A kaleidoscopic pattern featuring repeated images of a young child with short dark hair, wearing a striped outfit, creating a symmetrical, geometric design.
Ahree Lee, Bojagi, 2015, Digital video with sound, 15m. Courtesy of the artist.

Closing soon

Coming soon

  • “Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal” from May 16 to September 13 at SF MOMA.

Ashley Voss updates a local gallery guide weekly. Check out the guide’s Instagram account and website.

At the Museums

It’s a difficult time for many of the city’s museums and cultural centers. The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts has suspended operations. City Hall promises action, but in the meantime, it’s a significant loss of children’s programming, exhibits, and events. You can donate here. SOMArts is also trying to fill a budget gap. You can donate here.

Museum of Craft and Design (MCD)

Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

 “Video Craft” is open until August 16. From the website: “‘Video Craft’ explores the formal and technical properties that video, film, and early moving image technologies share with more traditional craft media like ceramics, textiles, and glass.”

The images look stunning.

  • Two people sitting side by side, with their faces and bodies pixelated; one wears a light shirt, the other a red plaid shirt, against a colorful, abstract background.
    Greg Climer, The Animated Quilt of Nathan and Bryan, 2022. Courtesy of the artist.
  • Large illuminated yellow panels and sheets are arranged vertically and spread on the floor in a dark room with a ceiling of parallel beams.
    Senga Nengudi, Warp Trance, 2007. Installation view, Another Energy: Power to Continue Challenging—16 Women Artists from around the World, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2021 Photo by Furukawa Yuya. Photo courtesy of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.
  • A kaleidoscopic pattern featuring repeated images of a young child with short dark hair, wearing a striped outfit, creating a symmetrical, geometric design.
    Ahree Lee, Bojagi, 2015, Digital video with sound, 15m. Courtesy of the artist.
  • Close-up of a colorful abstract textile artwork featuring rows of multicolored threads arranged in a grid-like pattern with various geometric shapes.
    Richard Vijgen, Hyperthread, 2024, various yarns. Photo courtesy of Studio Richard Vijgen.

The Letterform Archive

Thursday,1 to 8 p.m. and free to all; Friday to Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Monday to Wednesday.

“Black Memory Scholar: The Language of Storytellers” will have its opening reception on Saturday, May 2, at 5 p.m. “The exhibition traces the position and discoveries of staff member Jada Simone Haynes as an artist and memory worker engaged with ancestry, identity, and memory,” according to the website.

And on Thursday, May 7, you can go on a design studio tour. Find out more here.

“Piet Zwart: Brand Architect” opened Nov. 8.

There are many great examples of his work in this piece by Steven Heller, a former senior art director at The New York Times.

And here is more from the Letterform Archive when it reprinted “Inside NKF: Piet Zwart’s Avant-Garde Catalog for Standard Cables, 1927–1928.” It also publishes his seminal essay, “from old to new typography.”

The new, he writes, “rejects a predetermined formal structure, but builds up forms according to the function … the new typography incor­porates active red as a functional element: as a signal, an eye-catcher.” Sounds like an interesting fellow.

  • An open book shows two pages with text on the left and three examples of Dutch Dada graphic design on the right, including posters and a postcard with bold, geometric layouts.
    Spread from Paul Stirton’s “Piet Zwart, NKF, and the New Typography” in the supplement volume of NKF. Screenshot from the Letterform Archive
  • Minimalist graphic design poster features large black circle with white center, abstract arrangement of letters, and Dutch text in black on a white background.
  • Yellow and black geometric cover with vertical and horizontal black bars, the letters "NKF", and a circle containing three smaller filled circles.
    Piet Zwart
  • Minimalist black-and-white poster featuring rotated, bold text forming the word "Vierkant Rond" and additional Dutch text for the Nederlandsche Kabelfabriek Delft.
    Piet Zwart
  • Vintage advertisement for IOCO rubber flooring in green and purple, featuring bold geometric text and contact information, with slogans about durability and affordability in Dutch.
    Piet Zwart

See all events and programming here.

“Localization: 15 Years of LetterSeed” opened in mid-August. It explores Korean typography.

