The Bay Lots of New Public Art Is Coming to SF — Whether You Like It Or Not
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Oct 17, 2025 Sarah Hotchkiss, Senior Editor of Arts and Culture at KQED, dives into the exciting, yet controversial, Big Art Loop project bringing up to 100 new temporary installations to San Francisco. She discusses the rapid deployment and less public oversight of these large-scale artworks, which aim for impactful visibility in the age of social media. Sarah raises thought-provoking questions on the need for more public engagement in the process and examines the implications of such a flood of art on community representation and long-term civic impact.
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Massive Temporary Art Push
- The Sabrandi Foundation's Big Art Loop plans up to 100 large temporary installations around San Francisco over three years.
- This dramatically increases visible public art and reshapes the city's visual landscape at scale.
Paid Placements Bypass Commissioning
- Big Art Loop uses existing large works and places them because the foundation pays for installation and leasing.
- This bypasses traditional commissioning and draws heavily from creators who build large festival pieces like Burning Man artists.
Eight-Year Journey To Permanent Art
- Artist Jesse Schlesinger described an eight-year process to realize permanent public art in the Outer Sunset.
- His long process included public engagement, city coordination, and eventual community buy-in.