Your Guide toSan Francisco's Museums and Galleries This Winter
Explore inspiring exhibitions from esteemed creators of the past and present at these San Francisco institutions.
San Francisco is home to dozens of must-see museums and acclaimed art galleries. Need help deciding which to visit during your stay? No problem! We’ve gathered the goods on the most exciting exhibitions on display across the city. Keep reading to learn more and buy your tickets.
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin St.
Rave Into the Future: Art in Motion
The Asian Art Museum presents Rave into the Future: Art in Motion, the first exhibition celebrating the collective joy and resilience found on the dance floors of West Asian diaspora communities. Throughout the exhibition, artworks by local artists join global voices to create a multi-sensory space that envelopes audiences in sonic and visual experiences.
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Dr.
NightLife
Every Thursday, the California Academy of Science invites visitors (21+) to a vibrant evening of dancing and musical performances, participating in thought-provoking talks and presentations. And to ensure you're having a fabulous night, the café and bars at NightLife serve pizzas, pastas, specialty cocktails, craft beer, and delicious wines.
Venom: Fangs, Stingers, and Spines
Discover how often-feared yet biologically important animals like spiders, scorpions, jellyfish, and snakes sting, suck, bite, and stun while using venom to capture prey and provide deadly defense against predators.
Unseen Oceans
Oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface—and yet it’s estimated that only 5% have been explored. Quench your curiosity about the mysterious marine world that surrounds us with Unseen Oceans.
Children's Creativity Museum
221 Fourth St.
Kahayágan: Storytelling and Creative Expression in California's SOMA Pilipinas
In partnership with South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) and local artists Wilfred Galila and Ramon Bonifacio, the Children’s Creativity Museum (CCM) is proud to present Kahayágan, a public art installation that celebrates the histories and contributions of the Filipino American community.
Counterculture Museum
1485 Haight St.
The Counterculture Museum is a brand-new museum in San Francisco’s historic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood that explores the city’s role as the epicenter of America’s countercultural movements. From civil rights and racial justice to LGBTQ+ liberation, women’s rights, and the hippie era, the museum highlights how these transformative movements helped shape the city—and the country—through immersive exhibits and powerful storytelling.
Edge on the Square
800 Grant Ave.
All Eyes On Us
All Eyes on Us: Invention & Ingenuity During Artistic Diasporas, shines a spotlight on “hidden dragons”: individuals whose artistic careers, practices and expressions shape-shifted or became dormant as they navigated the complexities of immigration, assimilation and survival.
Legion of Honor
100 34th Ave.
Ferlinghetti for San Francisco
Ferlinghetti for San Francisco explores the artistic practice of one of San Francisco’s most beloved and significant cultural figures: Lawrence Ferlinghetti. A poet, activist, publisher, and cofounder of City Lights Bookstore, Ferlinghetti was also an avid painter, draftsman, and printmaker. On display through March 22, 2026.
Manet & Morisot
This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between French Impressionists Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot. Manet was the era’s great pioneer of modern painting, and Morisot, the only woman to exhibit under her own name in the original Impressionist group. This exhibition traces the evolution of a friendship unfolding over a period of 15 years between two groundbreaking artists.. On display through March 1, 2026.
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)
685 Mission St.
UNBOUND: Art, Blackness & the Universe
UNBOUND: Art, Blackness & the Universe is a groundbreaking exhibition that explores the intersections of Blackness and the cosmos. Curated by Key Jo Lee, MoAD’s Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Public Programs, the show invites visitors to reimagine Blackness not as fixed or earthbound, but as infinite, expansive, unknowable, and cosmically rich. On display through August 16, 2026.
Museum of Craft and Design
2569 Third St.
Judith Schaechter: Super/Natural
Centered around Judith Schaechter’s latest project, Super/Natural, this exhibition explores the universality of natural elements, patterns, and ornaments as vehicles for meditations on beauty. On display through February 8, 2026.
Wunderkammer: The Collection of Susan Beech
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. Featuring nearly 100 works from the Susan Beech collection, Wunderkammer will bring visitors into the marvelous experience of her art jewelry. On display through February 8, 2026.
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak St., Oakland
Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain
This historical exhibition will explore how Black American communities in the Bay Area have resisted dispossession by carving out spaces of care, safety, and home. These stories are told through artworks and historical objects from OMCA’s permanent collection and loans from local repositories, including the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, the Hayward Area Historical Society, and the Oakland Public Library. On display through March 1, 2026.
Buy Oakland Museum of California Tickets
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
151 Third St.
Suzanne Jackson: What is Love
The first museum retrospective of Suzanne Jackson spans six decades, showcasing over 80 paintings and drawings that reflect her innovative use of color, light, and structure, developed in collaboration with the artist. On display to March 1, 2026.
KAWS: FAMILY
The KAWS exhibit presents a captivating exploration of the American artist's work, featuring more than 100 pieces from the last three decades. KAWS (born Brian Donnelly, 1974) started as a graffiti artist while he was a teen in the mid-1990s. KAWS’s recurring cast of characters is influenced by pop culture icons and mascots that he brings into his own unique visual language. His work now includes sculptures, paintings, and product collaborations, organized by thematic encounters.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission St.
Bay Area Then
With its iconoclastic spirit and deep commitment to community, this exhibition asks us to find power in creative persistence even during challenging times. On display through January 25, 2026.
MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy
MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy celebrates the Filipino community in the South of Market (SoMa) and the Bay Area. Presented by SOMA Pilipinas and YBCA, it combines contemporary artworks with community artifacts, honoring collective resistance. On display through January 4, 2026.
Lucas Mittenentzwei is a digital project and content consultant. Originally from Germany, he has lived in California since 2010, calling San Francisco his home for several years. Lucas started in the hospitality industry before joining Visit California in its mission to inspire the world to visit the Golden State. He is passionate about all aspects of the travel experience, but trying new restaurants (or tried-and-true classics) is at the top of his list.
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