A display case, reminiscent of museums, features colorful posters, zines, and printed papers arranged on a wall and shelf, showcasing graphic designs and typography in various languages.
A pop-up exhibition co-curated by Chris Hamamoto, Su Hyun Leem, and Jeewoon Jung

The Letterform Archive is a nonprofit arts center focused on graphic design.

SFMOMA

Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m; Wednesday, closed; Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.

After looking at 140 nominations and having studio visits with 16 finalists, the three SECA award winners have been announced: CrossLypka, Em Kettner, and Chanell Stone. Congratulations! The three artists will have a show from December 12, 2026 to May 30, 2027.

Here is a taste of their work.

  • A black and white photo shows the silhouette of a person posing amid tall grass, with the image partially obscured by a reflective or semi-transparent surface.
    Chanell Stone, The body is but a record and rendition of the land, 2023.
  • A small, abstract wooden sculpture with green accents is mounted on a white wall above a concrete floor.
    CrossLypka, a kneeling, 2026.
  • A small whimsical sculpture featuring two large wheel-like shapes and a smiling, snake-like figure with a white face, displayed on a round wooden base against a plain background.
    Em Kettner, The Wheelchair, 2024.

Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10, a rehanging and consideration of the collection is open.

It’s a spectacular collection and KQED has a good piece on the reinstallation. The NYT, has also published a piece on the Fisher’s relationship with the museum and the rehanging of the family’s collection, writing it is “unlike anything SFMOMA has done in its 90 years.”

Alexander Calder and Claes Oldenburg + Coosje van Bruggen: Thinking Big opened first.

  • A large sculptural installation of a stylized bow and arrow, with exaggerated curves and a red arrow, displayed on a rectangular platform covered in artificial grass.
    Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Cupid’s Span, 2002; The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection; © Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Photo by Henrik Kam
  • Abstract sculpture with yellow zigzag forms, black and red cylindrical shapes, a blue triangle, and small black pegs on a white surface and background.
    Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Sculpture in the Form of a Match Cover, 1987; The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; © Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Photo by Katherine Du Tiel
  • Large sculpture of a partially eaten apple core with a stem, displayed on a round white platform in a gallery setting.
    Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Geometric Apple Core, 1991; The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; © Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Photo by Ian Reeves

And now, three more floors are open.

Ways of Seeing: Fourteen Artists (on Floor 4)

Calder, Kelly, LeWitt: Fundamentals of Form (on Floor 5)

Memory and Matter: Personal and Collective Histories (on Floor 6)

  • A geometric abstract painting with overlapping shapes in green, orange, purple, and brown, set against a bright blue background.
    Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing 477, 1986; The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art; © The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS),New York. Photo courtesy SFMOMA
  • A textured painting shows a boat in the foreground with dark, furrowed fields stretching to the horizon under a somber, overcast sky.
    Anselm Kiefer,Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion), 1983-84; The Doris andDonald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; © AnselmKiefer; Photo by Ian Reeves
  • Abstract painting with circular and swirling shapes in grey, red, and pink tones, featuring glasses and a pocket watch on a red surface in the foreground.
    Philip Guston,As It Goes, 1978; The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art; © The Estate of Philip Guston. Photo courtesySFMOMA
  • Abstract pop art painting featuring a stylized face with a single eye, large red lips, and wavy yellow and black hair on a white background with blue-striped and yellow elements.
    Roy Lichtenstein,Nerts, 1978; The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the SanFrancisco Museum of Modern Art; © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein. Photo courtesy SFMOMA

“Rose B Simpson: Behold,” is on view on SFMOMA’s fourth-floor terrace a bronze sculpture visible from multiple locations. And good news! It has been extended through February 7, 2027.

Also new: “Samia Halaby: Kinetic paintings,” four new works in SFMOMA’s Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Atrium. 

Abstract digital artwork featuring overlapping geometric shapes in pink, yellow, orange, and blue with striped patterns on a dark purple background—perfect for modern museums seeking bold visual statements.
Samia Halaby, Fold 2, 1988 (still); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams; courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg; © Samia Halaby

“KAWS: Family” is open until May 3, 2026. The exhibit features more than 100 artworks created over three decades. KAWS (Brian Donnelly) began painting graffiti in Jersey City and Manhattan, but in 1996 received his BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts.

