MATRIX 287 / Berenice Olmedo: To ti ên einai is the first US museum exhibition of the work of artist Berenice Olmedo (b. 1987, Oaxaca, Mexico; lives and works in Mexico City). Working across sculpture, performance, and kinetic installation, Olmedo is known for her anthropomorphic assemblages with fused prostheses and orthotics. Her intimate yet commanding freestanding figures and wall-based installations urge a reconsideration of standardized expectations of bodies.
Debuting her largest wall installation to date, artist Stephanie Syjuco (b. 1974, Manila, Philippines; lives and works in Oakland) presents Present Tense (Roll Call). Referencing the classroom routine of announcing one’s presence, the exhibition explores radical pedagogy in the politics of education. Syjuco’s practice spans from handcrafted textiles to archival excavations, interrogating how photography and archives shape racialized narratives of being and belonging.
“Without any formal training in embroidery or weaving, I often became the subject of ridicule, with people jokingly asking whether I stitched my works with my toes instead of my fingers.” —Lee ShinJa
Lee ShinJa: Drawing with Thread is the first North American survey of the work of the historically under-recognized Korean artist Lee ShinJa (b. 1930, Uljin, South Korea; lives and works in Seoul).
Eli Leon was an Oakland-based collector, scholar, and champion of African American quiltmakers whose gift of nearly three thousand quilts to BAMPFA has made possible an inspiring future of scholarship and presentation, currently on view in the Routed West exhibition. In addition to collecting artwork, Leon also compiled a massive—and unruly—collection of raw materials and textiles. The Estate of Eli Leon has made available the last remaining fabric scraps from Leon’s collection to seed new work and continue to foreground contemporary artists working in textiles.
Join us for an afternoon of conversations with contemporary quiltmakers, scholars, curators, and artist-activists reflecting on African American quiltmaking as a present practice and an inheritance to steward for the future. Inspired by the epigraph from poet Marilou Awiakta to Alice Walker’s classic essay “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,” the symposium will bring together those working in the expanded field of Black textile art to explore how the “motheroot” of quiltmaking—understood as a creative repository and source of collective care and power—can be nurtured and extended through contemporary practices of preservation and art making.
Artists Diedrick Brackens, Basil Kincaid, and Adia Millett join Key Jo Lee to reflect, through the lens of their experience and studio practices, on the quilt not only as a physical object of warmth, protection, and care, but also as a poetic language of inheritance and self-making. Their conversation will consider how the materiality of quilts—pieced, patched, and passed down—becomes a metaphor for survival, resistance, and boundless Black creativity.
Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California traces the flow and flourishing of quilts in the context of the Second Great Migration. As millions of African Americans sought greater opportunities and escape from the South’s oppressive racial environment from 1940 to 1970, they carried quilts as functional objects and physical reminders of the homes they left behind.
The ArtSpan Team, Open Studios Committee, and Board of Directors, are thrilled to share our 2025 SF Open Studios weekend and dates.
Since 1975, ArtSpan’s citywide SF Open Studios program has connected local artists to San Francisco’s residents and visitors. Today, the program spans multiple weekends, engages hundreds of artists, and welcomes thousands of visitors.
SOMArts is proud to partner with the San Francisco Foundation to present the 2025 Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition, a focused look at the future of the Bay Area visual arts. Join us for the opening reception and awards ceremony on Thursday November 6, 7–9 PM.
SOMArts is proud to partner with the San Francisco Foundation to present the 2025 Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition, a focused look at the future of the Bay Area visual arts, on view November 7–December 7, 2025
The Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Award and the Edwin Anthony and Adalaine Boudreaux Cadogan Scholarships help fuel the forward-thinking visual arts movement that makes the Bay Area unique. These awards were established in 1986 and are designed to further the development of Bay Area master of fine arts students and to foster the exploration of their artistic potential.
Now in its 26th year, SOMArts’ annual Día de Los Muertos exhibition is one of the most internationally diverse Day of the Dead celebrations in the United States. Founded by beloved San Francisco artist and curator René Yañez, Día de Los Muertos at SOMArts continues to be a multigenerational gathering of remembrance while affirming the importance of arts & culture in shaping our worlds.
Fashion, family histories, and personal identity intersect in a new installation at OMCA by Bay Area artist Chelsea Ryoko Wong. Wong’s energetic and colorful paintings, drawn from both real-life events and her imagination, depict busy, rhythmic scenes of people going about their daily lives. For this project, Wong’s paintings take inspiration from dresses owned by six 20th century Chinese American women, whose clothing and legacies live on in OMCA’s collection. Ancestral Visions features paintings along with a selection of the fashions that inspired them.
