Last summer, a massive art installation was installed in Golden Gate Park’s Rainbow Falls Pond. The whimsical installation was a massive sea serpent emerging from the water, fondly named Naga, with a partially sunken ship nearby.
The installation Naga & The Captainess recently won two international art awards. CODAawards honor commissioned art in interior, architectural, and public spaces. Naga & The Captainess won both the People’s Choice Award and the Most Inspirational Award, joining many other major public art installations from around the world.
“Golden Gate Park has always been a place where San Francisco’s creativity, imagination and sense of fun can run a little wild,” said Sarah Madland, San Francisco Recreation and Parks General Manager. “Naga fits right in. This recognition is a wonderful tribute to Cjay’s work and to the power of public art to surprise people and make a day in the park a little more magical.”
Naga & The Captainess is still on display in Golden Gate Park, and we recommend stopping by at night to see it lit up. The piece was created by Bay Area artist Cjay Roughgarden and was displayed at Burning Man before making Golden Gate Park its home. Naga sits along the Golden Mile, a project created by local arts nonprofit Illuminate. The Golden Mile is a 1.5-mile stretch of JFK Drive in the park, which was permanently closed to cars and transformed with public art installations.