Poster for "Compton’s Cafeteria Riot," showing a coffee cup with the event title and a raised fist, advertising an immersive theatrical experience in San Francisco.
At the Tenderloin Museum.

Closing soon

Coming soon

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.

The centers operate on small budgets and could benefit from individual donations to keep them open and free.

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

The Tenderloin Museum

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

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 7:00 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 Museums’ 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.

Asian Art Museum

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, the Ancient Music Orchestra of Xi’an International University will perform at noon on Sunday, Feb. 22.

“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.

Chandigarh-based artist Gurjeet Singh’s show “When Words Hurt” is open through March 23, 2026.

Black and white sketch of two abstract humanoid heads facing each other, with one head’s tongue reaching into the other’s mouth; both have exaggerated features and textured surfaces.
Pricky Words, 2024. by Gurjeet Singh. Photo courtesy of the Asian Art Museum

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

The museum also 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.

I love the outdoor murals along Hyde Street by artist and activist Kayan Cheung-Miaw. “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.

SOMArts

 “Tabi Tabi Po: Come Out with the Spirits!” featuring the works of artist and muralist Cece Carpio is open and on view until March 29.

  • A woman wrapped in a large, green and red patterned leaf stands against a decorative yellow and brown swirling background, with radiant lines framing her head.
    Cece Carpio Anagolay Acrylic on canvas 2019
  • Two women face each other, one upright and one upside down, with white hibiscus flowers covering their mouths against a red hibiscus floral background.
    Cece Carpio Gumeng at Mula’s White Lies Acrylic on wood 2025
  • Two figures with brown skin are entwined with large yellow-green flowers and leaves; petals drape over their heads, blending human and botanical forms against a teal background.
    Cece Carpio Ylang at Ylang Acrylic on Canvas 2025

SFMOMA

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

“Suzanne Jackson: What is Love,” on view through March 1, features 80 paintings and drawings, marking the first retrospective of her career. Teresa Moore writes in Mission Local that it “a fitting show for a phenomenal artist.”

  • Abstract painting featuring the profile of a human face blending into swirling colors, with leaves and a flower emerging from a vase-like shape in the center.
    Suzanne Jackson, El Paradiso, 1981–84; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund purchase, by exchange, through a gift of Michael D. Abrams
  • A colorful abstract painting of a mountain with patches of green, brown, and white under a blue sky.
    Suzanne Jackson, High Frost, 1982; the Joyner/Giuffrida Collection
  • A large abstract painting with swirling pastel colors and faint outlines of human figures, mounted on a white gallery wall above a bare concrete floor.
    Suzanne Jackson, a history drawing-cracked wall, 2016–19; collection George and Keren Davis
  • An older woman with short gray hair stands indoors, wearing a red top and black sweater, next to a table with colorful art materials and a large mixed-media sculpture.
    Portrait of Suzanne Jackson, 2025

Our review of “Unbound” is here.

The museum announced its finalists for the SECA awards: Sholeh Asgar, Windy Chien, CrossLypka, Soleé Darrell, Hughen/Starkweather, Xandra Ibarra, Em Kettner, Charles H. Lee, Yameng Lee Thorp, Aspen Mays, Adia Millett, Lorena Molina, Tricia Rainwater, Chanell Stone, Livien Yin, Jes Young.

The winners will be announced in April and a show of their work will go up in December. The award highlights Bay Area artists who have yet to receive “substantial recognition from a major institution.” It’s interesting to look at their work. Any favorites? I’m partial to Livien Yin and her big oils of everyday life.

“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

“Alejandro Cartagena: Ground Rules” is on view until April 19.

  • A shallow, rocky river flows through an urban area with cars on a nearby road, soccer fields, and mountains in the background at sunset.
    Alejandro Cartagena, Rivers of Power #71, from the series Rivers of Power, 2010–16© Alejandro Cartagena, courtesy the artist
  • A raised hand in focus inside a crowded, dimly lit space, possibly a bus or train, with blurred people in the background.
    Alejandro Cartagena, Suburban Bus #56, from the series Suburban Bus, 2016; © Alejandro Cartagena, courtesy the artist
  • Rusty vertical metal bars with a grid pattern and signs of corrosion stand on a weathered concrete surface.
    Alejandro Cartagena, Invisible Line DAUGHTER #34, from the series Invisible Line, 2010–17; © Alejandro Cartagena, courtesy the artist
  • Aerial view of six people lying closely together in the bed of a pickup truck parked between two white lines on a road.
    Alejandro Cartagena, Carpoolers #21, from the series Carpoolers, 2011–12; © Alejandro Cartagena, courtesy the artist

Mission Local’s Marina Newman went to Cartagena’s talk in November, to discover that the photographer has moved away from photography.

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.

Museum of the African Diaspora

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

The Museum of the African Diaspora has reopened and has two new exhibitions, “Unbound: Art, Blackness and the Universe,” which opened Oct. 1 and runs through Aug. 16, 2026 and “Continuum: MoAD Over Time, which also opened October 1 and will run through March 1, 2026.

