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First Thursdays + Free Days at SFMOMA

Thanks to the generosity of our funders, SFMOMA offers regularly scheduled free days and guests 18 and younger always enjoy free admission to the museum. We regularly update this page with upcoming dates and activities, but you can also sign up for our newsletter to be notified when new events, exhibitions, and activities are announced.


First Thursdays at SFMOMA

All residents of the nine Bay Area counties are invited to spend a day at the museum on us! From 1–8 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month, Bay Area residents can enjoy SFMOMA’s galleries filled with lively and inspiring art and related events — for free.

Tickets and event details become available about two weeks in advance, and reserving online is highly encouraged. Limit two adult tickets per reservation. Qualifying counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.

SPECIAL OFFER from First Thursdays major sponsor, illy: All visitors on First Thursdays can enjoy a COMPLIMENTARY cup of illy drip coffee at Steps Coffee, our coffee bar on Floor 2 in Schwab Hall. Steps Coffee will be open until 6:00 p.m. To redeem your offer, use the voucher that you will receive along with your pre-visit email from SFMOMA or at the visitor desk when you get your tickets onsite at the museum.

Upcoming Dates/Programs

October 5, 2023
5–8 p.m.

From 5–8 p.m. in Wattis Theater, two films will play on a loop: Why I Ride: Low and Slow, which combines archival footage and interviews in its reflections on 1980s lowrider culture in San Francisco’s Mission District; and SFMOMA’s own short documentary exploring what drives the three L.A.–based Sitting on Chrome exhibition artists: Mario Ayala, Guadalupe Rosales, and esparza.

At 6:30 p.m., head to Diego Rivera’s Pan American Unity mural to watch rafa esparza’s Corpo RanfLA: Terra Cruiser 4everz, during which artists Karla Ekaterine Canseco and rafa esparza transform esparza into a futuristic cyborg.
 

Major support for First Thursdays is provided by Dana and Bob Emery, Concepción S. and Irwin Federman, and illy.

Generous support is provided by Nancy and Alan Schatzberg.

Additional support is provided by Yerba Buena Community Benefit District.


Free Family Days at SFMOMA

Enjoy a day of art and family fun at SFMOMA! These special days include art-making activities for the whole family in our Koret Education Center, located on Floor 2, plus additional activities and activations. Admission to the museum is free for up to four adults accompanying one child or teen (eighteen and younger). For more information on Free Family Day, see our FAQ. Stay updated on all upcoming family programming by signing up for emails from SFMOMA’s Family Newsletter!

Upcoming Free Family Days

TBA

Lead support for Free Family Days is provided by the Koret Foundation

Koret Logo updated

Major support for Free Family Days is provided Dana and Bob Emery.

Additional support is provided by the John & Marcia Goldman Family Free Sundays Endowment Fund.


Free Community Days

Free Community Days offer free museum-wide admission to all visitors. Combined with a wide range of immersive activities and performances inspired by the latest SFMOMA exhibition, these Free Community Days highlight the extraordinary creativity of local artists and community organizations. Mark your calendar for the next one, and enjoy a unique opportunity to learn, create, and connect with fellow community members!

Upcoming Free Community Days

Saturday, October 21, 2023
In celebration of Pacita Abad

10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Pacita Abad (on view October 21, 2023–January 28, 2024, Floor 4) features over 40 dazzling works that showcase the artist’s experiments in different mediums, including painting, sculpture, textiles, and works on paper.

Enjoy this exciting new exhibition as well as special programming from our event partners, including a hands-on artmaking activity organized by SOMA Pilipinas, live performances by KULARTS, an immersive educational and sampling experience with Suntory Whisky, and more! Learn more on our event webpage.

Advanced ticket reservation is encouraged. Stay tuned for more information on the day’s schedule of events and how to reserve your free tickets.
 


Diego Rivera, The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on this Continent (Pan American Unity), 1940. © Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico D.F. / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York. Image: courtesy City College of San Francisco.

Always Free to See

SFMOMA offers 45,000 square feet of art-filled public spaces that are open to the public. Check out what’s currently on view in our always free-to-see area, including poignant mural commissions by local artists and Diego Rivera’s monumental mural created in the Bay Area in 1940 and Floor 2 galleries are free to see everyday, so reserve your tickets today!