SF’s New “Sun” Light Installation Rises & Sets with the Philippines
A glowing Filipino sun will light up Yerba Buena Gardens this September, syncing its glow with sunrise and sunset in the Philippines.
A new sun is coming to San Francisco. “13°N, 122°E,” a glowing amber dome floating above a fountain in Yerba Buena Gardens, will become the city’s first Filipino monument when it’s unveiled on September 4, 2026.
Named for the geographic coordinates of the Philippines’ center, the permanent light installation was created by Filipino art collective mumu in collaboration with SoMa Pilipinas and Yerba Buena Gardens. At night, the dome will brighten and fade in sync with the sun rising and setting across the Pacific, creating a literal connection between San Francisco and the Philippines.
The piece also carries some serious local history. Yerba Buena Gardens was built on land where thousands of people were displaced during redevelopment in the 1960s and ’70s, many of them Filipino. Decades later, the new sculpture offers a very visible marker of Filipino presence in the neighborhood. As mumu put it, the goal was to “manifest our being and be seen,” making it harder for the community to be overlooked again.
The public nighttime unveiling on Friday, September 4, 2026 from 6–8 pm will turn the garden into a celebration, with a Filipino cultural ritual, performances, Filipino street food and a dance party with DJ Breganza. But after the party is over, the glowing sun will remain, quietly keeping time with an ocean away. RSVP
h/t Mission Local
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