SF Art Week Highlights Include FOG Preview Gala, Artist Conversations, Film Screenings, Family Programs + Design Talks at SFMOMA and Fort Mason
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - January 22 - Atmosphere at SFMOMA's FOG Fair 2025 on January 22nd 2025 at Fort Mason Piers 2 and 3 (Festival Pavillion and Gateway Pavillion) in San Francisco, CA (Photo - ANDO for Drew Altizer Photography)
From January 17–25, SFMOMA invites visitors and locals to explore a range of exciting events marking SF Art Week, from the FOG Design+Art Preview Gala to film programs and conversations with artists and curators. For the first time during SF Art Week, the museum offers hands-on artmaking activities for families at both SFMOMA and Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS AT FOG DESIGN+ART
Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 4–10 p.m. (tiered entry)
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Piers 2 + 3
At the FOG Design+Art Preview Gala, guests will enjoy food, drink, music, and early access to the fair’s premier selection of more than 60 design dealers, modern and contemporary art galleries and FOG MRKT. The FOG Design+Art Preview Gala provides vital funds to support SFMOMA’s education initiatives. Tickets and more information can be found online at sfmoma.org/fog.
FOG Talks return to the Theater in Pier 3 with a curated series of conversations and panels that bring together leading voices in art, design and technology. Presented by Zoox, this year’s FOG Talks feature 11 dynamic conversations and discussions with artists, architects, curators, writers and innovators shaping contemporary culture. FOG Talks are included in fair admission. Some highlights include:
When Design Leads: The Art of Building Tomorrow’s World Today
Friday, January 23, 3:30 p.m.
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Pier 3
What does it mean to design for a future that doesn’t quite exist yet? Nahuel Battaglia, senior industrial design lead, Zoox, and OpenAI’s Caitlin Kalinowski join Joseph Becker, curator of architecture and design at SFMOMA, to look at how design shapes the technologies that are beginning to reshape daily life, from new ideas in mobility to the next generation of AI tools we’ll hold, wear and move through the world with.
Where Curiosity Lives: Discovering the Eames Approach
Friday, January 23, 5:30 p.m.
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Pier 3
Join John Cary and Llisa Demetrios of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity for a conversation that explores the revitalization of Marin’s iconic former Birkenstock building and the ongoing relevance of the Eames philosophy. Moderated by Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design at SFMOMA, they will look at how Charles and Ray Eames’s spirit of curiosity, experimentation and problem-solving continues to shape how we think about design today.
SFMOMA Family Programs at FOG
Saturday, January 24, noon–2 p.m.
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Pier 3
In collaboration with SCRAP, SFMOMA Family Programs will lead a yarn sculpture-making activity inspired by the work of artist Sheila Hicks, allowing children to explore colors and textures while building their own creation.
Between Light and Legacy: Suzanne Jackson & Alteronce Gumby in Conversation
Presented by The Donum Estate
Saturday, January 24, 3 p.m.
Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Pier 3
Join artists Suzanne Jackson and Alteronce Gumby for a conversation about their creative journeys, brought together by curator Larry Ossei-Mensah. They will explore the lessons learned, influences embraced and moments that shaped who they are as artists, offering an intimate look at how different generations find meaning through color, light and lived experience.
PROGRAMS AT SFMOMA
Rose B. Simpson and Natalie Diaz in Conversation
Saturday, January 17, 2 p.m.
Floor 1, Phyllis Wattis Theater, SFMOMA
This conversation marks the opening of Rose B. Simpson’s monumental work Behold, commissioned by SFMOMA and conceived for the Floor 4 terrace overlooking the Yerba Buena neighborhood. Behold reflects on Indigenous presence, the erasure of community histories and the ongoing work of relearning tenderness in contemporary life. Simpson will join Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, language activist and educator Natalie Diaz for an in-depth discussion of these themes. Information about tiered tickets can be found at sfmoma.org.
Visions of Unearthly Splendor with Stephen Kaltenbach and Jordan Stein
Thursday, January 22, 6 p.m.
Floor 1, Phyllis Wattis Theater, SFMOMA
Experience an evening of otherworldly, enchanting and psychedelic California film and video works inspired by Stephen Kaltenbach: Portrait of My Father, a new publication by curator and writer Jordan Stein. The eclectic program illuminates various subjects at play in the book, including resplendent visions, spiritual awakening and the ineffable nature of human consciousness. Stein joins Kaltenbach in conversation after the screenings. Visions of Unearthly Splendor is presented in collaboration with Canyon Cinema. Information about tiered tickets can be found at sfmoma.org.
Family Studio with SCRAP: Watercolors
Sunday, January 25, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Floor 2, Koret Education Center, SFMOMA
Create unique watercolors on muslin attached to handmade stick-and-found-object frames. This project is inspired by Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love on Floor 7. All Family Studio activities in the Koret Education Center are free; no museum admission required.
SFAI Filmmaking: The Personal as Radical Expression
Sunday, January 25, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Floor 1, Phyllis Wattis Theater, SFMOMA
For over 50 years, the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) attracted young artists who were excited by film’s potential for personal and poetic expression. The exceptional faculty, including SFAI film department founders Robert Nelson and Lawrence Jordan, encouraged students to find their personal voices and stretch artistic boundaries in daring ways, reflecting San Francisco’s spirit of radical experimentation. Curated by Steve Anker and Mark Wilson, these two film programs—Personal Voices at 1 p.m. and Orbiting Bodies at 3 p.m.—include films by alumni and figures affiliated with SFAI. Information about tiered tickets to these screenings can be found at sfmoma.org.
MORE INFORMATION:
SFMOMA: sfmoma.org
FOG Design+Art Fair: fogfair.com
SF Art Week: sfartweek.com
SUPPORT
FOG Design+Art is generously sponsored by Bank of America, Christie’s, The Donum Estate, Freshfields, Molteni&C, UOVO: Art Fashion Wine, Valentino, and Zoox.
Presenting support for Education and Community Engagement at SFMOMA is provided by the Leanne B. Roberts Fund for Education. Major support is provided by the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, Randi and Bob Fisher, the Hearst Foundations, the Koret Foundation, and the Pritzker Education Fund. Significant support is provided by Barbara & Gerson Bakar Foundation, The Coulter Family Foundation, Jung Min and Jane Kim, Deborah and Kenneth Novack, and Sarah Wigglesworth and Asiff Hirji. Meaningful support is provided by The Morrison & Foerster Foundation, PwC, U.S. Bank, and Geoffrey and Priscilla Weber.
Major support for Rose B. Simpson: Behold is provided by Katie and Matt Paige. Meaningful support is provided by Jonathan Gans and Abigail Turin, James Park, and Lisa Stone Pritzker.
Meaningful support for Visions of Unearthly Splendor and SFAI Filmmaking provided by the Susan Wildberg Morgenstein Memorial Fund.
Family Studio with SCRAP is made possible with support from Google.org.