Black Gold: Stories Untold

Opening Friday, June 6, FOR-SITE presents its highly anticipated new project Black Gold: Stories Untold. This innovative exhibition invites more than fifteen contemporary artists to reflect on the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of African Americans who lived in California from the Gold Rush to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War (c. 1849–1877). Black Gold will be presented at Fort Point National Historic Site, the only extant Civil War-era fort on the West Coast of the United States, and will be on view from June 6 to November 2, 2025. Through a selection of recent artworks and nearly a dozen new commissions, Black Gold highlights important but little-known figures and narratives from California’s history. Works in the exhibition explore the presence of slavery and the struggle for legal rights within this “free” state, the successes of Black entrepreneurs, and the experiences of African American Army regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers. More broadly, the exhibition illuminates the role that Black communities played in the cultural, social, and political environs of the time. Artists include Akea Brionne, Demetri Broxton, Adrian L. Burrell, Adam Davis, Cheryl Derricotte, Carla Edwards, Mildred Howard, Sir Isaac Julien CBE, Tiff Massey, Umar Rashid, Trina Michelle Robinson, Alison Saar, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Bryan Keith Thomas, Cosmo Whyte, Hank Willis Thomas, and the artists of Creativity Explored. Art in Conversation with an Historic Site 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 1859, but never saw active military engagement. Today, it is an important location within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is managed by the National Park Service. Black Gold will activate this historic site through contemporary art, connecting the resonances of the past to critical issues of our present. Exhibition dates: Friday, June 6 to Sunday, November 2, 2025 Location: 201 Marine Dr, San Francisco, CA 94129 Hours: Fridays–Sundays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission: Free. More Information: for-site.org

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3068397-0

Read More

View Less