We sent Charles Lewis III to take a look.

“In his younger days, Donnelly would snatch subway advertisements, integrate his own characters and then replace the advertisements, making it seem as if his designs were always a part of the image,” Lewis writes. In the new show, he writes “for KAWS, family is about the art of marketing.”

Read Mission Local’s full review

The New York Times has a 2021 profile of KAWS here. He’s controversial, to say the least.

The exhibit includes a 36-foot-tall inflatable sculpture on SFMOMA’s rooftop.

A large gray cartoon-like sculpture with X eyes sits atop the brick facade of SFMOMA, with modern architecture and trees visible in the foreground.
KAWS. Courtesy of SFMOMA.

The photo exhibit, “(Re)Constructing History,” fills three rooms on the third floor. The title plays on Carrie Mae Weems’ featured series “Constructing History,” asking viewers to consider “the layers of history we encounter through a seemingly fixed image.”

A contemporary Black artist — including Nona Faustine, Carla Williams, and Dawoud Bey — anchors each room.

  • A person in a white robe holds another person in a basin on a platform in a dimly lit room with a bare tree, a clock, and two portraits on the wall.
    Carrie Mae Weems, The Tragedy of Hiroshima, from the series Constructing History, 2008; promised gift of Paul Sack to the Sack Photographic Trust; © Carrie Mae Weems.
  • A person stands nude except for white shoes on a wooden box in the middle of a city street, surrounded by tall buildings and traffic, including a yellow taxi.
    Nona Faustine, From Her Body Came Their Greatest Wealth, Wall St, NYC, 2013; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, purchase through a gift of Ty Ahmad-Taylor and Accessions Committee purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams; © Nona Faustine.
  • Black-and-white photo of rocky outcrops on a shrub-covered hillside, with a rectangular outline superimposed over part of the rock formations.
    Rephotographic Survey Project, Rick Dingus for the Rephotographic Survey Project, 1978. Witches Rocks, Weber Valley, Utah., 1977–79; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; © Rephotographic Survey Project.
  • A dense, dark forest with tangled branches and leafless trees, creating a shadowy, obscured view through the woods.
    Dawoud Bey, Untitled #17 (Forest), from the series Night Coming Tenderly, Black, 2017; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; © Dawoud Bey.
  • A black and white portrait of a person with closed eyes in profile view, showing short curled hair against a dark background.
    Carla Williams, Side, from the series How to Read Character, 1990, printed 2024; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams; © Carla Williams.
A person in a denim jacket sits on the ground against wooden planks, holding a cup and looking toward the camera.
Carlos Villa; image: courtesy SFAI Legacy Foundation and Archives

“People Make This Place: SFAI Stories” is open through July 5, 2026, at SFMOMA. The exhibit looks at the the San Francisco Art Institute’s importance to the local arts eco-system and includes work from 50 alumni and former faculty in the museum’s collection. 

“New Work: Sheila Hicks” on the fourth floor illustrates how Hicks turns fiber into sculpture.

Asian Art Museum

 “Two Home Countries” by Japanese contemporary artist, Chiharu Shiota, is open and Julie Zigoris reviewed it for Mission Local. She writes that one of the pieces, “Diary,” which took ten people and two weeks to install, “has a transportive feeling of being sucked into another space and time.”

Here is some of the work you will be seeing from Shiota.

  • A wireframe sculpture of a house with red and black intertwined threads and circular patterns filling the interior, set against a plain background.
    Chiharu Shiota, Inner Home, 2024. Metal frame, wire, beads. Photograph by Sunhi Mang. © ARS, New York, 2025 and the artist
  • A watercolor painting shows a person standing near two chairs in front of a red, vertical-striped background.
    Sketch for KINKAKUJI by Chiharu Shiota. © ARS, New York, 2025 and the artist
  • A person sits on a chair in a room filled with dense red string webs and suspended sheets of paper, under red lighting.
    Installation view of Chiharu Shiota_ Two Home Countries at Japan Society Gallery, New York, 2025. Photo by Waso Danilenko
  • A hanging sculpture made of red fabric and netting is suspended by strings, with bronze feet at the base, displayed in a gallery setting.
    Chiharu Shiota, Out of my Body, 2022. Installation – leather, bronze. Aros Museum, Aarhus, Denmark. Photo Anders Sune Berg. © ARS, New York, 2025 and the artist

Here is a video of Shiota talking about her webs.