Students on Strike is a new installation opening in the OMCA Gallery of California History. The installation explores the enduring legacy of student activism at San Francisco State University by comparing the 1968-1969 student strike that established the nation’s first Black Studies Department and first College of Ethnic Studies to the recent campus protests against the war in Gaza. Through historical and contemporary posters and photographs, the intimate feature shows how students have consistently demanded justice and accountability from institutions, then and now.
Event: W Hotel x Portola: Sunday Brunch and Beats
Date: September 21, 2025
Location: W Hotel, San Francisco
Photos: Jessica Monroy for Drew Altizer Photography
On August 19, more than 280 guests gathered in San Francisco for Toast & Taste, a lively evening of food, wine, and celebration hosted by San Francisco Private Dining Venues in support of Compass Family Services. Attendees enjoyed tastings and cocktails from some of the city’s best restaurants, bid on more than 40 prizes in the silent auction, and took part in games and a raffle, all while raising over $45,000 to help families facing homelessness.
The night’s energy was unmatched, thanks in large part to drag queens Camille Toe and Trashley, who emceed the festivities with wit and flair, and the DJ who kept the party going. Guests mixed and mingled in a memorable venue that featured a glamorous lounge and stunning rooftop patio with sweeping city views. It was an unforgettable evening that left guests buzzing about the incredible food and drink and the impact their generosity will have for families in need.
Notable attendees:
Erica Kisch – CEO of Compass Family Services
Carolina Data – Director of Sales & Special Events, Chotto Matte
Michelle Cheng – Board President, SFPDV; Director of Special Events & Catering, Ozumo
Velvet Conley – Board Secretary, SFPDV; Associate Director of Sales, La Mar
Camille Toe – San Francisco Drag Queen
Trashley – San Francisco Drag Queen
What do art and transit have in common? It moves us.
Celebrate Bay Area Transit month by shopping and supporting local artists at TJPA’s Salesforce Transit Center, where the Bay Area’s transportation future is taking shape.
Join the Urban League of Greater San Francisco Bay Area for our Financial Wellness Series, a five-part workshop designed to help you take control of your finances and build long-term security. Each session covers essential topics—from budgeting basics and managing credit to preparing for retirement. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to strengthen your financial future, this series offers tools, resources, and expert guidance to support your journey.
Extremely Close, by Alejandro Cerrudo – BAY AREA PREMIERE
Partita, by Justin Peck – WEST COAST PREMIERE
A Long Night, by Amy Seiwert – WEST COAST PREMIERE
Smuin’s Season 32 kicks off with a trio of Smuin premieres. Making its first appearance outside of New York City Ballet is Partita, choreographed by three-time Tony Award-winner and NYCB Resident Choreographer Justin Peck. Set to Caroline Shaw’s haunting, Pulitzer Prize-winning score for eight voices, Partita is an exploration of movement and an expression of hope. Artistic Director Amy Seiwert’s A Long Night, set to a medley of songs by Patsy Cline, Pink Martini, and Tom Waits, brings to life the mischievous Puck and hapless lovers of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Extremely Close, Alejandro Cerrudo’s contemporary classic, is a work of exceptional beauty and theatricality—including a feather-strewn stage—that will be a superb showcase for Smuin’s Artists. Don’t miss this spectacular program!
September 12 – 14, 2025 – Mountain View
September 19 – 20, 2025 – Walnut Creek
September 26 – October 5, 2025 – San Francisco
Deep River, Alonzo King’s acclaimed masterwork, fuses dance with Black spirituals and Jewish liturgical music in a powerful reflection on love, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit. Named one of Pointe Magazine’s standout performances of 2024, Deep River has been praised for its beauty, emotional depth, and spiritual force. With soaring vocals by Lisa Fischer and an evocative score by Jason Moran, Deep River is a transformative journey of compassion, beauty, and transcendence.
MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy boldly celebrates the culture, contributions, and presence of the Filipino community in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood and Bay Area. Presented by SOMA Pilipinas in collaboration with YBCA, and inspired by the Filipino term for collective resistance, MAKIBAKA brings together contemporary artworks alongside community-held objects, memories, and movements.
