The Tamesis
While the San Francisco 49ers may have missed out on a chance to win a Super Bowl title in their hometown, that didn’t stop the Bay Area from joining in the celebrations. On Thursday, the San Francisco Institute of Contemporary Art announced a major new public art commission by Jeffrey Gibson.
The work is adapted from Gibson’s 2022 video installation this burning world— will be installed on the facade of the former Bloomingdale’s Building at San Francisco Center next week in conjunction with the 2026 FOG Design + Art Fair there. The 433-foot-long vinyl mural spans the entire city block and wraps the building’s glass facade; it will be fully unveiled on February 2 as part of Super Bowl LX festivities.
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The new work draws on footage shot in upstate New York and the Bay Area, weaving together still images from original video installations to explore what the press release describes as “the precarity of humanity’s relationship with the natural world.”
“Indigenous kinship philosophies provided the conceptual and philosophical framework for my presentation at ICA SF in 2022, and from which this installation finds its foundation,” Gibson said in a statement. “These perspectives recognize that elements of our natural environment are our equal ancestors, living relatives, and extensions of our own minds and bodies. When we destroy or treat land without regard for its own sustainable well-being, we in turn harm and compromise ourselves and neglect our own well-being, safety, and health.”
The project is funded by the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation and the Yerba Buena Partnership, which collaborates with artists such as Sarah Sze and Hank Willis Thomas to present public art installations in the neighborhood.
“Public art transforms how people experience the streets,” DDC CEO Shola Olatoye said in a statement. “That’s why DDC supports Jeffrey Gibson’s work in the heart of cities, creating small moments that draw people in and give them a reason to spend time here. DDC is investing in experiences that bring people together, helping to build a city that is welcoming to all.”
The Gibson Commission is ICA SF’s first major project since moving to a fully nomadic city-wide model following its departure from The Cube last December. Founded in the Dogpatch neighborhood in 2020, the agency plans to transform “vacant buildings, public spaces, and important construction sites into platforms for experimentation, civic dialogue, and cultural momentum,” according to an October press release. Its 2026 schedule already includes projects by artists such as Tara Donovan, Lily Kwong, Dominique Fung and Heidi Lau.