Here is the Hyde Street mural by artist and activist Kayan Cheung-Miaw who will be at the museum on Sunday. “This Asian American Life” shows scenes from Chinatown from the POV of a child. It is part of a public-art series on Chinatown’s mothers, workers and tenants.

A mural on a gray stone wall depicts various scenes including a woman kneeling, a driver, a hand holding a leaf, and birds flying, on a city sidewalk beside a tree.
This Asian American Life, 2025, by Kayan Cheung-Miaw. Commissioned by the Asian Art Museum. Photo by David Armstrong.

“Echoes in the Small Mountain: Park Dae-sung and the West Coast” is open until July 26.

Dae-sung (b. 1945) is “credited with reinventing the techniques of traditional Korean ink painting,” according to the museum’s website. The paintings are based on California landscapes and are spectacular.

“Jitish Kallat: Covering Letter (Terranum Nuncius)” invites visitors to reflect on the things that unite humanity.

A dimly lit gallery room in museums, featuring illuminated display cases along both walls and a starburst light sculpture glowing at the far end.
Image: Jitish Kallat,  Covering Letter (Terranum Nuncius) (2018–2021), detail and installation view. 116 stereoscopic parallax prints on Plexiglas, programmed LED panels, frames, wooden shelves and bench, 4 horn speakers, video projection. Image courtesy of the artist and Ishara Art Foundation. Photography by Ismail Noor / Seeing Things.

You will also see cutting-edge claywork from Japan in “New Japanese Clay.” 

The museum has a series, “Takeout Tuesdays,” where you can meet online to talk about a piece of art with docents and others. 

General admission is free on the first Sunday of every month and the special exhibitions are discounted. Here is more information for free and reduced-cost admission. The museum also hosts a robust list of events.

Institute of Contemporary Art

The Institute is now nomadic with several exhibits that can be viewed at different public spaces:

Here are some views of the installations.

  • A city street with a glass office building on the corner, traffic lanes, crosswalks, trees, and several cars, surrounded by other tall buildings.
    Rupy C Tut, The Picnic Potluck (installation view). Photo by Nicholas Lea Bruno. Courtesy of ICA San Francisco.
  • Several tall, spiral sculptures made of stacked glass or translucent material are displayed in a bright, modern gallery with large windows.
    1-10) Stratagems (installation view), 2026. CDs, concrete, stainless steel. © Tara Donovan. Photo by Nicholas Lea Bruno, courtesy of ICA SF.
  • Close-up of a large, twisted metallic sculpture with reflective surfaces that catch and scatter colored light. Geometric ceiling structure visible in the background.
    1-10) Stratagems (installation view), 2026. CDs, concrete, stainless steel. © Tara Donovan. Photo by Nicholas Lea Bruno, courtesy of ICA SF.
  • A paved open plaza with geometric stone tiles, surrounded by benches, plants, and tall trees beside a modern building.
    EARTHSEED DOME (installation view), January 2026. © Lily Kwong. Photo by Nicholas Lea Bruno, courtesy of ICA SF.
  • A large, curved wooden sculpture with visible layers stands in an outdoor plaza, surrounded by trees and modern buildings.
    EARTHSEED DOME (Phase 2 installation view), April 2026. © Lily Kwong. Photo by Nicholas Lea Bruno, Courtesy of ICA SF
  • Curved structure made of layered, overlapping tiles embedded with moss, set outdoors among tall trees, with sunlight filtering through the foliage.
    EARTHSEED DOME (Phase 2 installation view), April 2026. © Lily Kwong. Photo by Nicholas Lea Bruno, Courtesy of ICA SF
  • A large building facade featuring a grid of colorful, abstract and mirrored nature-themed photographic panels above street level.
    1. Jeffrey Gibson, rendering of THIS BURNING WORLD, 2026, vinyl facade of on the Mission Street side of the former Bloomingdale’s building at the San Francisco Centre. Courtesy of the artist.
  • A dimly lit gallery features large digital screens on two walls, displaying images of fire, cityscape, and the moon, with wooden benches arranged in the center.
    Jeffrey Gibson THIS BURNING WORLD, 2022 Multi-channel video, 20 min Courtesy of the artist and ICA SF Photo credit: Impart Photography
  • A large wall displays a digital triptych: an image of a dome structure under a sky, a dark night sky with a moon, and a geometric pattern with orange lights.
    Jeffrey Gibson THIS BURNING WORLD, 2022 Multi-channel video, 20 min Courtesy of the artist and ICA SF Photo credit: Impart Photography
  • A large digital projection displays abstract and nature-themed images on a wall in a modern gallery with exposed ceiling beams and a rectangular recessed area in the floor.
    Jeffrey Gibson THIS BURNING WORLD, 2022 Multi-channel video, 20 min Courtesy of the artist and ICA SF Photo credit: Impart Photography

