My Role

Rúupaywa: Songs of the Watershed sprung from authentic engagement with the leaders and elders of the Muwekma Ohlone for whom the land of the Alameda Creek Watershed Center is their unceded ancestral homeland. Authentic engagement is, however, not an on/off switch but instead a process of trust building from beginning to end. First, we engaged the tribe and listened to their hopes for the artwork. Second, we invited tribal leaders to serve on the selection panel and, for the first time in SF Art Commission history, held the artist selection panel outside the City and County of San Francisco and in Sunol, California where the artwork would be placed.  

For Rúupaywa: Songs of the Watershed, and for all of the projects I have worked on, I operate between parties to make the project work. I built executive and project-team alignment, participated in artist selection, worked with the artist to establish site and project context, and provided creative review and approval throughout the development of the artwork.

The Artwork

At its best, public art can elevate stories deserving of greater attention. To create Rúupaywa: Songs of the Watershed artist and Macarthur Fellow Walter Kitundu engaged at great length with the leaders and elders of the Muwekma Ohlone for whom this is their unceded ancestral homeland. Their request was simple, honor our past, present and future. 

Rúupaywa: Songs of the Watershed pays tribute to the Muwekma Ohlone people and recognizes both their history and their continued presence and power. Rúupaywa (the eagle) is a chief, a protector, and a creator in the Muwekma Ohlone creation story. This sculpture represents a protector spirit, a guardian of spaces above and below ground. It is meant as a vessel, a sheltering place for reflection, remembrance, and visioning.

Press

• A Golden Eagle Alights in Sunol, Bay Nature

• Celebrated Artist Walter Kitundu Awarded Public Art Commission for New Alameda Creek Watershed Center

• Beyond Decoration: How SFPUC’s Art Installations Embody Our Mission

Project Team

• Artwork Client Representative: Blair Randall, SFPUC

• Artwork Project Manager: Jackie von Treskow, SF Arts Commission

• Capital Project Manager: Bryan Dessaure, SFPUC