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San Francisco Museum Exhibits - May 2008
Listings updated annually.
May 2008 exhibits at San Francisco museums. Museums outside of the city are listed at the end.
** Note: Museums not listed are temporarily closed or do not have special exhibitions this month.
The Guide to San Francisco Museums has a more extensive list of venues, with full address and location information. The San Francisco Museum Map shows locations of museums within the city.
See the guide to Free Museum Days in San Francisco for monthly freebies.
11. Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)
© Ingrid Taylar
Location: SoMa/South of Market - (SoMa Information)
Profile of the Museum of the African Diaspora
See also: San Francisco Museum Map and Guide to SF Museums
Africa.Dot.COM: From Drums to Digital
To June 1, 2008
Represents Africa as part of the modern world, with cultures that have navigated into new media alongside the global community
Museum Info:
12. Presidio Officers' Club
Location: Presidio
San Francisco Presidio Information
See the Presidio on a San Francisco Neighborhood Map
Transforming Art Exhibition: The Art of Chris Hardman
To May 4, 2008
Exhibition highlights a collection of the most exciting new designs for contemporary living currently emerging on the West Coast
13. San Francisco Botanical Garden
Location: Golden Gate Park (9th Avenue)
SF Botanical Garden Website
See the Golden Gate Park and the Inner Sunset on a San Francisco Neighborhood Map
Also: Photos of San Francisco Botanical Garden
In Bloom at the Botanical Garden
See the regularly featured plants in spring bloom at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Check out the free guided walks available from trained docents at the garden.
41st Annual Spring Plant Sale
May 3, 2008 - 10a to 2p
20,000 plants (4000 different kinds), many exclusive to the Garden Nursery. All are suitable for Bay Area gardens
14. San Francisco Museum of Craft + Design
Location: Union Square
Museum of Craft + Design Website
See also: San Francisco Museum Map and Guide to SF Museums
New West Coast Design: Contemporary Objects
January 23 to May 4, 2008
Multi-gallery installation reveals how our minds transform the visual and aural information we receive to create our view of the world
Within Two Hands: The Eye of the Collector
May 9 to June 29, 2008
Exhibition highlighting the "revolution in clay" -- the mid 1950s period at the ceramics department of Otis Art Institute then the Los Angeles County Art Institute. The "revolution" questioned the tradition that ceramic forms must be utilitarian. Artists created nonfunctional, sculptural works giving the medium a new freedom of expression.
15. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA)
© Ingrid Taylar
Location: SoMa - (SoMa Information)
Profile of SF MOMA
See also: San Francisco Museum Map and Guide to SF Museums
An-my Le: Small Wars
To May 4
Photographer and Vietnamese American artist An-My Le delves into Americans' complicated relationship with war
Friedlander
To May 18
Retrospective of prolific photographer, with more than 500 photographs on display
Gabriele Basilico: From San Francisco to Silicon Valley
To June 15, 2008
Photos taken by Basilico at the invitation of SFMOMA during month-long residency in the Bay Area.
A Rooftop Garden for SFMOMA
To October 26, 2008
Exhibition offers visitors a glimpse of SFMOMA's expansion and new fifth-floor garden
See the SF MOMA Website for more events.
16. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
© Ingrid Taylar
Location: SoMa - (SoMa Information)
See also: San Francisco Museum Map and Guide to SF Museums
The Way That We Rhyme: Women, Art & Politics
To June 29, 2008
Showcases politically-charged work of a new generation of women -- works influenced by feminist ideologies of the past, while speaking to issues facing women now
Tracing Roads through Central Asia: On Traders' Dilemmas And Travelers' Perspectives
To June 29, 2008
Explores complex relationship between process of nation building and political nature of historical memory in the work of a handful artists from Central Asia and surrounding regions
17. Oakland Museum of California (Downtown Oakland)
Location: Downtown Oakland
Oakland Museum Website
In Our Own Backyard: A Celebration of the East Bay Regional Parks
Through October 12, 2008
More than 40 photographs from the museum's Bob Walker Archive, offering visitors a virtual tour through the East Bay's most scenic parks and open spaces, following the flow of water from snow-capped Mt. Diablo downstream and eventually into the Bay
The Art & History of Early California
Ongoing
Exhibition of the museum's collection explores the story of California from the First Peoples through the Gold Rush
18. Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology (Berkeley)
Berkeley - Kroeber Hall on Bancroft Way at College Avenue
See also: Map of Berkeley and Guide to SF/Bay Area Museums
From the Land of the Rajas: Creativity in Rajasthan
Through December 21, 2008
19. Marin History Museum (Marin/San Rafael)
Location: San Rafael
Marin History Museum Website
Riding the Rails: Marin's Historic Trains
To January 10, 2009
Chronicles the evolution of railroad transportation in Marin County
20. Cantor Arts Center (Stanford/Palo Alto)
Location: Stanford Campus - Palo Alto
Cantor Arts Website
Frederic Church, Winslow Homer and Thomas Moran: Tourism and the American Landscape
To May 4, 2008
The work of three influential artists in the context of the new and growing tourist industry in the United States during the second half of the 19th century
Makishi: Mask Characters of Zambia
Through June 29, 2008
Exhibition of 24 wooden masks (from collection of the Fowler Museum/UCLA), explores the drama and complexity of masquerades in which the masks are used
See a photos of nearby Stanford Campus.