Arts & Culture | San Francisco Travel

San Francisco
Arts & Culture

San Francisco is a city of inspiration. You can see it all around you, in whichever neighborhoods you visit.

Festival attendees dance at the Portola Music Festival

San Francisco's art scene is vibrant and dynamic, with a rich history of artistic tradition, from murals to cutting edge performing arts. Today, the city is home to a thriving community of artists who work in a wide range of media, from painting and sculpture to video and performance art. In its energy, its diversity, and its creativity, San Francisco’s art scene embodies all the best of the City by the Bay.

 

Public Art

From your first steps off the plane at SFO to our biggest and brightest bridge, you'll discover that San Francisco has public art everywhere.

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Museums & Galleries

With more than 50 amazing museums and hundreds of galleries to explore, there is no shortage of ways to be inspired in San Francisco.

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Performing Arts

Performing arts in San Francisco has a calendar full of fun shows. Catch a theater performance, head to the opera, see the ballet or check out local dance groups and prepare to be entertained.

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Music

The creative spirit and steadfast countercultural streak is on display in San Francisco’s music scene. It's time to immerse yourself in our deep music history and experience the San Francisco sound.

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Illuminate SF

San Francisco shines brightest during the holiday season when Illuminate SF™'s Festival of Light covers the city in epic outdoor installations of brilliant light art.

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Public Art
Museums & Galleries
Performing Arts
Music
Illuminate SF
Close-up view of the marquee of the Roxie Theater in the Mission District, San Francisco, CA.

Your Guide to San Francisco Film Festivals

We may be 400 miles north of Hollywood, but San Francisco has its own exciting, creative, and diverse film culture. Find out which film festivals will be screening during your next stay.

Lights! Camera! Action!
Picnickers sit on the grass at Alamo Square Park with the Painted Ladies and San Francisco skyline in the background.

San Francisco On Screen

San Francisco has been the setting of some very popular film and television shows, and many were shot on location around the city. Find out how you can visit the locations of some of your favorites during your next trip.

Feel Like A Movie Star
Lanterns glow above Chinatown streets.
Yu-Wen Wu created “Lantern Stories” which commemorate's Chinatown's history, culture, and community.
Dancers at the San Francisco Ballet
One of the oldest ballet companies in the U.S., SF Ballet has a healthy appetite for bold new works.
Performers on stage with ODC Dance Company.
ODC Dance Company offers performances as well as classes and workshops. 
A work on display at the Museum of the African Diaspora.
MoAD is an art museum that celebrates Black cultures. Check out "Black Venus" through August 20.
The exterior of A.C.T's Toni Rembe Theater.
A.C.T. is home to groundbreaking new works, performed at the irToni Rembe Theater or at The Strand.
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the San Francisco Symphony
Treat yourself—and your ears—to something special with the San Francisco Symphony.
The San Francisco Opera's production of "Frida".
SF Opera has been thrilling audiences since 1923 and is known for commissioning world premieres.
Inside the Chinese Culture Center
The Chinese Culture Center elevates stories of Asian Americans and has exhibitions year round. 
The Asian Art Museum's Beyond Bollywood exhibiti
Home to works that span 6,000 years, the Asian Art Museum is a true gem. Book your tickets.
Part of the deYoung's Kehinde Wiley exhibit.
The de Young Museum is showing Kehinde Wiley’s work through October 15. Book your tickets now.
Artwork hangs in SFO's Terminal 1.
SFO is home to dozens of contemporary art installations, curated by SFAC. 
An artist displays her work at Creativity Explored.
Creativity Explored exhibits their artist's work in their Mission gallery. 
Inside the Museum of Craft and Design
The Museum of Craft and Design is dedicated to the way we make art for ourselves and communities.
Students at the California College of The Arts
California College of the Arts offers dozens of free art and design events all year round.
SOMArts's "MUNI Raised Me" exhibition.
SOMArts offers a dynamic program of art exhibitions, classes, events, and performances.
A mural adorns the outside walls of 111 Minna Gallery
111 Minna Gallery is a performance space, and a gallery—with works within and outside its walls.
Exploratorium

The Exploratorium

Described as a mad scientist's penny arcade, a scientific funhouse, and an experimental laboratory all rolled into one, the Exploratorium is regarded as the world’s foremost interactive science museum. With more than 650 hands-on exhibits that ignite curiosity and transform the way people learn, visitors of all ages can play, observe, and discover.

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SFMOMA

SFMOMA

The home for modern and contemporary art in San Francisco, and the first of its kind on the west coast, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art showcases boundary-breaking works in painting, sculpture, and photography. Explore all seven stories of the building, which is itself a piece of architectural wonder. Book your tickets ahead of time. 

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