Noon – 1:30 p.m.
(Doors open at 11:30 a.m. for networking)
Lighting Up Our San Francisco Nights
At our March 22 lunch, Ben Davis, visionary behind The Bay Lights, will discuss how he worked to turn the Bay Bridge into a canvas of light and preview ILLUMINATE’s next big project: LightRail on Market Street.
Ben’s company, ILLUMINATE, aims to alter the arc of human history through the creation of transformational works of public art. Their mission is to produce contemporary art with civic impact, social activation and global reach to stimulate a culture of generosity, community, and collaboration.
Ben’s vision for The Bay Lights was born in September 2010. Two-and-a-half years later, after teaming with internationally acclaimed artist Leo Villareal, a vast and passionate community had come together to fully permit, design, install, fund and celebrate an historic, transformative moment — the March 5, 2013 grand lighting of the world’s largest LED light sculpture. Under Ben’s leadership, The Bay Lightsreturned as a permanent installation on January 30, 2016, and was gifted to the state of California and its residents.
For more than a quarter century, Ben has led communications on civic mega projects and matters of public safety, public health, public transit, the environment, urban revitalization and public art. He cut his teeth working as the manager of public information on the $4B Boston Harbor Cleanup project. Upon moving to San Francisco in 1994, Ben founded the creative agency Words Pictures Ideas with the mantra of “Do Good. Have Fun. Learn.” A recipient of two international Webby Awards for best website in government, Ben has helped name, brand and communicate about infrastructure projects totaling more than $15B in civic investment, including developing the names and visual identities of The Bay Bridge Seismic Safety Projects, Transbay Transit Center and Presidio Parkway.
He has edited and published Everything Indicates: Bay Bridge Poems & Portraits. He is the artist behind Pi In The Sky, a featured work of the 2012 ZERO1 Art & Technology International Biennial and SXSW 2014.
Reserve NowReservations close on Thursday, March 17 at midnight.