SF Art Week & FOG* Design+Art

January 16-25

Once again, the new year pops off with San Francisco Art Week (SFAW) and its annual companion, FOG Design+Art. With over 100 events and opportunities to enjoy, I cannot do them all justice without embarking on a protracted disquisition. Of course, I’m not above that 😹; however, it is unrealistic in this format. So, you can look into every event yourself, by checking out the SFAW website. The link for which appears at the end of this Blog.

Instead of an SFAW monograph, I will concentrate on providing highlights for a few of the most intriguing and original offerings available. I encourage you to attend as many events as possible. After all, it would be a shame to live in such an Art Mecca and not take advantage of the riches on display.

*FOG details follow the descriptions of SFAW events.

INTRODUCTION

As noted, below you will find some of the more spectacular events that I have culled from the entire program. Immediately below, are ALL EIGHT events that take place in the East Bay (for those of us who may be proud homebodies).

EAST BAY ONLY

January 17

Morgann Trumbull Projects & Courtney Sennish, Emeryville, 1:00-3:00.

A new collaborative print edition will be released at a fine art press.

Transmission Gallery, Oakland, Noon-5:00pm

Opening Reception for Vessel, an exploration in clay of form, ritual and story.

Johansson Projects, Oakland, 1:00-5:00.

Artist Reception and solo show of Oakland-based artist Miguel Arzabe and his a “productive confrontation” between Andean weaving traditions and mid-century gestural abstraction, unifying his Bolivian heritage with modern and contemporary art. His process begins by painting two separate canvases reminiscent of abstract expressionist works, then cutting them into strips to form the warp and weft of intricate, hand-woven compositions that draw from ancient Andean symbology and techniques of the oldest active textile tradition in the world.

Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley, Reception 3:00-5:00

A selection from Diana Guerrero-Maciá’s celebrated series Strange Forest, richly layered textile abstractions expanding the language of painting. Built from reclaimed fabrics, hand-dyed cloth and found imagery, these “unpainted pictures” blur distinctions between narrative and composition, domestic labor and modernist art practices.

January 18

Oakland Museum, 1:00-3:00

As part of its Spotlight Sundays series, during Art Week, the Museum will present Community Conversations in Radical Public Imagining, created in partnership with The Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) at UC Berkeley.

January 22

Oakland Museum, Live Figure Drawing 5:00-8:00

ThursDates at OMCA, a night of live figure drawing in the Museum’s galleries and revelry and drinks in the cafe, Town Fare.

January 24

Berkeley Art Museum, FREE Community Day 11:00am-7:00pm

Opening day of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Multiple Offerings the first retrospective in over two decades dedicated to the groundbreaking work of the artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Beginning her artistic career in the Bay Area during the early 1970s, Cha produced an expansive range of works across text-based media, video and performance. Cha’s interdisciplinary practice gave shape to the experimental art scenes in San Francisco, New York City and beyond.

Berkeley Art Center, Panel Discussion, 2:00-3:30

How this place is made: Geology, Decisions, Photography, and the Oyster. This discussion brings together artists and thinkers from across disciplines for a conversation on how the Bay Area’s natural and cultural landscapes have been formed, represented and reinterpreted over time.

BAY AREA WIDE

Art Week & FOG Events by Date

January 16

Recology

SF Artist in Residence (AIR) Program

California College of the Arts

5:00-8:00pm

Opening Reception for the current exhibition of artists-in-residence Miguel Novelo, Trina Michelle Robinson and undergraduate Haley Mae Caranto, along with a retrospective of work by former AIR artist, Jim Growden.

Institute of Contemporary Art San José

6:00-9:00pm

Opening of My Body Was a River Once, the debut institutional exhibition by India-born, San Francisco–based artist Anoushka Mirchandani. Featuring an entirely new body of work, the exhibition engages the senses — sight, sound and smell — to explore memory, matrilineage and the ways migration and place shape identity and agency.

January 17

Institute of Contemporary Art SF

Transamerica Pyramid

Annex – 535 Washington Street

Redwood Park – 600 Montgomery Street

11:00am-5:00pm

SFAW Kickoff x ICA SF Opening. ICA SF has installations at the Transamerica Pyramid Center as part of the Pyramid Arts initiative to present two site-specific projects by Lily Kwong and Tara Donovan.

Indoors in the Annex Gallery, Tara Donovan: Stratagems will be in formal dialogue with the building itself. Her large-scale Stratagem sculptures, made of thousands of recycled CDs, will constantly shift as the light and weather change over the course of days and months. (Below Left.)

Outdoors in the Redwood Park, Lily Kwong's major sculpture EARTHSEED DOME has been installed in collaboration with the curatorial platform Art at a Time Like This, with fabrication led by Atelio and WASP 3D. (Below Right.)

Pure Passage & Of Earth: Telluric Mediums

Bolinas Museum

Opening Reception

3:00-5:00pm

In addition to the Reception, visitors will also be invited to spend time in the Museum’s inaugural Winter Library, featuring a selection of related texts in a space for contemplative immersion and discovery. (This event is repeated on Marin Day, January 18, from Noon-5:00pm, without the Reception.)

Pure Passage is the Solo Exhibition of Solée Darrell, a Bermuda-born, Oakland-based artist. Darrell’s creative practice draws upon multi-dimensional exploration, spiritual channeling and dream work. The works featured in Pure Passage were created in Oakland and West Marin using a process of experimentation with various grounding techniques and rituals. Working intuitively with powdered and liquid dye on silk velvet, Darrell’s saturated abstractions invite the viewer to explore the vastness of ethereal realms while also connecting to their own corporality.