de Young Museum

Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Saturdays are free for residents of the Bay Area’s nine counties.

“Monet and Venice” is open and we have a review by Julie Zigoris. She writes, that the French painter had all but decided to give up his water-lily project when his wife Alice, suggested a trip to Venice – thereby rescuing the water lily project and giving us some exquisite paintings from Venice.

It is meant to be in dialogue with “Venice Drawn” at the Legion of Honor and will be on view through July 26.

“Boom and Bust: Photographing Northern California,” featuring photographs of “San Francisco before and after the 1906 earthquake and fire, the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge, and the development of San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood.” It is on through August 2.

  • A tall brick building with faded painted advertisements stands at a city intersection, surrounded by parking lots, construction sites, and distant cityscape views.
    Janet Delaney, “Mercantile Building, Mission and 3rd Street,” 1980.. Photograph by Jorge Bachmann, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  • Black-and-white photo of people walking down a narrow street lined with multi-story buildings featuring ornate balconies and hanging lanterns.
    Arnold Genthe, “The Street of Painted Balconies, from the Chinatown Series,” ca. 1896
  • Rooftop covered in colorful graffiti under a cloudy sky, with city buildings visible in the background.
    Daniel Postaer, “San Francisco, Fillmore Street,” 2012
  • Rows of tents are set up on a grassy field while large clouds of smoke rise from a city in the background, suggesting an emergency or disaster situation.
    Willard E. Worden, “An Awe-Inspiring View of the Burning City from a Hastily Improvised Campsite West of Van Ness Avenue and Fort Mason, in the District Now Known as the Marina,” 1906
  • Sepia-toned photo of a large Victorian-style hotel on a cliff overlooking a beach with shallow waves and a few people near the water’s edge.
    Willard E. Worden, “The Cliff House (Low Tide),” 1904
  • Black and white photo of a large, multi-story brick building with rectangular windows, flat rooflines, and an empty lawn in front.
    San Francisco General Hospital Buildings 80 and 90 circa 1937. Photo courtesy UCSF, San Francisco General Hospital archives.
  • Black-and-white photograph of a coastal city with rows of wooden buildings, dirt roads, and hills, overlooking a bay with several ships in the water.
    Carleton E. Watkins, “The Golden Gate from Telegraph Hill, San Francisco,” 1868

Artist Rose B. Simpson’s show “LEXICON” will be on until Feb 7, 2027.

Noma Faingold writes in her review, “Coming from a long line of Native American ceramic artists of the Santa Clara Pueblo (Kha’po’oe Ówîngeh), based just south of Española, New Mexico, pottery is in Simpson’s DNA. While she still lives at the pueblo and has her studio close by, she has forged a different creative path, while examining the past, present and future.”

Read the full review of Simpson’s show here

A rustic adobe-style house with multiple sections, a gravel driveway, and an old black car parked in front, surrounded by leafless trees and dry ground.
Rose Simpson rebuild of a Buick Riviera, leaving her shop on the Santa Claran Pueblo, loading with Dylan Madri. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Simpson’s exhibit is all part of the opening of four galleries dedicated to Arts of Indigenous America, which draws on the permanent collections, new acquisitions and artists like Simpson.

The New York Times has an excellent piece by Carolina A. Miranda on the development of the Arts of Indigenous America galleries.

