San Francisco Arts Commission Announces the Selection of Two Local Artists and a Curator for the 2024 Artist in Residence Program at India Basin Waterfront Parks

SAN FRANCISCO, October 18, 2024 — The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC), in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (RPD), is pleased to announce the selection of San Francisco-based artists Afatasi the Artist and Conni McKenzie, as well as curator Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen, for the 2024 SFAC Artist in Residence (AIR) program at the India Basin Waterfront Parks.  

Artists Afatasi the Artist (multimedia artist) and Conni McKenzie (performance artist) will spend a year in residence at India Basin Waterfront Parks’ active construction project site and in the Bayview-Hunters Point (BVHP) neighborhood.  

During the first six months for the AIR program, the artists will conduct research, followed by six months working with curator Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen to develop, produce, and present their new works based on their time at the India Basin Waterfront Parks. 

Since 2015, the Artist in Residence program has provided unique opportunities for artists to step into City Departments with unprecedented access to participate in and respond to City processes and impact.  

“The San Francisco Arts Commission is excited to collaborate with the Recreation and Parks Department as the next host for our Artists-in-Residence program. This partnership will help us push the artistic boundaries of how artists can engage with local city government and the communities we serve, exploring innovative ways to highlight the vital work of various agencies,” said Ralph Remington, Director of Cultural Affairs. “For the first time as part of this program, artists will be paired with a curator, allowing them to further explore, develop, and share the stories of the Recreation and Parks Department and the communities it which they serve.” 

The 2024 AIR program is the first time the SFAC has placed artists on an active construction project site and have had artists engage directly with a community. This is also the first time the program has paired a curator with participating artists to develop their work.  

To date, AIR has connected 15 local artists within various City departments, including placement at City Hall, SF Covid Command Center, SF Planning Department, and SF Public Library.  

AIR curator Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen will similarly conduct research on the park sites and collaborate with the BVHP community to develop and present free arts programming in and around the park over the course of a year. Additionally, Evans MacFadyen will work closely with the artists in residence, supporting them to shape and produce their culminating projects.

About the India Basin Waterfront Parks Project 
The new park at 900 Innes Ave. is part of the larger India Basin Waterfront Park project, which will combine the park with the adjacent India Basin Shoreline Park, creating a spacious 10-acre park that will deliver miles of winding trails, waterfront recreation, unbridled shore access and a resiliency to sea level rise, with an emphasis on habitat and wetland restoration and enhancement, public access, resiliency to sea level rise, social equity, and waterfront recreation. 

“India Basin Waterfront Park was envisioned and designed by the community, and that’s what makes this project so special,” said Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of the Recreation and Park Department.  “We’re truly excited to collaborate with local artists and the Arts Commission to honor the rich history of this space and tell the unique stories of Bayview-Hunters Point in a way that’s meaningful and authentic. This year-long partnership will celebrate the spirit of this community, and I can’t wait to see how the art reflects the voices, culture, and pride of this neighborhood.” 

The India Basin Waterfront Park project is made possible through a partnership between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, the San Francisco Arts Commission, A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco (APRI), Trust for Public Land, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, the San Francisco Foundation, and the Bayview-Hunters Point community.  

In 2019, the Equitable Development Plan (EDP) was created to ensure that the India Basin Waterfront Park project uplifts the community beyond its park boundaries and reflects the history of India Basin and diverse generations of BVHP residents. The EDP identifies six community-driven areas of focus, and this AIR program falls under the Arts, Culture and Identity area of focus which states that park programming is equitable and responsive to community needs and desires and preserves and celebrates Black culture and the neighborhood’s cultural diversity.  

2024 SFAC Artist in Residence Program Bios 
Afatasi The Artist is a mixed-media conceptual artist, futurist, proud native San Franciscan, and is a member of San Francisco’s only shrinking demographic. Her work is informed by her deep concern of the continued population decline of her community, affirming them through mixed-media textile, metal, and research-based artworks that are used as vehicles of disruption, exploration, and future-dreaming. Her artwork is a continuous exploration of the intersectionality of race, culture, gender, class, and geopolitics. Past injustices have shaped present-day realities, so what does this mean for our futures? The mediums used to navigate this question include textile, metalwork, and mixed-media visual arts. 

Conni McKenzie is a San Francisco-based multidisciplinary artist with a primary focus in dance theater, video production, mixed-media, and photography. In 2021, she released her first full concept film “Set Me Free” which was included in the 2021 San Francisco Dance Film Festival and international festivals in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Simultaneously, she co-directed the short film "Lungs of the Earth," featured in the Bay Area Shorts Festival and showcased in the Thatcher Gallery. In 2023, Conni directed "Flow," an immersive performance and exhibition experience that explores the intersection of nature, dance, and digital art. McKenzie is a resident artist at BoxoPROJECTS in Joshua Tree, CA and is part of the 2023-2024 cohort of the Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion™ Institute 

Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen (they/she) is a curator, consultant, facilitator, and project-based artist, born and based in San Francisco, with a decades-long background in the performing and visual arts. Anchored in practices of equity and experimentation, their curatorial focus is on projects that push formal and contextual boundaries, and their cross-disciplinary personal work engages symbols, ritual, identity, communication, and the unseen. Rhiannon is actively involved with community-building through the arts as Co-Director of Emerging Arts Professionals SFBA, Founder/Director of Black & White Projects, and has curated exhibitions in New York and across the Bay Area, including Scope NY, Berkeley Art Center; USF's Thacher Gallery, Root Division, Radian Gallery, Visual Aid Gallery, ProArts, and Headlands Center for the Arts.

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About the Artist in Residence Program 
Launched in September 2015, the Artist in Residence program is overseen by the San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries and is an ongoing program that seeks to build partnerships with a variety of City Departments in order to provide unique residency opportunities that result in strengthening the value of artists participating in the advancement of civic dialogue.  

 About The San Francisco Arts Commission 
The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy. Our programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Investments, Public Art, SFAC Galleries, and Art Vendor Licensing. To learn more, visit sfartscommission.org. 

About San Francisco Recreation and Parks
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s Mission is to provide enriching recreational activities, maintain beautiful parks and preserve the environment for the well-being of everyone in our diverse community. 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.