What’s New in San Francisco

NEW HOTELS: Five hotels are launching this fall in San Francisco. Set to debut Nov. 15 on the edge of the city’s historic Jackson Square neighborhood is The Jay. The 360-room property’s third floor features a garden terrace and will house a dining and cocktail outlet by famed San Francisco-based Omakase Restaurant Group.

Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group, LLC announced it would open four rebranded properties this fall. The first to open was Hotel Fiona, formerly The Carriage Inn. Located in SoMa, the historic boutique property features renovated guestrooms and an updated arrival lobby. The 107-room Hotel Julian San Francisco, 152-room SoMa House, and 121-room Hotel Garrett are also slated to open in Q4.

AL FRESCO ART: The Asian Art Museum debuted its 7,500-square-foot East West Bank Art Terrace last month. Boasting city views, the terrace is San Francisco’s newest and most expansive outdoor platform for contemporary art installations by local and global Asian and Asian American artists.

URBAN ENERGY: Two historic alleyways sitting at the crossroads of the Transamerica Pyramid, Embarcadero Center, Chinatown and the Financial District have been transformed into the Landing at Leidesdorff. The new pedestrian-oriented space offers outdoor dining and cocktails, live music, and cultural programs. The Landing at Leidesdorff showcases a pair of new murals honoring the rich history of Captain William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr., a founding father of San Francisco. He was one of the most prominent Black and biracial citizens of early California. His successful business ventures made him one of the first Black millionaires in America.

A flurry of pop-ups has landed in nine downtown properties. The first series features 17 local activators, including apparel brands, restaurants, designers, artists, and other makers. Among those who debuted their three-month pop-ups are local favorites such as Devil’s Teeth Bakery and Wack Donuts, both at Embarcadero Center. More pop-ups are slated to open in 2024.

The Exploratorium‘s acclaimed public project, Middle Ground: Reconsidering Ourselves and Others, landed last month in the heart of San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza. The free exhibition invites passersby of all ages to learn more about themselves and how they relate to the people around them. The expanded Middle Ground includes 15 architectural-scale, interactive, and multimedia exhibits about topics such as stereotypes and biases, social influence, prosocial behavior, and social polarization. Visitors can interact with the exhibition’s bright yellow activity towers through March 24.

ON THE GRAPEVINE : Big Bus launched Wine Country Tours from San Francisco, offering six- or nine-hour tours for those wanting to explore the wine regions of Napa and Sonoma Valley. Tickets should be reserved 24 hours in advance.

ORIGAMI IN THE SKY: Paper Tree – The Origami Store recently partnered with Adobe to create a free cutting-edge augmented reality (AR) origami tour. Launched in September, visitors scan a QR code at Paper Tree to begin an immersive origami adventure on their smartphones. As they stroll along Japantown’s Buchanan Street, colorful red and white envelopes appear to “float in the air.” The user’s proximity triggers an envelope to open, revealing a larger-than-life origami diorama. Using their smartphone, visitors can walk around the origami figures and inspect them from all angles to see the intricate folds made to create each piece.

SF EVENTS:

Off The Grid is back at Fort Mason through October 27. Celebrating the diversity of San Francisco’s food scene, Off The Grid boasts a lineup of Friday night food trucks, pop-ups, and entertainment.

The year’s biggest movie is coming to the biggest screen in California on October 27. In collaboration with Warner Bros. & Mattel, Giants Enterprises is hosting the ultimate “Barbie” movie night at Oracle Park. Guests can picnic on the field or sit in the stands to watch the movie.

Bringing more sparkle to San Francisco is D’Arcy Drollinger, San Francisco’s, and the nation’s, first Drag Laureate. Drollinger along with the Civic Joy Fund, Honey Mahogany, Juanita MORE! and Oasis Arts are organizing a takeover of city streets by drag performers. Taking place December 2 and 3, San Francisco is a Drag will feature 100 “Kings and Queens” performing throughout the city.

Dia de Los Meurtos (Day of the Day) activities on November 2 include the 31st Annual Festival of Altars and the Ritual Poetry Circle in Potrero Del Sol Park and the 42nd Annual Day of the Dead Ritual Procession in the Mission District. The procession, produced by El Colectivo del Rescate Cultural, starts at 6pm at 22nd and Bryant Streets.

The Park Market at Crane Cove brings local makers, live music, food and drink vendors, and family-friendly activities to one of the city’s newer parks. The final two markets of 2023 take place on October 28 and November 19. The Trick or Treat Market on October 28 will include Halloween activities and crafts. The series ends on November 19 with a Holiday Mercantile.

Dirty Habit, the restaurant and bar located on the 5th floor of Hotel Zelos, has partnered with the SF LGBT Center’s Cultural Department to launch a new monthly music series that promotes and supports BIPOC artists from an array of musical backgrounds. The new “Vibin’ Live” music series features live performances at Dirty Habit every third Thursday of the month.

