Burning Man art and the battle for SF's public space

San Francisco has a public art problem, though the words “public” and “art” may not be applicable.

And that’s the problem. While The City’s latest public art initiative is well underway, in actuality it’s driven by private entities imposing their aesthetic vision on our shared public space.

With its billionaire backer, bypassing of city processes and a link to controversial “Freedom City” ideology , it’s difficult to look at the Big Art initiative and not see it as a hostile takeover of public space — a test run for an even bigger land grab. It’s as if the city that once lionized cultural expression and forward thinking has transformed into a lapdog for private interests. And the Embarcadero is ground zero.

The Sijbrandij Foundation, the philanthropic venture of billionaire GitLab fo