“Leilah Babirye: We Have a History” is the Ugandan artist’s first solo show in the United States. It closes May 26, 2026, Babirye creates sculptures in ceramic, wood and discarded objects.

I don’t know her work, but am excited to get to know it. Here is an introductory video with Babirye and the curator of SFMOMA’s African collection, Natasha Becker. Contemporary artists like Babirye are being invited to have their work in conversation with the museum’s excellent permanent collection.

Legion of Honor Museum

Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

“Drawn to Venice” will be on until Aug. 2, 2026. The exhibition is designed to be “in dialogue with ‘Monet and Venice,’ on view until July 26, 2026, at the de Young.” See our review of the latter here.

  • A pencil and chalk drawing of a woman in a dress, looking slightly to the side, holding an apple in her left hand—an artwork reminiscent of pieces often found in museums.
    Bust of a Girl Holding an Apple. Drawing. Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (Italian, 1682-1754). Museum purchase, Bruno and Sadie Adriani, Ludwig A. Emge, Ruth Haas Lilienthal, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Income Fund, and Lucie Stern Fund.
  • A classical-style portrait of a woman with light skin, pearl earrings, and a ship in her hair, gazing to the side against a soft blue background—perfect for museums seeking elegant and imaginative artwork.
    Portrait of a Lady as Diana. Drawing. Rosalba Giovanna Carriera (Italian, 1671-1757). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Prentis Cobb Hale Jr.

The exhibit includes 30 drawings and prints from 16th-century Venice, including landscapes and figure studies, from such artists as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770), Rosalba Carriera (1673–1757) and Canaletto (1697–1768). 

“Ferlinghetti for San Francisco” draws from the museum’s collection of prints, etchings and lithographs. Here is a 2012 profile from SFGate of the poet, artist, activist and founder of City Lights Book Store. The show is open until July 19, 2026.

Ferlinghetti died in 2021, but what a life. Even before arriving in San Francisco, he had earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and a doctorate from the Sorbonne.

If you get into Ferlinghetti‘s history, visit the Counter Culture Museum, City Lights Book Store and the Beat Museum.

  • A black and white sketch of a boat with several abstract human figures inside and a sail marked with "25" on a white background, reminiscent of art found in museums. The letter "F" is written below the image.
    Lawrence Ferlinghetti
  • A narrow poster featuring a vertical poem titled "Rivers of Light," with text printed over a large, yellow, winding river graphic—perfect for museums seeking unique, poetic art displays.
    Lawrence Ferlinghetti

You can view the Legion of Honor’s full list of exhibitions here.

The museum offers Free Saturdays to residents of the Bay Area’s nine counties.

The Tenderloin Museum

Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Finding Our Way Home: Mary TallMountain is open. The exhibit celebrates the longtime Tenderloin resident and Native Alaskan poet Mary TallMountain (1918-1994). From the website: “Her extraordinary personal journey of recovery, writing, and cultural reclamation is told through key poems, rare photos, and video performances, with special emphasis on her community writing practice in the TL and how her legacy endures and inspires from SF to the Yukon.” 

A friend just saw “The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot” and loved it. It is at the museum’s venue at 835 Larkin St and runs every Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. You can get tickets here. Chris Carlsson writes about the 1966 riots and resistance on FoundSF, a great resource for history.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote about the Tenderloin Museum’s planned expansion to 10,000 square feet from 3,000, adding a room for San Francisco’s neon history, including a sign from Hunt’s Donuts, once based in the Mission District and known as the “epicenter of crime.”

There is a lot more going on at the Tenderloin Museum, including the permanent collection that explores the neighborhood’s history and upcoming events, such as a walking tour focused on the area’s LGBTQIA+ history. Other walking tours are listed here.

SOMArts

See “Lineages of Organizing: The Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center at 30.” an exhibit illustrating the history of the center. It is running in conjunction with the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s “Common Ground” programming.

