Ben Davis

Ben Davis is the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of the SF-based art nonprofit Illuminate. Established in 2011, Illuminate first collaborated with artist Leo Villareal to create The Bay Lights, a 1.8-mile-wide light sculpture on the Bay Bridge. That seminal work of public art, which is said to boost the regional economy by over $100m annually, is being upgraded. Ben and Illuminate are leading that effort.

Illuminate is the driving force behind many of San Francisco’s most beloved large-scale public artworks, including the nightly lighting of the Conservatory of Flowers, Grace Light at Grace Cathedral, the illumination of The Pink Triangle during Pride Month, Monumental Reckoning in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, the activation of 1.5 miles of JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park, and the revival of the Golden Gate Bandshell where Illuminate hosts more than 100 live free concerts annually. In addition, Illuminate is the group behind the Summer of Awe--a series of giant laser installations that appeared across San Francisco. 

Illuminate’s mission is to rally large groups of people together to create impossible works of public art that, through awe, free humanity’s better nature.

Illuminate dares greatly on behalf of San Francisco; despite receiving lucrative offers to work in cities worldwide, Illuminate has chosen to work exclusively in San Francisco. With each project, we want to go deep, build a high-trust network, create new possibilities, and transform the place we live.