@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz (September 27, 2014 through April 26, 2015)

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Title: @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz (September 27, 2014 through April 26, 2015)

Photo Credit: Jan St_rmann

Lead Artist(s):

Ai Weiwei
http://aiweiwei.com/

Description:

The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is internationally renowned for work that defies the distinction between art and activism. In "@Large," an exhibition of new work created specifically for Alcatraz, Ai responds to the island's layered legacy as a 19th-century military fortress, a notorious federal penitentiary, a site of Native American heritage and protest, and now one of America's most visited national parks. Revealing new perspectives on Alcatraz, Ai's sculpture, sound, and mixed-media installations have turned the iconic prison into a space for dialogue about freedom of expression and human rights for more than 500,000 visitors to date. A vocal critic of his nation's government, Ai was detained by Chinese authorities for 81 days in 2011, and is still not permitted to travel outside China. The artist was unable to visit Alcatraz during exhibition planning. He developed artworks at his Beijing studio with the help of the FOR-SITE Foundation.

PROJECT LOCATION

Location/Site Type:

Park

Location Description:

Ai's installations occupy four locations in the former prison on Alcatraz: the New Industries Building; a group of cells in A Block; the Hospital; and the Dining Hall. With the exception of the Dining Hall, these areas are usually restricted to the public, but all are open throughout the run of the exhibition. FOR-SITE implemented a range of life safety and aesthetic upgrades to the spaces to enable high volume visitor access (consistently between 5,000 and 6,000 people per day), and installed WIFI on Alcatraz for the first time to enable visitor access to the exhibition interpetive and social media programs.

Location of Project: Alcatraz Island

Project Street Address: Alcatraz Landing, Pier 33

Project City, State, Zip: San Francisco, CA 94111

Project Country: United States

click the map to enlarge

PROJECT TEAM

Commissioning Agency:

FOR-SITE Foundation

Agency Website:

http://www.for-site.org/

Public Art Administrator:

Cheyl Haines

Marnie Burke de Guzman

Administrator's Organization:

FOR-SITE Foundation

Administrator's Website:

http://www.for-site.org/

Fabricator(s):

Fabricator(s) Organization:

Fabricator(s) Website:

Design Team Organization(s):

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service)

Design Team Organization's Website(s):

http://parksconservancy.org/, http://www.nps.gov/goga/index.htm

Design Team Organization's E-mail(s):

[email protected]

Design Team Members:

Kate Bickert, Howard Levett

Public Art Consultant:

PROJECT DETAILS

Type:

Temporary

Budget:

4,000,000

Budget Range:

Funding Type:

Private

Work Type:

Installation

Materials:

Mixed Media

Materials Description:

The seven sculpture, sound, and mixed-media installations that make up "@Large" occupy four locations in the former prison on Alcatraz. Three major installations occupy three large rooms on the upper and lower floors of the New Industries Building: "With Wind," "Trace," and "Refraction". "Stay Tuned," a sound work, occupies 12 cells inside the cellhouse - in A Block. In the Hospital, the sound work "Illumination" occupies the Psychiatric Observation Cells and "Blossom," a ceramic installation is dispersed in four other cells. "Yours Truly," an interactive installation occupies half of the prison Dining Hall.

Year of Creation:

2014

Year in Review Awarded:

2015