Silicon Valley’s plutocrats are shaking up culture in the region

In a former gym in a gentrifying warehouse district, a maple tree, complete with roots, is suspended in the air. Immersive screens depict streams and plants. The inaugural exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ica sf), by Jeffrey Gibson, a Native-American artist, is meant to reveal humanity’s connection to the Earth and its despoliation.

The uprooting also symbolises the disruption for which the home of the technology industry is famous. The museum itself marks a break with the past. Local artists and performers have long complained that the tech industry does little to support them. Now, for the first time, Silicon Valley’s plutocrats are underwriting a new cultural institution in their own backyard.