FOR-SITE is honored to present Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse, a new installation inside The Guardhouse at Fort Mason Center For Arts & Culture on view from January 14 to April 23, 2023.

A few spots remain for the free “For The Love Of Plants” workshop with Kija Lucas, the Presidio Nursery, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy on Friday, April 21, 2023, 9:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Sign up in advance for a space or join the waitlist.

The waitlist is open for the free workshops, “Misplaced Plant Design With Kija Lucas & Studio Mondine” at the Guardhouse on Saturday, April 22, 2023, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Floral designer Amanda Luu of Studio Mondine and Lucas cover plant mechanics and transforming misplaced (non-indigenous) plants into tabletop masterpieces.

Artist Kija Lucas encourages viewers to survey the seemingly natural, biodiverse vegetation in the surrounding parklands, presenting a curious selection of images that highlight not only indigenous and introduced botanical specimens, but also the tools and supplies used for plant propagation. Viewable through The Guardhouse windows, framed archival prints focus visitor attention on a hand-written “SAVE 4 2023” Post-it® note affixed to a seed collection envelope and a sprig of federally protected, endangered Franciscan manzanita. Imagery of English ivy and Himalayan blackberry — which suggest “home” to the San Francisco Bay Area artist — wraps the walls, mimicking how these vines can overtake. Expanding on a body of work that explores ideas about home, heritage, and inheritance, Lucas’s installation debuts her first wallpaper pattern and a new series of photographic works, inviting locals and visitors to consider their evolving relationships to plants over time.

The installation is free and open to the public, viewable through the windows 24 hours per day. The Guardhouse is located at the main entrance to Fort Mason Center For Arts & Culture.

Free Admission

About the Artist. Kija Lucas uses photography to explore ideas of home, heritage, and inheritance. She is interested in how ideas are passed down and seemingly inconsequential moments create changes that last generations. Lucas has exhibited her work locally at SF Camerawork, Oakland Museum of California, Anglim Gilbert Gallery, Headlands Center for the Arts, the San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries, California Institute of Integral Studies, and Palo Alto Art Center; as well as at Venice Arts in Los Angeles, CA, La Sala d’Ercole (Hall of Hercules) in Bologna, Italy, and Casa Escorza in Guadalajara, Mexico. She has been an artist in residence at Montalvo Arts Center, Recology San Francisco, and The Wassaic Project. Lucas lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she received her BFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and her MFA in Studio Art from Mills College.

About FOR-SITE. Established in 2003, FOR-SITE is dedicated to the creation, understanding, and presentation of art about place. For more information, visit: for-site.org.

About The Guardhouse Program. The Guardhouse Program is designed to serve three artists annually, each of whom will activate the former military guard station with a temporary art installation responding to the natural and cultural significance of the site and its surrounding area.

The Guardhouse Program will launch through an open call for proposals in 2023.

Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse is presented by FOR-SITE in partnership with Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture and the Presidio Nursery. The Presidio Nursery is a program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in conjunction with the National Park Service and Presidio Trust. Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse is made possible thanks to generous support from the ARB Fund.

IMAGES:

1. Kija Lucas, Misplaced (blue gum eucalyptus, English ivy, fennel, Himalayan blackberry, ice plant, morning glory & nasturtium), 2022; wall vinyl; presented by FOR-SITE as part of Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse, January 14 to March 12, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and FOR-SITE.

2. Kija Lucas, SAVE 4 2023, 2022; archival pigment print; presented by FOR-SITE as part of Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse, January 14 to March 12, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and FOR-SITE.

3. Kija Lucas, Untitled (Franciscan manzanita), 2022; archival pigment print; presented by FOR-SITE as part of Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse, January 14 to March 12, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and FOR-SITE.

4. Kija Lucas, Untitled (plastic bag of California buckeye with unbleached paper towel, Post-it® note), 2022; archival pigment print; presented by FOR-SITE as part of Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse, January 14 to March 12, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and FOR-SITE.

5. Kija Lucas, Volunteer, 2022; archival pigment print; presented by FOR-SITE as part of Kija Lucas at The Guardhouse, January 14 to March 12, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist and FOR-SITE.