Artists in Residence (AIR)

The inaugural program features projects by Bay Area artists Maria Alejandra Guzmán Capron and Oliver Hawk Holden. Created specifically for Outside Lands and Golden Gate Park, the projects respond to the landscape, history, and character of San Francisco while inviting audiences to experience art in unexpected ways.

AIR builds upon the festival's longstanding commitment to visual art, expanding beyond the murals that have featured celebrated Bay Area artists, while introducing a new annual artists in residence initiative focused on original commissions and a growing collection of festival artworks.

Born in Italy to Colombian and Peruvian parents, Guzmán Capron draws from personal and cultural histories of migration, in which clothing operates as a marker of memory, adaptation, and the construction of self.

Among the featured works are Tree Dancers, a series of suspended textile figures that animate the park's canopy, and Bay Benches, created in collaboration with Seth Capron, sculptural seating that merges art, function, and gathering.

Known for creating vibrant textile sculptures that explore identity, belonging, and community, Guzmán Capron brings her playful visual language into the landscape of Golden Gate Park, inviting visitors to gather, rest, and connect through shared experiences.

San Francisco-based, Holden's work takes a satirical look at contemporary culture through figurative imagery, humor, and layered multimedia compositions. Working across sculpture, video, painting, installation, and kinetic forms, he creates exaggerated visual environments that blur the line between absurdity, spectacle, and social observation.

Holden's Bison and Ranger Ruth celebrate two beloved icons of Golden Gate Park and Outside Lands, transforming the park's historic bison herd and one of the festival's most recognizable personalities into playful landmarks. Drawing inspiration from Americana, roadside attractions, public monuments, and Bay Area culture, Holden's sculptural practice celebrates the local stories and characters that become part of a place's collective identity.

Christine Koppes is an independent curator, writer, and cultural producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with artists and cultural organizations to develop exhibitions, public art commissions, and interdisciplinary programs that connect contemporary art with broad audiences.

She previously served as Founding Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco and as Curator and Director of Public Programs at the Institute of Contemporary Art San José. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley.