Big Art Loop at Embarcadero Plaza

SF Art Galleries - Openings & Events Event source calendar Event Link: see venue calendar above ^^ Big Art Loop Celebrates One Final Night Beneath Marco Cochrane's R-Evolution Free party on Embarcadero Plaza brings San Francisco together for an evening of music and performance beneath the iconic sculpture. * Friday, October 2, 2026 * Big Art Loop will host R-Evolution: One Last Celebration, a free public farewell for Marco Cochrane's monumental sculpture R-Evolution (now titled I Am) on Friday, October 2, 2026, from 5:30–8 p.m. at Embarcadero Plaza. The celebration will feature live music, performances, a collective global meditation, and a closing dance party with Opulent Temple. The event is free and open to all ages. RSVPs on Eventbrite are encouraged. The celebration is the public's last chance to see the 45-foot sculpture on the plaza. Crews will begin removing her on Monday, October 12, and she will be fully off-site by Thursday, October 15. The evening program features operatic arias by Jewelz Moya of Renegade Opera; a live performance by Ultimate Fantastic featuring Sista Kat, with Pharroh, Ryan Wink, and Deja Solis; a collective global meditation; and a closing DJ set by Syd Gris of Opulent Temple. “R-Evolution is a big part of why Big Art Loop exists,” said Shannon Riley, Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Big Art Loop. “She showed us what one monumental work can do for a public space, and San Francisco kept showing up for her. We want to send her off with the whole city invited.” Big Art Loop was built as an evolving exhibition, with artworks rotating over time so more artists reach more of the city. R-Evolution arrived on Embarcadero Plaza in April 2025 as a temporary installation. Her permit was extended twice because the public asked for more time with her, and each extension was reviewed by the Arts Commission's Visual Arts Committee, the full Arts Commission, and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. She leaves at the close of an 18-month run, and two new works arrive on the Loop this month. The celebration comes as Big Art Loop marks its first year. Since launching in September 2025, the Loop has installed 31 sculptures across San Francisco, with 40 expected to be in place by the end of the year. Artworks have gone into parks, plazas, waterfront sites, and neighborhood corridors. “Our public spaces should have room for art that makes us stop, think and see our surroundings a little differently. R-Evolution brought beauty, creativity and conversation to Embarcadero Plaza,” said San Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager Sarah Madland. “We're grateful to the artist and everyone who helped bring her to San Francisco, and we'll be sorry to see her go.” “I Am/R-Evolution has stood in San Francisco as an invitation — to feel your own strength and your own tenderness at the same time,” said Marco Cochrane. “Watching people stop, look up, and feel something they didn't expect has been one of the great gifts of this piece's life here. My hope for the send off is that people carry that feeling with them. It was never really about standing before a sculpture. It's about how we stand before each other.” After the deinstallation, the sculpture will be refurbished ahead of its next placement. In 18 months, the sculpture became a popular destination on the waterfront. The Los Angeles Times featured her in an August 2025 travel guide asking whether San Francisco is in its comeback era.Thousands of people filled the plaza around the sculpture during the No Kings demonstration in October 2025, and community groups held gatherings for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and other events at its base. The event is presented by Big Art Loop with Opulent Temple, in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. EVENT DETAILS What: R-Evolution: One Last Celebration, presented by Big Art Loop featuring Performance, Music, Words from the Artist, Art Market, Food, Drink When: Friday, October…