What does it mean to live with possibility? To live in a moment when artists and citizens reject fear and find power in discovery? For those who came of age in the Bay Area with the apocalyptic uncertainty of nuclear proliferation and the AIDS crisis; the devastation of the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Oakland firestorm; the audacious acquittal of LAPD officers Koon, Wind, and Briseno and the disembodied destruction of the first Gulf War; the road was bleak. And yet the energy in the cultural sector at the time was electrified.
After a lifetime of collecting art jewelry, Susan Beech’s collection reflects the distinctive personality of its owner. The Beech home is full of custom display cases, each showcasing an array of jewelry of various styles and functions. Together, they evoke 18th century Wunderkammern, or cabinets of curiosity.
Traditionally, a Wunderkammer housed objects that not only displayed wealth but also embodied humanist philosophies aimed at deepening our understanding of the world. These collections functioned as object-driven pedagogies, with treasures encased in glass and hidden within drawers.
Centered around Judith Schaechter’s latest project, Super/Natural, this exhibition explores the universality of natural elements, patterns, and ornament as vehicles for meditations on beauty. The central stained glass structure, also titled Super/Natural, is her largest project to date, designed to accommodate a single viewer inside. Created during her residency at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, this piece reflects her study of biophilic design and its impact on human consciousness.
Now on view at Fort Point, FOR-SITE’s highly anticipated exhibition Black Gold: Stories Untold invites 17 contemporary artists and collectives to reflect on the resilience, struggles, and triumphs of African Americans who lived in California from the Gold Rush to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War (c. 1849–1877). Through newly commissioned and recent artworks, the exhibition highlights important but lesser-known figures and narratives from California’s history, exploring the presence of slavery and the struggle for legal rights within this “free” state, the successes of Black entrepreneurs, and the experiences of African American Army regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers. More broadly, Black Gold illuminates the role that Black communities played in the state’s cultural, social, and political environs of the time.
This exhibition brings together two seemingly distinct art forms: Pueblo pottery and classic cars. In 2014, Rose B. Simpson, a mixed-media artist from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, refurbished a 1985 Chevy El Camino, transforming it with a black-on-black Tewa pottery motif. Simpson titled her work Maria in honor of renowned artist Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo, 1887–1980), who popularized the distinctive black-on-black style. Ten years later, this exhibition debuts Simpson’s second customized car, a 1964 Buick Riviera painted in vibrant polychrome.
Celebrating the vibrancy and diversity of Indigenous American art, this new presentation features beloved collection highlights alongside major acquisitions and commissions by contemporary artists. In the most extensive reinstallation of this collection in 20 years, each of the four refreshed galleries explores a different aspect of the theme “Relationship to Place.” Developed with Native scholars and in consultation with communities of origin, the project centers Indigenous values and voices. Works spanning over a thousand years of history in all types of media challenge expectations about what Native art is and can be.
Part of the reimagining of our Arts of Indigenous America galleries, this is the first in a series of exhibitions that highlights specific regions of Native California. This installation explores the interconnections between art, ceremony, and the land in the Karuk, Yurok, Hupa, Tolowa, and Wiyot communities of northwestern California. The exhibition presents collection highlights alongside major loans, acquisitions, and commissions by contemporary artists.
This exhibition is the second in a series highlighting contemporary Bay Area artists in our collection. The installation explores how artists relate to their environments through place: place as the physical land, place as heritage, place as the imaginary, and place as belonging.
Several artists examine climate change and its local impact. In Saif Azzuz’s Lo’op’ (It burns) (2021), he draws the color palette from maps of the 2021 droughts and fires in California. Other artists use found materials not only to address ecological issues but also to add layers of meaning, such as in Guillermo Galindo’s Listo (Ready to Go) (2015), made from a broken bicycle and chair he found along the US-Mexico border. And others play with figure and ground: Clare Rojas’s Walking in Rainbow Rain (2021) is a meditation on disappearing into one’s environment.
Rave into the Future offers a space of joyful connection and community through a blend of music- and dance-inspired video, sculpture, photography, and room-sized immersive installations by women and queer artists from the West Asian diaspora.
In recent years, Asian artists, DJs, and communities have been at the heart of a resurgence of electronic music-based dance parties across the globe. Meanwhile, music from West Asia has experienced a surge in worldwide popularity, connecting new audiences with the ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation in the region’s diverse musical genres.
