“La Rose des Vents” Sculpture Ceremony & Festival (Golden Gate Park)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

The gold-gilded kinetic sculpture “La Rose de Vents” poking out of the flowerbeds in front of the Conservatory of Flowers has had some bad luck over the past several years. Just months after it was initially installed in 2015, the sculpture (inspired by an ancient device which gauged wind direction) took a leave of absence to get reguilded after heavy rains. Then a planned dedication ceremony was put off for two years by COVID. But finally, “La Rose” gets its day in the sun. And it’s going to be a big show. Enjoy an intense and trance-like 50-person dance performance, an hour long concert by French pop-disco band, L’Impératrice along with a rare San Francisco appearance by the sculptor, Jean-Micel Othoniel. And he’s the real deal. Othoiel was the first artist in 300 years to have a permanent sculpture installed in the Gardens of Versailles outside of Paris.            

Thursday, September 15, 5-7 p.m., Conservatory of Flowers, 100 John F. Kennedy Dr., Golden Gate Park, S.F., Free. 836m.org

La Rose des Vents is a monumental work of public art located in front of the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Created by renowned French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, the gilded, kinetic sculpture now belongs to the city’s permanent Civic Arts Collection as a gift from 836M, a nonprofit gallery and cultural organization.

From 5-5:20 p.m. on September 15th, attendees will be treated to a performance designed by internationally renowned choreographer Dimitri Chamblas. Titled Slow Show, the site-specific performance features an ensemble of 50 local performers and music by artist and deejay Eddie Ruscha, responding to the immediate context of the location through a series of intense, concentrated, and trance-like operations. Slow Show premiered in 2017 at various sites around Los Angeles, followed by public square performances in Arles and Paris, France; an outdoor amphitheater in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and a frozen lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The dedication ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m, with representatives from several divisions of city government in attendance, including the Mayor’s Office, Recreation and Parks, Public Works, the Arts Commission, and the Cultural Districts Program. Othoniel, the Consul General of France in San Francisco, and other dignitaries will also preside at the event.

Following celebratory remarks, the program will close with a musical concert from French pop-disco band, L’Impératrice. Attendance is free with RSVP at 836m.org/la-rose-des-vents.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.