Treasure Island intends to be the Bay Area's next hot waterfront property, and a bevy of artists—495 of them, to be exact—competed to win two permanent art installations there.
Curbed SF reported that among the eight finalists invited by San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to create and submit designs for the site is contemporary Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, who captured the imaginations of Bay Areans with his dramatic installation at Alcatraz in 2014.
Weiwei will submit proposals for two sites on the island: One at Building 1 Plaza, a $1 million commission; and the other, a $2 million commission, reportedly located at the island's forthcoming ferry terminal.
According to SFAC, "Each artist or her/his representative will be asked to attend an on-site orientation and will be paid an honorarium to develop a preliminary proposal for the site. It is anticipated that proposals will be submitted in the spring and will be placed on public view on Treasure Island as well as elsewhere [...] for comment and feedback before being voted upon by the Treasure Island Development Authority."
Building 1 Plaza. (Courtesy SF Arts Commission)
The group of finalists includes other prominent international artists, including New Jersey sculptor Chakaia Booker; Ned Kahn, who has worked on multiple exhibits at the Exploratorium; Andy Goldsworthy, maker of the Presidio Spire;British sculptorAntony Gormley; L.A.-based visual artist Pae White; Cuban sculptor Jorge Pardo; and New York-based architectural artist Sugimoto Hiroshi.
Due to the scale of the Treasure Island development, up to $50 million in public art will be commissioned.
