public and democratic places — a natural platform for artistic expression. There’s a long tradition of art in parks. In the Presidio, we’ve experimented with art as a way to welcome and encourage people to explore their park — geographically, intellectually, and emotionally. The Presidio is a complex place with many layers and stories. Artists are innovative and talented storytellers. Together the combination has proven time and again that site-based art is a powerful way to enhance a visitor’s experience of the place. So far, most of our exhibitions have been temporary and located outdoors along trails and — in some cases — in lesser-known areas of the park. We’ve found art is a great way to ignite curiosity and foster deeper connections to place.

How does the Presidio make these exhibitions happen?

We are very fortunate to have the support of many wonderful partner organizations, artists, and philanthropic supporters. The FOR-SITE Foundation has been a key partner in this endeavor — for the Trust as well as the National Park Service (NPS) and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (GGNPC). In the Presidio, FOR-SITE organized Goldsworthy in the Presidio (ongoing), Presidio Habitats (2010-11), and Art About Place (2014-15) in partnership with the Trust. We also were pleased to partner with SFMOMA as part of its On the Go program in 2013, showcasing work by SECA Award-winner David Wilson. And we were honored to partner with UBS and have WOMEN: New Portraits by Annie Liebovitz presented in the Presidio last spring. Our very first exhibition was brought to the Presidio in partnership with the GGNPC, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and noted artist Jeannene M. Przyblyski as part of the 2008 Bay Area Now exhibition.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about art in the Presidio?

Yes: we really couldn’t have all the wonderful art in the Presidio without our amazing volunteer art docents, trail ambassadors, and interns. If you’d like to learn more and see the art for yourself, check out our Presidio events page and join a monthly guided Goldsworthy in the Presidio walk, drop in for a tour of Goldsworthy’s Tree Fall any weekend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or hear a short talk about Goldsworthy’s Earth Wall at noon every Saturday — these are all great ways to experience the knowledge and passion of our volunteers firsthand. We’re also recruiting our next class of docents; if you love art and are interested in supporting our efforts, contact us at [email protected] or 415.561.5332. Additionally, you can find out how to become an Art Guide for Home Land Security on FOR-SITE’s volunteer page.

FOR-SITE Foundation, Home Land Security, Presidio Trust

Field Notes

  • Artist Programs
  • Artists
  • Events
  • In the Field
  • In the Press
  • Places
  • Projects

Artist Editions

  • Syjuco DSC_2956a copy
  • alfarrowmultiple
  • michelepredmultipleopen
  • trevorpaglen-challenge-coin_rdh_001

Artist Editions

  • Syjuco DSC_2956a copy
  • alfarrowmultiple
  • michelepredmultipleopen
  • trevorpaglen-challenge-coin_rdh_001

Facebook

For-Site Foundation

Twitter

  • #LandsEnd featured artist Andrea Chung’s video Come Back to Jamaica (2009), & Come Back to Yourself (2013), will be… https://t.co/HXwouRNnBa
  • FOR-SITE is thrilled to partner with local chefs & mixologists in hosting small, safe cocktail parties & suppers on… https://t.co/q1lElox0gx

Instagram

FOR-SITE collaborator @hankwillisthomas & artist @wideawakes designed  #EyesonIran flying billboards in solidarity with the women of Iran. 

The billboards can be seen this week on South beach, Miami and at @untitledartfair 

@forfreedoms multi-day, multi-media art installation spans Miami and artworks throughout @4freedomspark in NYC
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
FOR-SITE collaborator @hankwillisthomas & artist @wideawakes designed #EyesonIran flying billboards in solidarity with the women of Iran. The billboards can be seen this week on South beach, Miami and at @untitledartfair @forfreedoms multi-day, multi-media art installation spans Miami and artworks throughout @4freedomspark in NYC
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
1/9
This #GivingTuesday we want to celebrate and honor YOU and the other partners and supporters who have buoyed our wildest dreams. Access to all of our exhibition sites these past years—from the former Cliff House to Alcatraz to military batteries and churches—was gifted to us from our park partners. The 110 artists with whom we have worked blew us away with breathtaking, career-defining work, often under short order. FOR-SITE simply would not exist without the well of generosity and cooperation that is our friends, and we intend to express our gratitude this year. 

You can continue to support FOR-SITE by donating today at the link in bio.
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
This #GivingTuesday we want to celebrate and honor YOU and the other partners and supporters who have buoyed our wildest dreams. Access to all of our exhibition sites these past years—from the former Cliff House to Alcatraz to military batteries and churches—was gifted to us from our park partners. The 110 artists with whom we have worked blew us away with breathtaking, career-defining work, often under short order. FOR-SITE simply would not exist without the well of generosity and cooperation that is our friends, and we intend to express our gratitude this year. You can continue to support FOR-SITE by donating today at the link in bio.
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
2/9
The participating artists of FOR-SITE’s 2018 exhibition SANCTUARY, represented diverse ideologies and backgrounds (many including experiences as migrants and refugees), but their contributions to the exhibition—spectacularly varied in content and design—conformed to a single format, lending a unifying element that bridged racial, cultural, and religious differences. Installed on the floor of the historic Fort Mason Chapel, the four-by-six-foot wool rugs—woven in Lahore, Pakistan, using traditional materials and hand-knotting techniques—called to mind traditional prayer rugs, but they transcended religious connotations, encompassing thoughtful viewpoints on cultural identity, sense of place, and belonging.

