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Artist: Flower Frankenstein
Project: Wondergarden

Wondergarden is an inflated sculpture garden of fantastical shapes and creatures created for Alamo Square.

Wondergarden gleefully blends new mythologies, universal symbolism, and hopeful imagination and artistry for children and adults to interact with -- evoking positivity and the joy of Wonder throughout. As a unique extension of the soaring playfulness that Wondergarden grows, the families and friends can fly special Wondergarden Kites to proudly celebrate Open Skies and to remind visitors to pursue important creative adventures -- dreams.

Join Flower Frankenstein, as she escorts us through an ecstatic garden of joy, hope, and imagination!

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Artist: Diana Sanchez
Project: Imprints

NOTE: SPECIAL WORKSHOP SATURDAY NOON

Imprints offers an immersive viewing experience of delicately placed photographs throughout Brooks Park, amongst its beautiful array of trees, plants, and other natural forms.

Flexibility and impermeability run through themes and materials used to honor Brooks Park, Ohlone Indian Heritage, and emotive invocations of joy and human exchange.

Sheer chance will offer families and individuals surprise-filled viewings of Diana's new subliminal photo-series -- inviting reflection on personal or historical engagements with the park. Looking to find the unexpected!

Join Diana Sanchez, and delight in the visible world, where hidden realities open up to our intuitive awareness of subtle yet powerful presences!

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Artist: Jason Robert Bell
Project: The Twilight World

The Twilight World combines Jason's Trashsures series (sculptural lost objects, designed to be discovered by chance) with his ongoing interest in metaphysics, esoteric images, folklore, and mythology.

People of all ages are invited to delight in the gentle transformation of public space -- where adventure, chance, and the spirit of fantasy are aglow.

Part Halloween folklore, part Trickster tale, part Celtic Phooka mythology -- fantastical, archetypal, or symbolic creatures and humans abound, with a fanciful checklist for visitors to discover their whereabouts -- or be discovered themselves.

Meet the wizardly, enigmatic "Old Man", modeled after Emperor Norton, who surveys the park -- offering visitors formal citizenship of this fantastic kingdom!

Join Jason Robert Bell, as he blurs the lines between waking reality, sculptural oddysey, and a twilight daydream!

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Artist: Moses
Project: Six Beats Deep

ALERT: SIX BEATS DEEP CENSORED BY COMMUNITY GROUP AND CITY AGENCY! CONTACT OR VISIT THE COCA WELCOME CENTER, PANHANDLE, FOR DETAILS.

COCA STANDS UP FOR
ART AS SOCIAL ACTIVISM!

6 Beats Deep is a highly stylized memorial sculpture designed to creatively provide a public focal point where community members may come together to peacefully reflect on issues involving violence, music, youth, gangs, politics, and ultimately -- healing.

Through this brave new project, our hope is to offer a vivid and humanizing catalyst for people to begin new dialogue about a subject that is often controversial or too painful for people to openly discuss. In many ways, 6 Beat Deep pays respect to the deceased while inviting people to explore complex underlying issues surrounding needless violence within our community. 6 Beats Deep is inspired by jazz, hip hop, afro-centric heroes, custom car culture, memorial art, and notably - the fantastic coffin art of Ghana, Africa.

A personalized soundtrack will be audible at moderate levels to add ambience and engage project visitors.

Join Moses, as he creates a compelling community experience to inspire new connectivity, rejuvenation, and positive growth for one of San Francisco’s important historical areas!

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Artist: Ellen Lake
Project: Tinkadelic

NOTE: FILM TINKERING WORKSHOP SATURDAY NOON-3 PM

Tinkadelic celebrates innovation, both past and present through this heritage-building project.

Revisit past inventions, inspired from a list of 100 Black Inventors and their Inventions at the Gilman clubhouse, through artist-designed decks of trading cards given to all park and Open Skies visitors.

Children, teens, and all-ages community members are invited to participate in free'n fun Film Tinkering Workshop to create scratch animation on found films and film leader. Using nails, ink, and other basic tools, Ellen will teach our newest filmmakers how to make scratch films. ALL Tinkadelic Films, created in this workshop, will be uploaded to a special website for a Global Debut Screening!

Join Ellen Lake, as we create Animation, and bring life to your ideas!

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Artist: Ellen Babcock with Hannah Barnard-Henke, Amy Dotts, Shawn Hibmacronan, Marnika Shelton, Gian Giglio
Project: McLarenology

NOTE: PROJECT SITE NEAR TENNIS COURTS AND ENTRANCE TO J GARCIA AMPH

McLarenology explores the bold and eccentric life of John Mclaren, or "The Boss" as he was often called.

Uber steward of natural beauty, friend of John Muir, Scotsman champion of lawn bowling -- yet vexed by notions of statuary in the parks! This fascinating figure offers artists clear challenges regarding public artworks that unearth McLaren's persona and psychology.

Join Ellen Babcock and her courageous action team as they brave wildly historical mandates, in order to chart new vistas in public sculpture and empathetic form!

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Artist: Mikhail Iliatov w/Erica Ehrenberg
Project: Linking the Park to a Story of First Love

Linking the Park to a Story of First Love introduces poetry and dimensions of language, type, and text-based art to a public space.

You will experience words at an unusual scale and discover new ways of reading poetry and relating to poetic metaphors.

Erica will offer a poetry workshop through the duration of the project.
And Mikhail will discuss printing methods (screen printing, stenciling), in addition to various new and historical philosophies and goals of typographic design.

Join Mikhail Iliatov and Erica Ehrenberg, as they continue a vibrant discussion of poetry and literature in public spaces!

