By Tony Bravo,Arts & Culture Columnist Aug 25, 2026
Gift Article (SFChronicle.com)
Jennifer Steinkamp’s “It’s a nice day for a white wedding.” is projected on the Humboldt Bank Building in San Francisco.Brennan Smart/For the S.F. Chronicle
A 95-foot animated artwork is about to transform a historic Market Street building into one of downtown San Francisco’s largest canvases, launching a new public art partnership among three museums.
The Yerba Buena Illuminated initiative will debut on Tuesday, Aug. 25, with Los Angeles artist Jennifer Steinkamp’s “It’s a nice day for a white wedding.” at 785 Market St. The digital art work’s title is inspired by Billy Idol’s 1982 hit song “White Wedding” and will project a cascade of animated red, white and yellow wedding flowers on the Beaux Arts-style Humboldt Bank Building.
It comes from the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, one of the three cultural institutions collaborating with Yerba Buena Partnership, a neighborhood community benefit district.
The installation can be experienced nightly from twilight until 10 p.m. and will be on view for approximately 90 days.
“We feel strongly that beautiful artwork makes something special for the neighborhood, and we’re able to present it here on such a scale, such an amazing canvas,” said Scott Rowitz, executive director of Yerba Buena Partnership. “To work with and partner with three world-class museums, to bring their curatorial expertise to this is really a true gift to the community and the neighborhood. It was designed to be a gateway into the Yerba Buena Arts District.”
Installations curated by the Museum of the African Diaspora and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will debut later as part of the program.
Rowitz said that while the neighborhood museums are mostly open during the day, Yerba Buena Illuminated would offer a chance to experience artwork during evening hours when people come to the area for performances, movies or festivals. He also pointed out the number of hotels and restaurants that keep people in the area, as well as residents who may see the work coming home at night.
Rowitz called the program an opportunity to demonstrate “what a 24/7 downtown neighborhood really can be.”
Yerba Buena Illuminated is presented with support from the mayor’s office and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
“Arts and culture are helping to drive our recovery, and public art can be a major draw for downtown,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie in a statement. “This installation will be a powerful symbol of the vibrancy and creativity that defines San Francisco and yet another reason for San Franciscans and visitors to enjoy the public spaces, cultural institutions, and all the Yerba Buena area has to offer.”
Public projections and light art have become a regular part of the civic landscape in the 21st century.
The nonprofit arts group Illuminate helped normalize such installations with Leo Villareal’s project “The Bay Lights,” which sets nearly 2 miles of the Bay Bridge’s western span aglow. In 2013, the same year that project debuted, the group’s founder Ben Davis created the Illuminate SF, an annual festival that features temporary light works downtown from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.
Jim Campbell’s LED installation “Day for Night” on the Salesforce Tower has also become a staple of the city since its debut in 2018.
“Great cities invest in beauty, and Yerba Buena Illuminated is a beautiful example of San Francisco doing just that,” said Matthew Goudeau, executive director of arts and culture for the city. “Bringing a piece like Jennifer Steinkamp’s out of the museum and onto Market Street is exactly the kind of bold, public-facing art the city needs and wants right now. It meets people where they are, making extraordinary art accessible to everyone.”
Aug 25, 2026
Arts and Culture Columnist
Tony Bravo is the Chronicle’s arts and culture columnist. His beats include visual art, the LGBTQ community, style, pop culture and hyper-local “Total SF” stories. He joined the Chronicle in 2015 as a reporter for the Style section and wrote the relationship column “Connectivity.” Bravo is also a frequent live interviewer, hosted the Show & Tell event series at Four One Nine, and is an adjunct instructor at the City College of San Francisco Fashion Department, where he teaches journalism.
How to reach Tony
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