In 2021, the San Francisco Arts Commission invited proposals to create pieces for the Mission Creek Park Extension Public Art Project. The idea was to suggest a focal sculpture, or series of smaller ones, to be installed near the entrance of Mission Creek Park, where Channel Street meets Mission Bay Drive. A $535,000 budget would cover artist’s fees, as well as design, fabrication, insurance, and transportation expenses. Another $150,000 was set aside for site work and art installation.
Rigo 23, who moved to San Francisco in 1985 from his native Portugal and has a shared studio space near Holly Park, was selected from 135 submissions to create a two-part sculpture, “The California Grizzlies of Mission Creek,” featuring a thirteen-and-a-half-foot tall mother bear and her six-foot tall cub, standing on their hind legs facing Downtown. He chose the grizzly as his subject to spark conversations about the bear’s history; its inclusion on the state flag in 1911, its elimination caused by habitat reduction and hunting in the 1920s and becoming the official state animal in 1953. Grizzly bears once roamed throughout California, including the hills of San Francisco.
The original 2023 installation date was delayed because of the scope of the park extension project and its relationship with the artwork.
“The size of the piece requires a foundation,” explained Rigo 23, “which then becomes part of the work for the general contractor, meaning the timeline of the art project is completely dependent on the timeline of the overall park construction.”
According to Coma Te, San Francisco Arts Commission Director of Communications, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) has overall responsibility for Mission Bay South Redevelopment Plan implementation. That includes creation of new bikeways and walking paths inside an additional 3.24 acres of recreational open space west of the Mission Creek Park Pavilion, as well as expansion and improvement of the community garden in Huffaker Park, all of which requires public review of possible designs, a procedure that’s contributed to a lengthening timeline.
The OCII hopes to begin the 13-month park construction process by late fall, following a six-month period it anticipates will be required for contractor bidding and onboarding after permits are secured. If all goes according to present plans, “The California Grizzlies of Mission Creek” will be installed in early 2027.
“It’s a bit like sailing with adverse winds but I’m also constantly reminded that having a bit more time can be a bonanza,” Rigo 23 said, adding that the artwork is being fabricated at four different locations across the state, including a bronze foundry in Oxnard, which he recently visited to view castings.
Rigo 23 has used the delay to develop contacts with Native American groups that’re particularly in tune with the bear and it’s meaning to native cultures. Tribal insights will contribute to what Rigo 23 called the artwork’s “non-material side,” which’ll consist of audio files that people can access through a QR code, enabling them to hear a variety of indigenous people talking about the bears in their native languages.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity of doing this,” he said. “And I understand that some people are frustrated it hasn’t happened yet. But enlarging the footprint of park spaces in urban settings is always a positive, even if it takes longer than you expect.”
Jessica Zimmer 
Alina Ferguson