IDC President and Founder Steffen Franz has worked together with Ben Davis, Founder of the non-profit Illuminate to co-produce a month-long event series that features dozens of shows and local artists at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell in December 2021.
Website: https://thealterverse.org/
The Opening Night celebration featured James Weldon Johnson’s soaring words “Lift Every Voice” from the Black National Anthem elevated and illuminated atop the revived Golden Gate Bandshell. Visitors heard sculptor Dana King discuss Monumental Reckoning, her powerful installation which sits directly across the Music Concourse from the Bandshell. They met SF Poet Laureate Tonge Eisen-Martin as he framed the night and month of poetry ahead and enjoyed live music with SF’s Martin Luther McCoy. Also, see the unveiling of “de Truth,” an exhibition of scrolling poetry lasered across the entire 450-foot façade of the de Young Museum and the public opening of “Circle of Life” in the nearby National AIDS Memorial Grove.
Featured Poets – James Siegel and Greg Pond
Live Music – Martin Luther McCoy and Robin Hodge Williams Ensemble