Tap into your own creativity and learn about one of the Bay Area’s most beloved artists at this Free Community Day in celebration of the opening of Ruth Asawa: Retrospective.
SFMOMA has partnered with the organization Ruth’s Table to bring you a day of performances and hands-on making, facilitated by Bay Area artists who share Asawa’s belief in the power of art making to build connection and community. This event will also feature Second Sunday for Families programming for visitors ages 4–11 and their adult caregivers!
Free events and free museum admission all day. General admission tickets required. Ruth Asawa: Retrospective timed entry tickets will be available on-site on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Immerse Yourself in the Magic of Art Bash |
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Art Bash is Just Two Weeks Away! |
Wednesday, Apr 23 |
We're counting down the days to Art Bash on Wednesday, April 23! Join 2,000 fellow art lovers for a museumwide party that features full access to the galleries, cocktails and culinary experiences, activations by local Bay Area artists Masako Miki and Jeffrey Sincich, and live musical performances with Bay Area favorites DJ Lady Ryan and DJ Shortkut in partnership with Stern Grove Festival. Plus, celebrate the local underground LGBTQ+ ballroom scene at the Radical Truths Ball with host Legendary Ryan “Christopher”
Milan, commentator Icon Enyce Gorgeous Gucci, and sounds by DJ Blossom Chanel.
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Guests can also take home a piece of Art Bash! SFMOMA is partnering with Creativity Explored artist Christina Marie Fong, Creative Growth artist Franna
Lusson, and NIAD Art Center artist Maria Radilla to create custom tote bags that will be screenprinted live by San Franpsycho. Plus, all partygoers are invited to take part in Valentino’s immersive photobooth experience.
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Art Bash raises over $2 million annually for the museum's much-loved education and family programs. |
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Nature’s Knowledge with Garden for the Environment |
Every other Thursday, Apr 17–Aug 21
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Join educators from Garden for the Environment as they share the connections between gardening, urban spaces, and the natural world through engaging pop-up experiences. Ruth Asawa’s garden was a space of creativity, collaboration, and care — a reflection of the many roles she embraced through her life. Ruth Asawa: Retrospective features an outdoor garden, inviting visitors to reflect on how Asawa’s attentiveness to
nature is woven into her work.
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Imprints: Asawa and Friends |
Sunday, Apr 27
2 p.m. |
While Ruth Asawa’s cross-disciplinary career as an artist has connected with audiences far and wide, her mark is most intimately felt in San Francisco. Asawa once said she invested in the city, and evidence of that investment lingers — in public artworks throughout San Francisco, in arts education programs she designed and championed, in community organizations inspired by her, and in the transformative personal connections she forged. Join us this afternoon to hear stories of Asawa’s influence from those who knew her as family, friend, and collaborator.
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Visit Japantown's 58th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival
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Experience the magic of spring at the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, Apr 12–13 + 19–20! 🌸 |
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The 58th Cherry Blossom Festival features food booths, cultural performances, arts, and live music. On the final Sunday, come and enjoy the Grand Parade! Join us for a day
or as a volunteer! Learn more on the festival's website or socials!
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The Legacy of Group f.64 |
California photography took a historic leap in 1932 in an Oakland home where eleven local photographers gathered to found Group f.64. The roster included Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Imogen Cunningham — already famous in their day — and their aim was simple: to make photographs that rivaled paintings. Read more about their legacy below and don't miss the exhibition Around Group f.64: Legacies and Counterhistories in Bay
Area Photography, open through July 2025.
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San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
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Our ongoing commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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© 2025 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Image details: Archival photograph of Ruth Asawa with students; photo: courtesy Ruth Asawa Estate. Andy Wheeler and Vinney Le at Art Bash 2024; photo: Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography. DJ Killsing at Art Bash 2024; photo: Andrew "Ando" Caulfield for Drew Altizer Photography. Archival photograph of Garden of Remembrance, 2000–2002; photo: courtesy Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc; photo: Aiko Cuneo. Lilli Lanier, Origami Portrait of Ruth Asawa, 2022; © 2025 Lilli Lanier. Photo: courtesy Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival. Dorothea Lange, White Angel Breadline, San Francisco, 1933; collection SFMOMA; The Henry Swift Collection, gift of Florence Alston Swift; © Oakland Museum of California, the City of Oakland, gift
of Paul S. Taylor. Ruth Asawa: Retrospective; edited by Janet Bishop and Cara Manes.
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Free Community Day: Ruth Asawa is provided with support from Google.org.
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Media sponsorship by KQED.
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Ruth Asawa: Retrospective is an exhibition partnership between the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
With support from Google.org.
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Major support for the exhibition and catalogue is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
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At the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, lead support is provided by Randi and Bob Fisher, the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund, Diana Nelson and John Atwater, and Helen and Charles Schwab.
Presenting support is provided by Dana and Bob Emery.
Major support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Christie's, Davidow Family Fund for Exhibitions of Modern Art, The KHR McNeely Family Foundation, Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely, Katie and Matt Paige, and Shelagh Rohlen, in memory of Tom Rohlen.
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Significant support is provided by the Neal Benezra Exhibition Fund, The Black Dog Private Foundation, Jim Breyer, Susan Karp and Paul Haahr, Maria Manetti Shrem and Jan Shrem, Alexandria and Kevin Marchetti, The Elaine McKeon Endowed Exhibition Fund, Kate and Wes Mitchell, Jessica Moment, Deborah and Kenneth Novack, the Bernard and Barbro Osher Exhibition Fund, Nancy and Alan Schatzberg, Lydia Shorenstein, and David Zwirner.
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Meaningful support is provided by Shawn and Brook Byers, the Mary Jane Elmore West Coast Exhibition Fund, Jessica and Matt Farron, Laurie and Jim Ghielmetti, Hellman & Friedman LLC, Maryellen and Frank Herringer, James Park, Keiko Sakamoto and Bill Witte, Rummi and Arun Sarin Painting and Sculpture Fund, Roselyne Chroman Swig, Diane B. Wilsey, Pat Wilson, and Sonya Yu.
Additional support is provided by Holly Johnson and Parker Harris, the Stuart G. Moldaw Public Program and Exhibition Fund, and The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
The Asawa family home and garden presentation at SFMOMA is made possible by Susan Karp and Paul Haahr.
Major support for the catalogue is provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel.
Meaningful support for the catalogue is provided by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.
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Lead support for Second Sundays is provided by the Koret Foundation.
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Presenting support is provided by Penny S. and James G. Coulter.
Major support is provided by the Hearst Foundations.
Meaningful support is provided by the John & Marcia Goldman Family Free Sundays Endowment Fund.
Additional support is provided by Geoffrey and Priscilla Weber.
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