The Chronicles of San Francisco
A massive participatory art installation capturing the stories of everyday San Franciscans in one living mural.
Over the course of two months in early 2018, JR set up a mobile studio in 22 locations around San Francisco, where he filmed and interviewed nearly 1,200 people from across the city's multifaceted communities. In the completed work, a digital mural scrolls across a seamless bank of screens, bringing together the faces and untold stories of the people we encounter every day. Presented in SFMOMA's soaring Roberts Family Gallery, this work is free and accessible to the public. (Source: SFMOMA)
- Year
- 2019
- Hunter's role
- Cinematographer
- Director
- JR
- Type
- Art Installation
- Runtime
- Continuous loop (digital mural scrolls endlessly)
- Countries
- USA (San Francisco — 22 locations across the city: Ocean Beach, Financial District, Marina, Oceanview, Chinatown, and more)
Collaborators
- JR — Artist, Filmmaker, Photographer. Based in Paris and New York.
- Marc Azoulay — JR Studio Director
- Eyal Levy — International Producer, Artist, Cinematographer.
- Tasha Van Zandt
Awards
No traditional awards — this is a museum-commissioned participatory artwork, not a competition piece. JR was named TIME 100 Most Influential People (2018) and was an Oscar nominee and TED Prize winner around this period.
Festivals
SFMOMA exhibition: May 23, 2019 – May 31, 2020 (~1 year) • Also exhibited at Pace Gallery, Palo Alto (lightboxes, etched glass, video installations) • Wheatpaste murals installed on streets across San Francisco • Vinyl installation on SFMOMA facade
Real-world impact
Made museum-quality art free and accessible to all in SFMOMA's public gallery. Represented San Francisco's full diversity equally — everyone same size, same light, no one more important than another. 1,200 participants from homeless individuals to the state governor, all treated identically. Opening night brought together people who wouldn't otherwise meet. Extended beyond museum walls: wheatpaste murals on city streets and augmented reality app let anyone hear subjects' stories from the sidewalk. Inspired by Diego Rivera's San Francisco murals — continued the city's deep muralist tradition. JR described it as 'a portrait of society, not depicting good and bad, but rather showing that both sides are present in everyone.'