Show at Civil War-era fort spotlights California’s Black history from the 19th century to today
Fort Point, a Civil War-era fortification beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, opens the exhibition "Black Gold: Stories Untold" today through November 2. The show features works by 16 contemporary artists and one collective, exploring 19th-century African American life in California—from the Gold Rush onward—highlighting little-known entrepreneurs, activists, soldiers, and musicians. Curated by Cheryl Haines of the non-profit For-Site, the exhibition includes recent works by artists such as Carla Edwards, Isaac Julien, Alison Saar, Yinka Shonibare CBE, and Hank Willis Thomas, alongside new commissions by Demetri Broxton, Adrian L. Burrell, Mildred Howard, and others. The project was two years in the making, privately funded, and developed with a nine-person advisory committee of Black historians and curators.