A new outdoor art exhibit, “Shifting Sands,” opened at Sunset Dunes Park this week. Created by SPUR, the exhibit invites visitors to explore more than 150 years of San Francisco history, focusing on parks, public spaces, and the freeway revolts.

From a statement by Friends of Sunset Dunes about Shifting Sands:

Directed by Lily Hayes, a fellow at SPUR, the 11-panel exhibit tells the story of what it means when a city is built on shifting sand, and of the generations of San Franciscans who have chosen parks and public space over roads and freeways.

The exhibit traces how San Franciscans have continually reshaped this stretch of coast for more than a century, from the wild dunes of the Outside Lands, to the seawall and oceanside road, to what’s now Sunset Dunes park. It then follows the construction of freeways in the 1950s and the ensuing Freeway Revolt, when San Franciscans fought plans to fill the city with highways. In the decades after, freeways came down, with parks taking their place.

That ongoing fight to reclaim space from cars is relevant, of course, to the upcoming election.

“SPUR has fought for a car-free Ocean Beach for more than a decade, and we’re urging voters to reject Prop G,” said SPUR’s Sean Elsbernd. “As a former Supervisor and lifelong District 7 resident, I’ve never felt as connected to Ocean Beach as I do now, thanks to Sunset Dunes. I’m proud to stand with Friends of Sunset Dunes so generations of San Franciscans can enjoy it.”

From a PDF of one of the panels from the “Shifting Sands” display at Sunset Dunes.

“San Francisco has always been a city willing to rethink how we use our public space,” said Heidi Moseson, a Board Member of Friends of Sunset Dunes. “That’s how we ended up with the Embarcadero waterfront, Patricia’s Green, the JFK Promenade, and now Sunset Dunes. We’re proud to be part of that tradition.”

Click here for a PDF file with more about the exhibit. And be sure to vote “no” on Prop. G!

Note: This Sunday is the 6th annual “Great Hauntway” Halloween celebration at Sunset Dunes Park. It will run from 1-4 p.m., transforming the city’s western edge into a coastal Halloween celebration over a mile long. Expect plenty of costumes, live music, and trick-or-treating along Sunset Dunes between Judah and Taraval. Last year’s Hauntway drew more than 10,000 attendees and distributed over 200,000 pieces of candy to local kids.