Photo by @robertdiversherrick
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
The participating artists of FOR-SITE’s 2018 exhibition SANCTUARY, represented diverse ideologies and backgrounds (many including experiences as migrants and refugees), but their contributions to the exhibition—spectacularly varied in content and design—conformed to a single format, lending a unifying element that bridged racial, cultural, and religious differences. Installed on the floor of the historic Fort Mason Chapel, the four-by-six-foot wool rugs—woven in Lahore, Pakistan, using traditional materials and hand-knotting techniques—called to mind traditional prayer rugs, but they transcended religious connotations, encompassing thoughtful viewpoints on cultural identity, sense of place, and belonging. Photo by @robertdiversherrick
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
#LandsEnd featured artist @suzannehusky has explored interactions among humans, animals, and plants through a multifaceted art practice that includes sculpture, installation, photography, and film for the last 20 years. 

Husky sculpts her trees from used clothes and found textiles, translating our cast-off clothing—informed by age and gender, class, culture, and politics—to the individualizing characteristics of trees, suggesting the deep interconnectedness of humans and their natural surroundings. “Forest” is both an homage to an ecological system that supports countless plant and animal species and a memorial to that same system under threat of erasure. #artaboutplace
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
#LandsEnd featured artist @suzannehusky has explored interactions among humans, animals, and plants through a multifaceted art practice that includes sculpture, installation, photography, and film for the last 20 years. Husky sculpts her trees from used clothes and found textiles, translating our cast-off clothing—informed by age and gender, class, culture, and politics—to the individualizing characteristics of trees, suggesting the deep interconnectedness of humans and their natural surroundings. “Forest” is both an homage to an ecological system that supports countless plant and animal species and a memorial to that same system under threat of erasure. #artaboutplace
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
#LandsEnd featured artist @danielbeltraphoto’s striking, large-scale aerial photographs of melting polar ice caps and oil spills highlight the rate and scale at which humanity is impacting our world. His juxtapositions of nature and destruction provide an almost overwhelming sense of physical scale and emotional dread, through flattened but dynamic images that flirt with abstraction.
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
#LandsEnd featured artist @danielbeltraphoto’s striking, large-scale aerial photographs of melting polar ice caps and oil spills highlight the rate and scale at which humanity is impacting our world. His juxtapositions of nature and destruction provide an almost overwhelming sense of physical scale and emotional dread, through flattened but dynamic images that flirt with abstraction.
3 months ago
View on Instagram |
5/9
FOR-SITE turns 20 in 2023! We feel extremely grateful to all of you, the artists, and to our long-standing park partners, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (@parksconservancy), the Presidio Trust (@presidiosf), and the @nationalparkservice, for such outstanding companionship and support of our work.

Stay tuned! The celebrations begin next month, in December, followed by a milestone anniversary year punctuated by programs and events, and a to-be-announced biennial exhibition open to the public.

In the meantime, you may have noticed we changed our name and branding, with our new website coming soon. The FOR-SITE Foundation is now FOR-SITE, yet we remain dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place.

We look forward to celebrating with you this next year!
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
FOR-SITE turns 20 in 2023! We feel extremely grateful to all of you, the artists, and to our long-standing park partners, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (@parksconservancy), the Presidio Trust (@presidiosf), and the @nationalparkservice, for such outstanding companionship and support of our work. Stay tuned! The celebrations begin next month, in December, followed by a milestone anniversary year punctuated by programs and events, and a to-be-announced biennial exhibition open to the public. In the meantime, you may have noticed we changed our name and branding, with our new website coming soon. The FOR-SITE Foundation is now FOR-SITE, yet we remain dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place. We look forward to celebrating with you this next year!
3 months ago
View on Instagram |
6/9
Election Day has arrived! VOTE for the planet and the future you want to see in the world 🌍🌊 🗳️
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
Election Day has arrived! VOTE for the planet and the future you want to see in the world 🌍🌊 🗳️
3 months ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
@anateresafernandez talking sea bodies and On the Horizon on @kqed live. #LandsEnd
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
@anateresafernandez talking sea bodies and On the Horizon on @kqed live. #LandsEnd
3 months ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
“The response among members of the visual arts community in the Bay Area was swift and certain: The Times story, a consensus of those who spoke with The Chronicle said, does not represent the region accurately, and they do not see a local decline.

The most common criticism of the Times’ reporting was that San Francisco should not be viewed through the lens of an art market, but rather as a larger arts community consisting of many public and private institutions as well as independent artists, arts workers and patrons.” - @tonybravosf 

@anateresafernandez “On the Horizon” at #FORSITE’s #LandsEnd exhibition featured  in @tonybravosf “S.F.’s art scene, disparaged by the New York Times, pushes back” for @sfchronicle_datebook
for_site
for_site
•
Follow
“The response among members of the visual arts community in the Bay Area was swift and certain: The Times story, a consensus of those who spoke with The Chronicle said, does not represent the region accurately, and they do not see a local decline. The most common criticism of the Times’ reporting was that San Francisco should not be viewed through the lens of an art market, but rather as a larger arts community consisting of many public and private institutions as well as independent artists, arts workers and patrons.” - @tonybravosf @anateresafernandez “On the Horizon” at #FORSITE’s #LandsEnd exhibition featured in @tonybravosf “S.F.’s art scene, disparaged by the New York Times, pushes back” for @sfchronicle_datebook
3 months ago
View on Instagram |
9/9

Subscribe

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Field Notes

  • Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse

  • Ai Weiwei Yours Truly Facebook Banner

    “Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly” Virtual Cinema Release

Virtual Tour

Donate

Support innovative art about place.
Learn more or donate now!

Donate Online
PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!

©2021 FOR-SITE Foundation - Credits + Colophon

Join our mailing list to stay up to date.

 

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.