SHACK15 recently spoke with Ben Davis, the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of the art nonprofit Illuminate, the group behind many of San Francisco's most beloved large-scale works of public art, including The Bay Lights, the Summer of Love lighting on the Conservatory of Flower, the Golden Mile activation of JFK Promenade, the revival of the Golden Gate Bandshell, where Illuminate host more than 100 live free concerts annually, Grace Light at Grace Cathedral, and more. We spoke to him about his upcoming seasonal project WELCOME, which will once again illuminate all of Market Street from the Ferry Building to Twin Peaks with a rainbow laser sequence, to honor Pride Month.

SHACK15: Can you tell us how you came up with the idea for the giant rainbow laser beam that generated a lot of attention at last year's SF Pride celebration? What was the process for installing it?

Ben Davis: Illuminate first worked lasers in December 2021, transforming the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park as part of our monthlong celebration of Poetry & Light. It's a fascinating technology, and we got along exceptionally well with Tim Anderson, founder of Nusalt Laser International. In May of last year, as part of a fluid brainstorming session, one of many projects we dreamed up for San Francisco was the idea of celebrating the history of our City, including Gilbert Baker's creation of the Pride Flag, by shooting giant beams of colored laser light down the canyon of Market Street, over the Castro, and just clearing the top of Twin Peaks during Pride Weekend. Tim secured FAA permission at the start of June, and in less than a month's time, we launched WELCOME.