This summer, FOR-SITE presents its highly anticipated new project Black Gold: Stories Untold, inviting over a dozen contemporary artists to reflect on the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of African Americans who lived in California from the Gold Rush to end of the Civil War, circa 1848–1865. This unprecedented exhibition will be presented at Fort Point National Historic Site, the only extant Civil War-era fort on the West Coast of the United States.

Through recent and newly commissioned artworks, Black Gold illuminate chapters often omitted from California’s history. These include the presence of slavery within the "free" state; the complicated experiences and legacies of African American Army regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers; the entrepreneurial ambitions and successes of Black businesspeople; and, more broadly, the role that Black communities played in the cultural, social, and political environments of the period. Artists in discussion include Peter Brathwaite, Demetri Broxton, Adrian L. Burrell, Adam Davis, Mildred Howard, Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers), Trina M. Robinson, Alison Saar, Yinka Shonibare, Bryan Keith Thomas, Cosmo Whyte, and Hank Willis Thomas.

“Black Gold is a collaborative effort that brings together the work of an array of artists, thinkers, and community leaders to reveal narratives that are historically significant and continue to resonate today,” said Cheryl Haines, FOR-SITE’s Founding Executive Director & Chief Curator. “I have already learned so much in the process of developing this show and am thrilled to shed light on this important part of California’s story. I look forward to welcoming our community to the exhibition.”