On June 18, Illuminate and artist Dana King unveiled Monumental Reckoning, an extraordinary new installation in Golden Gate Park.

Monumental Reckoning fully encircles the memorial to Francis Scott Key that was partially toppled by protestors last Juneteenth by placing “350 ancestors” standing in judgment. The 350 individual statues all linked together around the Key memorial represent the first slaves that came to the US from Africa.

In a ceremony that drew more than 1,000 people into the park, San Francisco Mayor London Breed formally unveiled King’s dramatic presentation.

A temporary installation, Monumental Reckoning will remain in the park for two years.

Here’s a three-minute video on the project.

The unveiling took place on Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. An interrelated Illuminate project – the elevation of the words “Lift Every Voice” atop the newly-renovated Spreckels Temple of Music, is expected to follow later this year.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900, the same year the Spreckels Temple of Music opened. For more than a century, it has been sung as the Black national anthem. Born in 1871, Johnson’s 150th birthday falls on Juneteenth this year. Once elevated atop the bandshell, Weldon’s words will sit directly across the Music Concourse from King’s “ancestors.”

For more information on Monumental Reckoning, please visit www.monumentalreckoning.org

Now deemed Covid-safe, Grace Light is back at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.

Grace Light wowed audiences since its debut in the months before Covid and it’s return has been highly anticipated. Created by San Francisco artist George Zisiadis and supported by an original score by Gabriel Gold, Grace Light ‘s 100-foot curtain of shifting light offers an extraordinary, almost other-worldly experience. As light emanates from the uppermost eaves directly above Grace Cathedral’s famed labyrinth, a slight atmospheric haze envelopes viewers in a colossal curtain of gorgeously shifting light.

Tickets for Grace Light (which are free of charge) can only be secured through Evenbrite. Tickets will become available at noon on the 15th of each month for the following month. It’s highly competitive, so please be prepared to log on at noon on the 15th.