UPDATE:
Over $10m pledged.
Less than $1m to raise and the project is a go!
Find the latest info here
Crowdfunding continues here.

Widely considered one of the world’s great public art projects, The Bay Lights’ current system of LEDs is failing at a rate faster than can be repaired. They must be replaced with a new system that is custom engineered to perform in the harsh environmental conditions of San Francisco Bay. On March 5th, on the 10th anniversary of its initial Grand Lighting, the artwork will go dark. 

In total, $11M is needed for their return. We are raising ten $1M gifts from major philanthropists. This crowdfunding campaign seeks to raise $1M in smaller gifts, allowing everyone to participate. 

The good news: with your help, The Bay Lights by artist Leo Villareal will return more magically than ever. The number of programmable LEDs will double to nearly 50,000, making the artwork visible to communities around the Bay. And for the first time, we seek to have the lights be safely visible to drivers on the Bay Bridge, creating a world-class nighttime public art portal into San Francisco.

The San Francisco-based art nonprofit Illuminate is leading this effort. Please join us in helping return this public art masterpiece. Your gift of any size will help. We will do this collectively, one dollar, one hundred dollars, or $1M at a time.

All gifts made to The Bay Lights 360 campaign are restricted and will be used only to cover Bay Lights-related expenses.

For more information or to have a philanthropic discussion with Illuminate, please contact david@illuminate.org.