Jitish Kallat’s installation Covering Letter (Terranum Nuncius) engages with sounds and images launched into space in 1977 as a cosmic greeting from humanity. Encoded in the Golden Records (gold-plated phonograph LPs) carried by NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 and now traveling over 13 billion miles away, these messages were conceived as a “time capsule” meant to last beyond the potential extinction of our species and planet, as well as an introduction to humanity and life on Earth for potential extraterrestrial recipients.
Alejandro Cartagena: Ground Rules is the first major retrospective of the acclaimed photographer, bringing together over two decades of his work through an expansive multi-series presentation. Born in the Dominican Republic and based in Monterrey, Mexico, Cartagena explores pressing social and environmental issues through a striking range of photographic practices that includes documentary images, collage, appropriated vernacular photographs, and AI-generated video.
KAWS: FAMILY explores the playful and poignant artistic universe created by KAWS. Marking KAWS’s first major museum exhibition on the West Coast, KAWS: FAMILY traces the artist’s output over the past three decades through its keen ability to connect to shared emotions and culture. From paintings, drawings, and sculptures to advertising interventions, product collaborations, and limited-edition collectible toys, visitors will encounter the many creative expressions of KAWS’s distinctive language using recurring characters and pop culture appropriations.
For over six decades, Suzanne Jackson has created lyrical, awe-inspiring paintings influenced by her deep respect for the natural world and continual belief in the connection between all living things. Jackson’s life has been driven by a search for creative freedom and a bohemian spirit indebted to the San Francisco ethos of the 1950s and 1960s in which she was raised. Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love — the first retrospective devoted to the full breadth of her career — celebrates her groundbreaking artistic vision through more than 80 paintings and drawings from the 1960s to the present that emphasize her innovative use of color, light, and structure to expand the parameters of painting and illuminate beauty, peace, and love.
Writing functions not only as language, but also as a visual and even tactile form. Famed artist and educator Josef Albers imparted this idea to his students at Black Mountain College, a former liberal arts school in North Carolina, where artist Ray Johnson studied from 1945 to 1948. In an exercise called “typofacture,” Albers asked students in his design course to create drawings mimicking printed or handwritten text. After observing textures on surfaces — like speckles on a wall or patterns in a raked garden path — they applied the concept to printed text, which bears the imprint of its production, whether by hand or machine.
For nearly seven decades, Sheila Hicks has created groundbreaking works that redefine the expressive possibilities of fiber as a sculptural form. Based in Paris since 1964, she incorporates natural and synthetic materials at a range of scales from intimate weavings made on handheld frames to monumental installations that inhabit architecture.
Caregivers Count Conference is an annual event designed for families and friends caring for their loved ones. Conference features professional speakers covering wide ranging topics to support caregivers. Past conference topics have included in home support services, compassion fatigue, advocacy, caregiving info, etc.
The Tony® Award-winning Best Musical that took the world by storm is back.
THE WIZ returns “home” to stages across America in an all-new Broadway tour.
Baltimore Sun raves “Powerhouse performances. Stunning choreography. Visionary sets” and Chicago Tribune proclaims THE WIZ is “An eye-popping and high-intensity revival!
Join us at the lavish Meritage Resort for an unforgettable sunset in wine country.
Experience live music, a captivating fashion show, multiple DJs spinning beats, local vendors showcasing their finest, and an abundance of positive vibes.
Cheza Nami Foundation proudly presents the 13th annual Taste of Africa Festival in Livermore, CA
The countdown is on for A Taste of Africa — an unforgettable day of music, dance, food, and culture in the heart of Downtown Livermore!
Taste of Africa is a Staff picks showcasing musical and dance performances by local African and African diaspora artists, art exhibits, food, an African marketplace, a community art project, and a kid zone with a reading corner, crafts, and interactive instrument exploration.
Returning this year will be our “Moving Together” program in partnership with Chanel Aleta Presents, bringing master African & Diaspora Artists for dance and drumming workshops with our community. This year with an even stronger focus on creating space for youth and their families
🎶 Music Festival: 10AM–6PM at Bankhead Theater
🎉 Afterparty: 6PM–close at Little India
📍 2400 & 2417 First St., Livermore, CA
📆 Saturday, October 4, 2025
Bring your family, your friends, and your dancing shoes — this is a celebration you won’t want to miss.
🎟️ FREE & Family Friendly
💃🏽🪘 For the culture. For the community. For the joy.
Join us for a fabulous day of fashion and flair as cancer survivors demonstrate resilience and strength strutting the catwalk. Sunday, September 28, 2025 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the San Ramon Marriott. Witness as our models take center stage showcasing their own unique glamour, style and sophistication. Every year, these models not only walk the runway, they own it! This event promises an unforgettable experience. See you there!
