SAN FRANCISCO, CA – San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department in partnership with Bay Area artist Charles Gadeken announce ‘Entwined: Elder Mother’, a new iteration of Entwined, the annual illuminated art installation hosted in Golden Gate Park.
Unlike in past years, where the art installation has taken over Peacock Meadow in Golden Gate Park, this year, Entwined: Elder Mother will welcome visitors to JFK Promenade in front of Peacock Meadow from December 7, 2023 through April 28, 2024. The ever-evolving forest of light first lit up Peacock Meadow in 2020 and has become a winter staple at the park.
The defining new feature of Entwined: Elder Mother is the Elder Mother tree itself. Elder Mother is a monumental shade-bearing tree that moves in the wind and speaks through the language of light and color. The 30-ft metal sculpted tree carries a 25-ft canopy offering a place for park-goers to gather day and night with ever-changing, interactive illumination and color.
Entwined: Elder Mother was designed by San Francisco artist Charles Gadeken, who champions accessibility to art and interactive experiences and whose work includes commissions from Burning Man, Insomniac Events, Coachella, the City of Palo Alto, the City of San Francisco and many more.
“Please join us for the next evolution of Entwined, sit in the shade of Elder Mother, and listen to a fairytale or two. Come out and enjoy the parts of the sculpture that you loved in the past, and explore our new creation and the secrets that it holds,“ said Charles Gadeken.
Entwined: Elder Mother will have 6 unique QR codes across the installation that allow attendees to control the lighting patterns of various sculptures. Occasionally, access to Elder Mother's interactivity will be available, which allows attendees to engage with RFID tag readers to change Elder Mother's lighting patterns. The interactivity of the sculptures has been a favored feature of Entwined in past years.
“Entwined: Elder Mother does what all public art aspires to do, which is to evoke emotion and wonder,” said SF Parks Alliance CEO Drew Becher. “Entwined adds a few new wrinkles every year, and this is one of the biggest yet.”
Monthly live programming will again be hosted at the installation this season. These events kick off with the holiday tree lighting ceremony on December 7 at McLaren Lodge. More events will be announced on a rolling basis.
“The JFK Promenade has become a place for connection, creativity and community and we are beyond thrilled that Entwined: Elder Mother will welcome visitors to the fun,” SF Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg said. “Entwined is among the most popular installations both for its interactivity and its whimsy.”
About San Francisco Parks Alliance
SF Parks Alliance is San Francisco’s only citywide parks nonprofit. For over 50 years, we’ve been partnering closely with communities and public agencies to create, sustain, and advocate for parks and public spaces across the city. We believe that everyone deserves access to safe and welcoming community spaces, regardless of where they live in San Francisco.
About Charles Gadeken
Charles Gadeken is an award-winning industrial artist working in the creative field for over 25 years, whose monumental interactive public artworks reimagine the world post-nature.
Artwork commissions include Black Rock Arts Foundation, City of San Francisco, Insomniac Events, Coachella, Absolut Vodka, City of Palo Alto, City of Calabasas, City of Los Altos, Stanford University, and more. Many of Charles’ works have been exhibited internationally.
Focused on engaging the imagination in the objects created and the method of their creation, Charles dedicates his work to increasing artistic community and public awareness of art. Many pieces are interactive, encouraging spectators to become participants in the artistic experience. In addition to making art, his artistic practice encourages others to do so and has inspired hundreds of people to participate in art-making for multiple projects.
Charles also aims to create public art that contributes to and celebrates the community and increases public interest and connection to the place and region.
About San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department administers more than 220 parks, playgrounds, and open spaces, including two outside the city limits-- Camp Mather in Yosemite Valley and Sharp Park in Pacifica, Calif. Our park system includes 25 recreation centers, nine swimming pools, five golf courses and numerous tennis courts, ball diamonds, soccer fields and other sports venues. Included in the department’s responsibilities are the Marina Yacht Harbor, the San Francisco Zoo, and Lake Merced.
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