San Francisco travel guide
Culture
Despite concerns that soaring living costs are pricing artists out of the city, San Francisco remains one of the most vibrant cultural centres in the country. Its history of activism has also long blended with the arts, from the birth of the hippie movement to the rise of the beat authors.
SF Moma, Soma
Founded in 1935, SF Moma was originally housed in the War Memorial Veterans Building in the Fillmore District. In the 1990s it moved to this Mario Botta-designed building, which reopened in 2016 with an expansion by Snøhetta inspired by the water and fog of San Francisco Bay. The impressive public space is filled with light and art and plays host to performance, photography and architecture exhibitions. Visitors are greeted by the artworks of Richard Serra, Sol LeWitt and Amy Ellingson.
151 Third Street, 94103+1 415 357 4000
sfmoma.org
De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park
Founded in 1895, this fine-arts museum reopened in 2005 with a dramatic new facility that fully integrates with the natural landscape. The permanent collection is wonderfully diverse – with woodcarvings, paintings, black-and-white photographs and textiles – and the colourful temporary exhibitions feature everything from fashion to featherwork. Plus it opens late for screenings and more.
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, 94118+1 415 750 3600
deyoung.famsf.org
Minnesota Street Project, Dogpatch
This string of three warehouses was opened in 2016 by art collectors Deborah and Andy Rappaport, who aimed to plug a gap in the city’s artistic offering: affordable studio and gallery space. Now, with about 10 (mostly commercial) galleries and 44 artists’ studios, the range of contemporary art is both impressive and accessible. The main building (once a prop warehouse where the Grateful Dead built their sets) was redesigned by Jensen Architects and now has a restaurant by chef Heena Patel.
1275 Minnesota Street, 94107+1 415 243 0825
minnesotastreetproject.com
Images: Aaron Wojack, Snøhetta
