Day 1: A concrete canvas for local artists 

Our coast deserves more than two miles of gray concrete, and we’re excited about the long-term work to restore a more natural environment. To kickstart our imaginations for that long-term vision, we’re opening our coast to local artists in two waves. 

First, for the park’s opening, we partnered with a number of artists for temporary installations that celebrate Ocean Beach and the Sunset. We asked the artists to let the ocean remain the star, and encouraged artistic decisions that complement and foster stewardship of the natural environment that we all cherish.

Second, we’ve opened the Sunset Dunes Art Exhibition, the park’s first rotating outdoor art show highlighting the creative spirit of Ocean Beach and our neighborhood. Come check out the first exhibit at the Judah St. entrance to Sunset Dunes and submit your proposals for the next round.

The Sunset Dunes Art Exhibition

We’ve launched an open call for curators for Sunset Dunes park’s new rotating outdoor art gallery. We invite and encourage submissions from the entire community — kids, art professionals, and everyone in between. 

  • Proposal Guidelines

    Proposed art should:

    • Include a minimum of 10, and maximum of 11, works of art that can be printed and displayed in 2D form using the file requirements below. Most submissions should include multiple artists’ work.

    • Enrich the experience of the full range of people enjoying the park and Ocean Beach

    • Invite park goers to interact with, and better understand, the unique natural environment where San Francisco meets the Pacific Ocean

    • Bring people together, and highlight and respect nearby communities and their history

    • Include artists with meaningful ties to the Sunset District or Westside of SF

    • Include artists with backgrounds and art reflective of the diversity of San Francisco

    The Fine Print

    • Friends of Sunset Dunes will select from submissions with the following goals in mind:

      • Including as many local artists as possible at Sunset Dunes. We hope to rotate displays every 2-3 months, as our budget allows. 

      • All proposals must comply with the guidelines and requirements listed here.

    • No professional art experience is necessary to participate. We encourage submissions from those who are not already represented in art galleries, including children and amateur artists.

    • Permission from all artists to be included in the public display at Sunset Dunes must be acquired prior to submission of a curation.

    • Upon selection, Friends of Sunset Dunes will contact the curator to plan the display. Friends of Sunset Dunes covers the following costs:

      • Print, production, and mounting costs

      • Curator honorarium of $250

      • Artist honorarium of $100 per artist

    • The curator and artists must be willing to reasonably assist with any requirements of the SF Recreation and Parks Department and the SF Arts Commission, as the free gallery is placed at Sunset Dunes with their permission.

    • File requirements. The Great Highway Gallery produces the exhibit, and requests that art comply with the following requirements:

      • All artwork needs to be at 100% of the print size 38” x 47.5”

      • ⅛” bleeds on all sides are required, meaning if your art has a bleed the final file needs to be 38.25” x 47.75”.

      • Accepted file types: PDF, PSD, AI, TIFF, and JPEG

      • Artwork uploaded needs to be at no less than 100ppi (pixels per inch). This means every 100 pixels in your image will become 1 inch when printed.

      • Tip: the more pixels per inch, the better your art will appear when printed. Good quality is 3800 x 4750 pixels (100 ppi), very good quality is 5700 x 7125 (150 ppi), and excellent quality is 7600 x 9500 (200 ppi)

      • Hey kids! If you need help converting your art to these requirements, submit photos of your art and we’ll take care of the details.

Submit Your Proposal

Tell us what you think

We’d love to hear what kind of art you would like to see. Share your feedback and we’ll use it to guide future open calls and temporary installations.

Submit Your Feedback

Are you an artist and want to get involved?

We’ll host more open calls for proposals for additional temporary, rotating art as funding and resources become available. Open calls will be guided by community feedback to ensure the park welcomes and celebrates our whole community.

Sign up for our artist list to be notified about these opportunities.

Get Notified About Future Open Calls

Thank you.

A huge amount of thanks is owed to everyone who has been involved so far in making this new park a success. We couldn’t have reached this milestone without your support. To those who are just now looking to get involved, we are excited to work together and hear what you would like to see going forward.

Rotating art at Sunset Dunes is only possible thanks to generous donations. If you enjoy the program, please consider donating to support the continuation of this work.