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Artist: Scott Cartwright
Project: Rebuild the City of San Francisco in the Form of a Cone

Rebuild the City of San Francisco in the Form of a Cone offers residents of San Francisco an opportunity to re-imagine their city through a thought experiment that traces historical lineages and criticisms through the modern project of art and architecture, and their relationships between contemporary practices of architecture/urban planning, contemporary art, and political/economic realities.

Join Scott Cartwright, as we imagine a city whose walls determine how its inhabitants relate with the other!

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Artist: COCA w/ Charlie Sheldon
Project: Welcome Center

NOTE: HOSPITALITY EVENT FRIDAY 5-7 PM!

Welcome Center invites one and all to visit with Team COCA, learn about COCA, Open Skies and upcoming projects, and immerse yourself in our nomadic living outdoor Welcome Center!

Become a part of our Vision, where imagination lights the way to new horizons of public life, community engagement, and fresh connectivity to open space. Free informational materials and guidance will be offered throughout our launch weekend (Friday-Sunday, Oct 19-21, noon-5 PM), as the Panhandle becomes ground central for Open Skies.

Refuel with scrumptious refreshments. Reflect on the scope of Open Skies. Connect with friends and family. And share your dreams and ideas with Team COCA, all-ages community members, and our important city visitors.

Join Team COCA, as we embark on a lively artistic adventure of Discovery and Wonder -- illuminating a bright path to Open Skies -- and beyond!

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Artist: Mike Lai
Project: Bruce Lee vs. The League of Super Heroes

NOTE: SATURDAY 1-3 PM ONLY!

Bruce Lee vs The Superheroes combines dimensions of recreation, play, theater, performance, sport, costume and history. In an orchestrated game of Capture the Flag, multiple Bruce Lees (outfitted in costuming from the film, Game of Death) compete with comic-book superheroes who represent the diverse western cultures surrounding the area.

A fanciful choreographed movement of living colors will be generated to capture Washington Square as a place where the diverse cultural surroundings meet.

Join Mike Lai, as he offers a vivid portrait of Washington Square as a cultural melting pot, while celebrating the historical birthplace of the cultural icon, Bruce Lee!

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San Francisco's premiere parks advocacy authority supports SF parks, builds community, promotes physical/mental health and spurs public commitment to improve our urban environment. NPC is a collaborative Partner of COCA Center for Outdoor Contemporary Art
Contact: Colleen Flynn, Open Skies Festival Parks Coordinator

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Non-Profit Arts Organization dedicated to exploring new standards of artistic excellence while restoring the spirit of infinite possibilities to outdoor space and public imagination
Contact: Elliot Lessing, COCA Executive Director and Open Skies Festival Director

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Artist: Freya Bardell w/Brian Howe
Project: Liver (trans)Plant

NOTE: SPECIAL PRESENTATION SATURDAY 1 PM

Liver (trans)Plant is a morphogenetic floating island designed to attract nature and community to the banks of Stow Lake in a completely new way.

This transformative wetland/sculpture brings new life and attention to the water quality of Stow Lake, as it moves through water bodies, seeking contaminates. The island's plants act as a filter, becoming a form of productive and protective infrastructure that actively breakdown some of the identified pollutants in the lake. For two days guests will be encouraged to paddle the Liver around Stowe Lake, while a central illuminated beacon translates the water quality data into colored light, informing the boaters of the real-time water quality of Stow Lake.

At night, a network of interactive elements come to life. LED lighting and speakers float on the surface of the water translating water quality, air quality and a variety of other environmental data into color and sound. This data is simultaneously represented at the information kiosk, informing the city of the 'real-time' state of their water bodies.

Join Freya Bardell and Brian Howe, for a shoreline view of the diverse life-forms that are naturally attracted to the healing qualities of this unique sculpture -- all within the backdrop of Stow Lake’s enchanted living features!

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Artist: The Studio for Urban Projects
Project: An Unnatural History of Golden Gate Park

An Unnatural History of Golden Gate Park explores the multifaceted nature of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

The nature of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is deceptive. The land that it occupies was originally thought to be an undesirable drift of sand dunes on the outskirts of the city known as the Outside Lands. Today the picturesque scenery of Golden Gate Park presents a convincing English style pastoral landscape and the park serves as a treasured recreational ground for the citizenry of San Francisco.

An Unnatural History of Golden Gate Park is an audio tour that strolls through this historic pleasure ground exploring sites from Stow Lake to the Bison Paddock to the grassy roof of the California Academy of Sciences. The piece considers the important role that this evolving landscape plays in the cultural and ecological life of the city and the social ideals that have shaped it through the decades.

Park visitors will be able to download An Unnatural History of Golden Gate Park to their iPods and MP3 players through iTunes as well as from the project web site:

unnatural.studioforurbanprojects.org

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Artist: Rebecca Herman and Mark Shoffner
Project: Operation Desert Mirage

NOTE: TUG-O-WAR EVENT SAT/SUN 1 PM

Operation Desert Mirage is a sculptural installation and participatory event in Golden Gate Park’s beautiful Peacock Meadow.

This compelling and timely installation offers a hyperreal presence of a desert mountain range inserting itself the green landscape. Inspired by elements taken from ancient architecture and modern warfare, the suggestion of a sudden change in the ecosystem or a creeping military movement is evoked.

All-ages visitors are invited to take part in a tug-o-war game over a symbolic geological “fault line” or military “front line.” This playful tug-o-war participatory performance is half sport, half military exercise for the new urban resident, as two teams compete for camps that make up the Operation Desert Mirage mountain range.

Join Rebecca Herman and Mark Shoffner, as they invade our minds with subtle thought-bombs -- both exotic and eerily familiar.