One of the definitive journalists of this era, Jelani Cobb is an acclaimed historian, staff writer at the New Yorker, and Dean of Columbia Journalism School. His books include To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic and The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress. His newest, Three or More is a Riot, is a collection of narrative journalism, criticism, and penetrating profiles that capture the crises, characters, movements, and art of an era – and helps readers understand what might be coming next.
Prepare for an unforgettable afternoon of soulful melodies, fine wine, and pure energy as the incomparable Nzuri Soul takes the stage at Vino Godfather Winery. A celebrated R&B and jazz vocalist, Nzuri will pay homage to legendary icons Betty Wright, Etta James, and Gladys Knight, celebrating the timeless influence of these soul music pioneers. Originally from Dallas, she has become a powerhouse in the Bay Area music scene, amassing a loyal following and earning prestigious accolades.
San Mateo County History Museum FREE First Fridays Every Friday of the Month. Don’t miss this day of discovery each month at the History Museum inside the iconic 115-year-old Old Courthouse in Redwood City.
Alyssa Mitchel presents the premiere of Endure, a multimedia dance production featuring a cast of six dancers along with graphic designs and animations by Zach Litoff. The work explores the physical and mental grit required to take on any marathon-like challenge. Through the stories of six marathon runners, the piece celebrates running while paying tribute to the enduring human spirit, with the intention of empowering audience members to persevere through difficult challenges.
A spooky-fun musical comedy feast!
*Snap snap* Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family—a man her parents have never met. And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the entire family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents. Inspired by the popular TV and film series, The Addams Family musical is a spooky good time for all ages and a hilarious send-up of family quirks, being true to oneself, and celebrating love in all its forms.
On Saturday September 20 from 12 – 4 p.m., the San Mateo County Historical Association’s docents at the Sanchez Adobe present their annual Rancho Day Fiesta, a FREE family activity day. The Adobe is located at 1000 Linda Mar Boulevard in Pacifica. Take a trip back to the 1840s when Don Francisco Sanchez raised cattle for the hide-and-tallow trade at his Rancho San Pedro.
A living history event, visitors will be invited to make adobe bricks, stamp leather, dip candles, make core husk dolls, churn butter, and participate in other rancho-era activities, including learning how to dance as the early Californios did.
Established in 2014, PUSHfest has evolved into a nationwide autumn festival. Occurring over two days, the festival presents choreographers exploring emergent ideas on two different stages, ready for barrier breaking performances.
Each year, PUSHfest showcases a fresh lineup of mixed-genre dance choreographers alongside the PUSHfest Awards, which awards one choreographer from each program an honorarium and a recognition vote from the audience. PUSH Dance Company situates the festival at its Sanctuary home where residencies and PUSHLab, the educational component of the festival, reside. PUSHfest performances will be held at the newly designed CAST Black Box Theater and on the outdoor stage at The Parks at 5M (5M), thanks to our neighbors CAST (Community Arts Stabilization Trust) and 5M.
Event: Opening Night for Bay Area Then and MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy
Date: August 1, 2025
Location: YBCA, San Francisco
Photos: Natalie Schrik for Drew Altizer Photography
On Friday, August 1, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts threw the party of the summer — and San Francisco’s art scene showed up. The public opening for Bay Area Then and MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy transformed YBCA into the cultural epicenter of downtown, with galleries packed, music pulsing, and the Bay Area’s creative elite shoulder-to-shoulder celebrating two groundbreaking exhibitions. Ruby Ibarra, fresh off her win as NPR’s 2025 Tiny Desk Contest star — and a proud Bay Area native — ignited the room with a high-voltage performance that had the crowd rapping along, phones in the air, and the Forum literally shaking.
The energy didn’t stop there. DJ Shortkut kept the beats rolling, and avant-garde musician BARR delivered an unexpected, electrifying set that had guests talking long after the music ended. A who’s-who of artists, collectors, and tastemakers explored YBCA’s halls, snapped shots with the art on display, and toasted the city’s cultural heartbeat. By the end of the night, one thing was clear: downtown San Francisco is back — and YBCA is leading the charge.
Notable attendees:
Mari Robles – CEO of YBCA
Raquel Redondiez – SOMA Pilipinas Director
Eungie Joo – Guest Curator, Bay Area Then
Trisha Lagaso Goldberg – Guest Curator, Makibaka
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