  • A large mosaic image composed of many smaller black-and-white photographs, arranged to collectively form a close-up of a person's face.
    Chester Higgins. Courtesy of MoAD.
  • A person wearing a knitted sweater holds up both hands near their face, with a thin wire or string draped across their torso and attached to their right sleeve.
    Lava Thomas. Courtesy of MoAD
  • A sculptural assemblage featuring metal rods, fabric, netting, and various found materials arranged on a pedestal against a plain wall.
    Ramekon. Courtesy of MoAD.

Teresa Moore reviews “Unbound” this week 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

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.

There is a lot happening at the de Young.

“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.”

  • 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 Indigeous America galleries.

“Leilah Babirye: We Have a History” opened earlier this summer gives the artist, born in Uganda and based in New York, her 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 excellent 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.

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

On Valentine’s Day go to a lecture ” A Closer Look: Early Netherlandish Paintings at 1 p.m. Register here.

“Drawn to Venice” opened and will be on until Aug. 2, 2026. The exhibition is designed to be “in dialogue with Monet and Venice, on view March 21, 2026–July 26, 2026 at the de Young.”

  • 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 – landscapes and figure studies – from such artists as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770), Rosalba Carriera (1673–1757) and Canaletto (1697–1768). 

Julie Zigoris writes that “Manet and Morisot” open through March 1 at the Legion of Honor “will give museum-goers the opportunity for the first time to understand how deeply the two French painters were in conversation with one another.” 

It’s a wonderful exhibit. Paintings that make you want to get closer.

  • A woman in a black dress sits on a chair while another woman and a child stand near a curtain in a room with large plants, ornate decor, and the refined atmosphere reminiscent of grand museums.
    Berthe Morisot “Intérieur,” 1872 Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 28 11/16 in. (59.944 x 72.898 cm) Private Collection Photograph by Randy Dodson, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  • Three people in formal attire stand and sit on a balcony with green shutters; a small dog is at their feet and blue flowers are in the foreground.
    Édouard Manet “The Balcony,” 1868-69 Oil on canvas, 66 15/16 x 49 3/16 in., (170 x 125 cm) Musée d’Orsay © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
  • A 19th-century painting depicts people walking, riding, and socializing in a park with a cityscape and hot air balloon in the background, framed in ornate gold.
    Édouard Manet, The Exposition Universelle , 1867.
  • Two people stand arm in arm, facing and observing two framed paintings on a blue wall in an art gallery with wooden floors.
    Installation view of “Manet & Morisot” at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, 2025. Photograph by Gary Sexton. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  • A woman in a white dress and hat sits on the grass reading a book, with a parasol and fan nearby in a green, rural outdoor setting.
    Berthe Morisot “Reading,” 1873 Oil on fabric, 18 1/8 x 28 1/4 in. (46 x 71.8 cm) Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Hanna Fund, 1950.89

“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 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.

On March 14th, there is a 10-year anniversary celebration.

This place looks to have many interesting offerings, including a new portfolio of French sign painters alphabets and a collection ofChinese lettering manuals.

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

From the website: “From the 1920s to the 1960s, Zwart profoundly influenced both the Netherlands and the international graphic design community, and many of his works are celebrated as milestones in design history.” 

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.

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.

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. The exhibit opened on Feb. 11 and there will be an opening reception at both places on February 14:  noon to 3 p.m. at 500 Capp St. and 3-5 p.m. at Root Division.

  • 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…”

Museum of Craft and Design (MCD)

Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

The Museumand the Store will be closed from February 9 to 27 for the installation of Video Craft.

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

“Slowburn” opens Feb. 21 with a reception from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. “Guest curated by Lorena Molina, slow burn centers how BIPOC artists use slowness as a form of refusal and a way to highlight the systems of oppression that structure their lives,” according to the press release.  

  • A person kneels facing a wall, extending both arms upwards to create two long red paint streaks on the white surface, evoking performance art scenes often found in contemporary museums.
    Ana Mendieta- Title Untitled (Blood Sign #2/Body Tracks) Video, 1974 (Courtesy of Walker Art Center)
  • A large blue textile with a faint, circular white pattern made up of clustered script-like markings near the fabric’s edges, reminiscent of pieces found in museums, displayed against a neutral wall.
    Elaine Nguyen Title: Ngoại ăn, Ngoại có sức khỏe,
  • A large grid of small photographs is displayed on a white wall, each depicting various landscapes, buildings, and scenes from different locations, reminiscent of collections often found in museums.
    Maria Gaspar Title: Disappearance Jail (excerpt series) Hundreds of perforated Archival Inkjet prints on rice paper, 5 x 7, 2021-Ongoing (Courtesy of the Artist) Photo documentation credit: Clare Britt
  • A person with closed eyes and a lace headscarf sits wearing a travel pillow and a stone on their forehead, reminiscent of quiet moments found in museums; two uniformed men stand behind, one holding a camera.
    Tesora Garcia. Tesora’s Third Eye

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, but is expected to reopen in mid-Feb, according to its website.

The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

Closed until further notice.

See the center’s website for offerings. 

Institute for Contemporary Art

The Institute is now nomadic and leaving its permanent home. You can read more about the decision here.

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.

As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.

As founder/executive editor at ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.

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