  • Person wearing dramatic makeup, black dress, gloves, and high heels lies on stomach in front of a vintage typewriter on a white background.
    EddieJen, Seeking A Penpal For The End Of The World, Photo by Joseph Niles
  • A person dressed in a floral costume with braided hair adorned with flowers leans forward under bright, dramatic lighting against a dark background.
    Sami See. FLOODFilmStill, 2026.
  • A person poses on one leg in front of a colorful mural featuring portraits, a raised fist, and text reading "SOLU WIDGETS 1989.
    Sammay Hinga, Lineages Of Organizing, Kat Gorospe Cole
  • A linocut print of a woman with shoulder-length hair looking upward, with an orange-striped cat lying in front of her. The background is purple and orange.
    PercySchumacher, AliceWongLinocut, LineagesOfOrganizing
  • Colorful illustration of several nude women with long black hair engaged in various activities in a vibrant, surreal bathroom setting with a bicycle, laundry, and pets.
    MayaFuji, OkaeriTadaima.
  • A person with dramatic, colorful makeup and a painted beard wears a patchwork outfit and orange fishnet gloves, standing in a garden with large spiky plants in the background.
    King LOTUSBOY, RhythmsOfResistance, Gina Castro
  • A person with braided hair sits at a laptop in a red room decorated with framed art, musical instruments, and bookshelves.
    EUPHEMIA,Rhythms Of Resistance, @alt.kameya

Museum of the African Diaspora

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.

“Beauty Plus” by photographer Jasmine Ross at MOAD opened March 18 and will run through May 31 as part of the museum’s Emerging Artists Program.

  • A dark brown mannequin head with a glossy finish, painted lips, and visible lashes is displayed indoors against a blurred background.
    Jasmine Ross Lady #5, 2025 4 x 5 color film printed as museum-grade archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper
  • An older woman stands in front of a display of wigs on mannequins in a store, with sale signs and a no returns notice visible.
    Jasmine Ross No Returns/Life’s Work, 2025 4 x 5 color film printed as museum-grade archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper.
  • A close-up of several empty black and beige clothes hangers hooked onto a circular metal rack against an orange background.
    Jasmine Ross What’s Left #1, 2025 4 x 5 color film printed as museum-grade archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper.
  • A store display with a mannequin head on a shelf, a mirror, glove stands with gloves, and various items on a glass counter in front of a patterned window.
    Jasmine Ross Ms. Purple, 2025 4 x 5 color film printed as museum-grade archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper

Also on at the Museum of the African Diaspora, “Unbound: Art, Blackness and the Universe,” which runs through Aug. 16, 2026.

Teresa Moore reviews “Unbound” this writing, “Over three floors, she (curatorial chief Key Jo Lee) presents an African diaspora that is “unbound” from earthly and chronological conceptions of diaspora.”

  • Three abstract, glowing human figures run across a surreal landscape under a vivid, multicolored sky with swirling clouds.
    Didier William Dark Shores,2024. Courtesy of the artist and Altman Siegel
  • Abstract geometric structure with intersecting lines and shapes set against a striped, multicolored background with blue, purple, and gray tones.
    Rodney Ewing. Light Years: A Cenotaph for a Better Place,2025. Courtesy of Rena Bransten Gallery, SF and the artist.
  • Two shadowy, seated figures sit side by side with arms resting on the back of a bench, set against a wavy, monochromatic background.
    Oasa DuVerney BLACK POWER WAVE as Bodhisattva Manjushri Sankofa, 2023, Courtesy of the artist and Welancora Gallery

California Academy of Sciences

Monday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m to 5 p.m; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m; Thursday, NightLife (21+ with ID): 6 to 10 p.m. (Last entry is always one hour before closing time.) 

There’s a lot going on here.

The newly renovated Wilson Family Nature Lab is open with lots of hands-on learning.

  • An adult and a child walk down a hallway in a science museum, passing animal exhibits and a sign that reads "Nature Lab.
    WelcomeWinterNight 2024. Courtesy of the California Academy of Science
  • Large crocodile skull on display with two transparent panels, each showing a simple illustration of a person crouching or standing inside the open jaws.
    Nature Lab Opening. Courtesy of the California Academy of Arts
  • A fossilized skeleton of a prehistoric reptile embedded in a light-colored rock slab, displayed against a white background.
    WelcomeWinterNight 2024. Courtesy of the California Academy of Science
  • A child looking at a dinosaur skull.
    WelcomeWinterNight 2024. Courtesy of the California Academy of Science

“Big Picture” competition winners are on view.