January 18

Honesty Changes the World

eL Seed & Current Inmates of San Quentin

Mural Unveiling

BroadwaySF’s Orpheum Theatre

1192 Market St

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Inside San Quentin Rehabilitation Center

Internationally acclaimed contemporary calligraffiti artist, eL Seed, will create a paired mural installation, on the 75-foot side of the Orpheum Theatre while inmates in San Quentin paint the 332-foot prison wall inside the Recreation Center. This much-anticipated public mural is the first-ever incarcerated-led SF Art Week installation in history. eL Seed's Arabic calligraphy transforms both structures, inspired by a line about “Honesty” from Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City.

In San Francisco. An example of eL Seed’s Arabic calligraffiti style.

Marin Art Day

Want to participate in Art Week but not able to get into The City? Cross another bridge and enjoy what’s on offer in Marin. In particular, spend some time at the Headlands Center for the Arts from 11am-2pm. View artists at work in their studios, artist pop-ups and explore Buildings 944 and 945.

See, January, 17, above, for the details about the Bolinas Museum.

There are almost a dozen events scheduled just in Marin County. For a complete listing of ONLY Marin activities, click here.

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January 19

Donum Estate

Sonoma

11am–3pm

The Donum Collection is one of the world’s largest publicly-accessible, private sculpture collections. In addition to the sculptures, guests ages 21+ will receive a welcome splash of Donum wine upon arrival. Chef-prepared grab-and-go lunches featuring estate-grown ingredients are available for pre-purchase.

Tickets are complimentary but must be reserved in advance. Click here to specifically reserve tickets to The Donum Estate.

January 20

Christa Grenawalt

Tiborun Town Hall

6:00-8:00pm

For those of you who prefer an evening event, there are a few opportunities. For instance, the opening reception for Christa Grenawalt’s installation and residency. The evening marks the public announcement of her four-year appointment as Tiburon Artist Laureate and the beginning of The Waterline Project at Tiburon Town Hall Community Gallery.

January 21

Free Art Workshop: Cityscape Diorama

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

2:00-4:00pm

Kilgallen, Main Drag

Inspired by Margaret Kilgallen’s works currently on display at the YBCA, build an imaginative diorama inspired by your own city or neighborhood. Explore shapes, textures and reference your favorite places to visit.

Of course While You Are There: Check out the Bay Area Then exhibition, which will be closing on January 25.

January 22

ThursDates

Oakland Museum

5:00-8:00pm

Another evening event!

A night of live figure drawing in the Museum’s galleries, with revelry and drinks in OMCA’s cafe, Town Fare.

Art of Manga

de Young Museum

6:00-10:00pm

Celebrate the final days of Art of Manga. A rare opportunity to experience original manga drawings before they return to Japan.

Immerse yourself in the exhibition, then grab Bay Area Japanese eats from Off the Grid food trucks, or head upstairs to catch sets from In Session DJs. Top it off with exclusive sake tastings.

As they say at the de Young: Come for the art. Stay for the vibes.

January 23

2024-25 Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship

Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History

6:00-8:00 pm

Spend a weekend in Santa Cruz! Attend the opening reception for emerging artists.

Now in its 19th year, the Rydell Fellowship has awarded over $600,000 to local Santa Cruz/Bay Area artists. The reception will feature local music and performance artists.

January 24

Panel Discussions

Creativity Explored

Over 50 years ago, Creative Growth in Oakland started a revolution in the art world when it opened its doors to work with artists with disabilities. Centers began appearing throughout the US. Of course, the Bay Area has continued to be a hotbed for this activity. Creativity Explored is the SF location for such artists who live in The City.

11:00am-12:30pm

Discussion by artists and studio facilitators on collaborative projects and building relationships through artmaking practices. 

1:30-3:00pm

The panel will focus on economic empowerment for artists with disabilities. Topics will include art collecting as advocacy, visibility, independence, and representation within the established art market.

January 25

Family Studio with SCRAP: Watercolors

SFMOMA

Koret Education Center

10:00am-1:00pm

Create unique watercolors on muslin attached to handmade stick-and-found-object frames. This project is inspired by the Museum’s exhibition Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love. All Family Studio activities in SFMOMA's Koret Education Center are free; no museum admission required.

FOG DESIGN+ART

Fort Mason Center

January 21-25

FOG always dovetails with SF Art Week. While much of SFAW is spent admiring art in museums, FOG allows you to get close to these works and, perhaps, take one of them home with you. After seeing so much luscious art, how can you say no to at least one piece that has won your heart?

January 21

Gala Preview

4:00-10:00pm (Tiered Entry)

Go ahead. Glam it up at the Preview. I’ll keep your secret as you hobnob with the SF Financial Elite (or at least the curators they employ). Funds collected support SFMOMA’s education initiatives, which served over 140,000 students, teachers, youth and families through diverse online and in-person resources, programs and visits this year.

Tickets for the Gala – click here.

January 22-25

General Admission

11am-7pm

Every day at FOG, artists and architects, journalists and designers will engage in dialogues led by writers and editors. These speakers will discuss where art is headed and how you can incorporate it into your own home design choices.

Garner advice from 60 leading galleries from around the world, along with 16 gallery participants who are new in 2026 and 15 Bay Area galleries. This year also features an expanded FOG FOCUS section for emerging artists and the return of FOG MRKT for craft makers.

For more information on any of the events described or on SF Art Week and on FOG Design+Art in general, click here.