Apr 24, 2024 - News

SF hosts immersive art experience to honor enclave

Shawna Chen

Photo of people mingling and chatting with each other in an outdoor space — Landing at Leidesdorff in San Francisco. Image: Courtesy of Downtown SF Partnership

A new immersive art experience will come to downtown San Francisco for one day this week, and everyone in the city is invited to participate.

Why it matters: The outdoor immersive arts project, titled CREATE!, is part of a larger effort to revitalize the downtown area and will showcase an array of local artists, performers and chefs to honor the history of the famous artist enclave Montgomery Block.

The event is organized by Downtown SF Partnership (DSFP) and admission is free.

Context: Montgomery Block once stood where the Transamerica Pyramid is located today and housed many creatives — including Frida Kahlo, Jack London, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dorothea Lange and Diego Rivera — throughout its 100-year lifespan.

"We felt like post-COVID is a time to lean into that idea of creativity as a tool for resilience," DSFP spokesperson Melissa Buckminster told Axios.

Driving the news: CREATE! will take place Thursday 4-8pm at Landing at Leidesdorff.

Specific exhibits will reflect a period of time — for instance, painting in Studio Frida for the past, abstract art capturing the Bay's landscape for the present and an AI-generated music playlist for the future.
Attendees will be invited to not only view art but also participate in its process through activities like screen-printing, personalized poetry and songwriting.

What they're saying: CREATE! is part of a citywide push to "reshape and reimagine" how downtown is used, Buckminster noted.

Add Axios on Google

SF hosts immersive art experience to honor enclave

More San Francisco stories