Make sure to plan ahead and see the admission and ticketing page for more information. Also, see how you can get a free or reduced rate for your next visit. 

Counterculture Museum

Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

We have more museums in town. This one is at the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets with a whole lot of San Francisco history.

I could see a whole weekend, or a couple of weekdays, spent between the Counterculture Museum, the Beat Museum and the “Ferlingetti for San Francisco” show at the Legion of Honor. It would be like a graduate seminar on the late ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

Beat Museum

Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Beat Museum is at 540 Broadway, across the street from City Lights, the bookstore founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

“We are dedicated to carrying on the Beats’ legacy by exposing their work to new audiences, encouraging journeys — both interior and exterior — and being a resource on how one person’s perspective can have meaning to many,” according to a statement from the museum.

This sounds like a great place to visit.

500 Capp St.

Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.: Free self-guided tours. Saturday at 4 p.m.: A guided tour for $20.

“Amitié: Joyce Burstein and Léonie Guyer,” a two-person exhibit curated by Nancy Nguyen occupies the house.

500 Capp Street and Root Division are collaborating on “Open Your Eyes to Water,” a solo exhibition of the work of San Francisco-based visual artist Trina Michelle Robinson that spans both venues.

  • Two people stand on rocky cliffs by the ocean, facing the water, with mountains visible in the distance under a clear sky.
    2. A still from Transposing Landscapes- A Requiem for Charles Young, 2025
  • Four framed botanical prints with black illustrations on beige paper are arranged in a two-by-two grid on a dark wall.
    Memory Index_ Imagined Family Heirlooms
  • A person with curly hair, wearing a sleeveless black top and green pants, stands by a worktable with papers and materials in a bright room.
    Trina Michelle Robinson Studio Portrait

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; free on Wednesdays and second Sundays.

“The Prince of Homburg: A Solo Exhibition by P. Staff” runs until June 24.  From the website: “Loosely inspired by Heinrich von Kleist’s 1810 play of the same name, the work explores exhaustion as a response to structural oppression. The centerpiece of the installation is a 23-minute video…”

The gallery is open Tuesday to Friday, noon to 4 p.m.

“If This World Were Mine,” a series of MFA exhibits from April 30 through May.

•April 30: Brennan Lynch & Evie Hidysmith
•May 7: Mary Lou Grace Robison & Mónica Crystal Ocegueda
•May 14: England Hidalgo & Camila Michaliszyn

San Francisco State University’s Global Museum

It’s a teaching lab and open to the public during the school year – Oct. through May. 11 a.m. to. 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, and by appointment. Location: Fine Arts Building, Room 203

Now on: “Craft or Commodity?” And “Please Touch!” “Both exhibits focus on themes of responsible stewardship of cultural heritage, decolonizing museum work, and expanding accessible museum experiences,” writes Marley Townsend, a graduate student in Museum Studies.

The Walt Disney Family Museum

Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“Happiest Place on Earth: The Disneyland Story” is open. The museum described it as a “treasure trove of Disney history” taking “will take “guests behind the scenes of one of the most groundbreaking endeavors of the 20th century — the creation and opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California.”

The museum is showing rare objects featured in the book “Walt Disney Treasures: Personal Art and Artifacts from The Walt Disney Family Museum.” The objects will change every two months.

Visit the museum’s website for more information on admission costs and reduced ticketing options. The special exhibits are free with a suggested $5 admission fee.

Exploratorium

Closed Mondays. Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon (members/donors only); noon to 5 p.m. for everyone. Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, 6 to 10 p.m. for 18+.

Experience After Dark at Pier 15. Every Thursday evening, immerse yourself in more than 700 interactive exhibits. For people 18 and older. The museum advertises a carefree environment with new themes each night. Here is information for reduced admission.  

The Chinese Historical Society of America

The museum is closed for renovations, according to its website.

The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

Closed until further notice.

See the center’s website for offerings. 

Jewish Contemporary Museum

The museum closed in December for at least a year as it works out its financial situation. You can learn more here. Laura Waxmann wrote a good piece for the San Francisco Chronicle about the difficulties museums are facing.

Its closure is a reminder to visit our museums.

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I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.

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