exhibitions and public programs

Since its founding in 1871, SFAI has sought to educate artists within an environment that presents the most advanced and experimental forms of contemporary art.

Through exhibitions, lectures, symposia, films, and interdisciplinary events, SFAI provides direct access to major practitioners and theorists of contemporary global culture, and connects students to the larger community of art and ideas. All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public.

An Innovative Model of Contemporary Art

As Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs, Hou Hanru, an internationally known curator and critic of global contemporary art, oversees the Walter and McBean Galleries and the Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series. The programming forms a dynamic and complex structure with five distinct but complementary sections:

Global Figures presents monographic exhibitions featuring major artists from different cultures who have influenced the current global art scene and ought to have increased recognition in the U.S.

New Models of Culture and Art Production manifests new modes of production in the process of globalization, in terms of both artistic creation and economic, industrial, and technical productions. New Models reflects the making of different modernities, and the tension between developed and “under-developed” worlds.

Pacific Perspectives examines the dynamic scene of creation occurring across the Pacific Rim (ranging from the Americas to Asia) and brings new attention to San Francisco’s unique geographic and cultural position in global-local negotiations. This section covers the largest trans-disciplinary collaborations.

Acting Out in the City (from Prototype to Realization) uses SFAI gallery space as a laboratory for large-scale projects of urban interventions that intensify the relationship between artistic productions and public spaces.

New Voices encourages self-organization initiatives by younger curators and other activists by providing them with spaces and strategies to present their projects.

This structure for Exhibitions and Public Programs—emphasizing the institution as a site of production rather than space for simple representation—looks beyond the traditional histories and narratives of exhibition practice while providing students with access to artists through residencies, studio visits, workshops, and off-campus community projects that examine the notions of public and private domains.