About Us
Boom. Bust. Boom. Bust. Welcome to San Francisco.
Our city’s natural beauty and self-expressive nature have always saved us. Throughout history our vistas and creative citizens have consistently inspired awe. Today we make it formal, declaring San Francisco the City of Awe.
It’s an open-source moniker, one we hope will be embraced locally and internationally as we reinvent ourselves yet again. Feel free to use the term. You need not ask for permission. Let the words inspire you. Consider them a call to action. Make it your goal to do all you can to have our City live up to the label.
Our organization Illuminate rallies large groups of people together to create impossible works of public art that, through awe, free humanity’s better nature. Founded in 2011, we’ve been working quietly to create a city-wide foundation of artful endeavor that embraces the multifaceted spirit of San Francisco, in all its nuance and vibrancy. After 12 years we’re ready to bring the story into focus, in service of community. Bust times are the best of times when we take charge of the place we call home. Let’s create the city in which we want to live.
Together, we shall transform San Francisco through ten thousand direct actions, each designed to bring beauty into our collective lives. Plant a flower. Pick up a broom. Take control of your block. Paint a mural. Make joyous music. Join us at Illuminate in creating large-scale works of public art.
The only way to have San Francisco shine in the eyes of the world, is to make it an amazing place for ourselves.
Welcome to the City of Awe.
Our Mission
Illuminate rallies large groups of people together to create impossible works of public art that, through awe, free humanity’s better nature.
Today we make it formal, declaring San Francisco the City of Awe. It’s an open-source moniker, one we hope will be embraced locally and internationally as we reinvent ourselves yet again.
Together, we shall transform San Francisco through ten thousand direct actions, each designed to bring beauty into our collective lives. Plant a flower. Pick up a broom. Take control of your block. Paint a mural. Make joyous music. Join us in creating large-scale works of public art.
Welcome to the City of Awe.
Our Core Supporters
Chip Conley
Paul Haahr & Susan Karp
JP Conte
Keith & Leslie Blodgett
Eliza Brown
Matt Mullenweg
Niantic Labs
Emily Scott
Michael & Xochi Birch
Carla & David Crane
Tod & Allison Nielsen
Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund
Elizabeth R. & William J. Patterson Foundation
John & Marcia Goldman Foundation
Our Team
Staff
Ben Davis
Founder & Chief Visionary Officer
David Hatfield
Chief of Opportunities
Advisors
Keri Emme
Social Media
Maximillian Rainey
Technology & Special Projects
Patricia Suflita Wilson
The Golden Mile, Marketing & Special Projects
Steffen Franz
Live Performances
Board
Lisa (Frankel) Vogel, Board Chair
Director of Asset Management at Wareham Development
Patricia Suflita Wilson, Secretary
CEO P.S. Think Big
Mark Allan Davis
Asst Prof of Africana Studies-Black Performance/Drama Lit/Theatre History/Practice & Activism, SF State University
Jeff Jungsten
President, B.I.G CGBP, GHRR Advanced CGBP at Jungsten Construction Inc.
Dana King
Sculptor
Kenneth E. Maxey
Director Of Government Affairs, Comcast/NBC Universal
Matt Mullenweg
CEO, Automattic; Co-founder, WordPress
Robin Abad Ocubillo
Public Policy, Strategy and Civic Innovation: Urban Design, Open Space, Transportation, Equity
Dickon Pinner
Head of Transition Capital at BlackRock
Yennie Solheim
Director, Communications & Social Impact, Niantic Inc.