BUCKET LIST: Alcatraz, which celebrates its 50th anniversary as a National Park site in October, is ranked one of the world’s 20 best bucket list destinations based on a study by travel company Kuoni. The notorious 22-acre island was a fort, a military prison, and a maximum-security federal penitentiary for 29 years, when it housed notorious inmates such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

ARTS & CULTURE

ON POINT: San Francisco Ballet’s 2024 Repertory Season, which runs from Jan. 25 to May 5, is filled with premieres, company firsts, and works rarely seen in the US. Curated by Tamara Rojo, the first woman to lead the company and SF Ballet’s first new Artistic Director in nearly four decades, the season centers cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural collaborations, celebrates the artists and histories of San Francisco, and spotlights women’s voices on stage and off. Programs include a cutting-edge commission led by music producer/DJ and composer Floating Points; world premiere commissions from female choreographers Aszure Barton and Arielle Smith, and more.

VIRAL LOVE: Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s dazzling psychedelic art installations are on view for the first time in the Bay Area at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). With an extended run through September 7, 2024, Yayoi Kusama: Infinite Love features two of the acclaimed artist’s Infinity Mirror Rooms.

MONSTER MASH: The Asian Art Museum’s newest exhibition, Takashi Murakami: Unfamiliar People — Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego, showcases more than 75 works — including a dozen never-before-exhibited ones — and delivers Murakami’s signature combination of fun, spectacle, and playful social commentary in his first-ever solo exhibition in the Bay Area. On view through February 12, Murakami uses monsters as a lens to examine human behavior.

ZEN-ULTIMATE: This season, the Asian Art Museum will reveal two rarely seen, precious and celebrated artworks that have never previously left Japan. The Heart of Zen exhibit features Six Persimmons and Chestnuts — centuries-old ink paintings originating from China. The paintings, treasures of the Daitokuji Ryokoin Zen temple in Kyoto, have remained out of sight for all but a few monks and select special visitors. Six Persimmons and Chestnuts will be exhibited separately for three weeks (Nov. 17 to Nov. 10) and (Dec. 8 to 31), respectively, and together for one week (Dec. 8 to Dec. 10).

RARE WORKS: Reuniting rare works from across the US and Europe, Botticelli Drawings —presented exclusively at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Legion of Honor from Novembe 19 to February 11 — is the first exhibition to explore the central role that drawing played in Botticelli’s art and workshop practice. The exhibition unveils five newly attributed drawings alongside more than 60 works from 39 lending institutions. Botticelli Drawings features 27 drawings by the artist.

POP GOES THE SYMPHONY: Esa-Pekka Salonen’s fourth season as Music Director at the San Francisco Symphony includes 12 Orchestral programs, four world premiere performances, SoundBox, continued partnerships with Peter Sellars and Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and a celebration of the spirit of California. During its impressive 2023/2024 SF Symphony Season, SF Symphony is also partnering with several famous musical artists, including Ellie Goulding (November 20) and Sting (February 14 and 15).

AI EXAMINED: Thrive City, the 11-acre plaza surrounding Chase Center, unveiled the family-friendly Misalignment Museum, a pop-up installation that showcases the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) technology through thought-provoking art pieces..

WHAT ENDURES: The Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF) debuted the largest solo museum exhibition of artist Patrick Martinez. On view through January 7, Ghost Land features a major public art piece and large-scale sculptural installation. The exhibition highlights Martinez’s “landscape” paintings—works that evoke the topography of personal, civic, and cultural loss, and includes a wall installation of his popular neon works. Also on view is Out of Place from Oakland-based painter Rupy C. Tut..

MORE DRAMA: SF Broadway, part of the Ambassador Theatre Group, has a busy fall and winter season scheduled. Upcoming shows include DISNEY’S THE LION KING (Nov. 22 through Dec. 30), MAMMA MIA! (Dec. 5 through Dec. 10), Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Dec.12 through Dec. 17), The Wiz (Jan. 16 through Feb. 11), and PAW Patrol Live! “Heroes United” (March 9 through 10).

THE SAN FRANCISCO SOUND: Retroblakesberg: The Music Never Stopped offers a captivating visual narrative through photographs by Bay Area-based photographer Jay Blakesberg of legendary musicians, shedding light on the evolution of San Francisco’s distinctive music culture and its far-reaching impact. The exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum unites over 200 photographs and related memorabilia, all captured between 1978 and 2008. Icons such as the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Neil Young, Soundgarden, and more are on view through January 28.

RETROSPECTIVE: For its 30 Year Anniversary, 111 Minna Gallery features the works of 40 artists and curators who have worked with 111 Minna Gallery since its inception. Curated by co-owner David Scott Mabry, the exhibition features works by Sacha Eckes, Irene Hernandez-Feiks, Jay Howell, Micah LeBrun, Ron Turner and D Young V, among others.

BOUNDARY DEFYING: SFMOMA will unveil Wolfgang Tillmans: To Look Without Fear on November 11. Curated by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the exhibit is the most comprehensive of the artist’s work to date. It encompasses Tillmans’ iconic pieces in photography, video, and multimedia installations. On view through March 3.

LOCAL LEGEND: 84-year-old contemporary painter and installation artist Joe Sam’s works are on display at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) through March 3. His first solo exhibition in San Francisco, Joe Sam.: Text Messages, showcases 20 mixed media paintings from key series produced between 1985 and 2020.

“A GIANT LOVE LETTER”: The only one of its kind at a major US museum, the groundbreaking The de Young Open triennial community art exhibition features 883 works by artists residing in the Bay Area. The second edition of this free “salon style” exhibition spans nine mediums and explores the issues shaping life in the Bay Area and beyond. The 883 works were selected by a jury from 7,766 applications and are on view through January 7.

SECOND CENTURY: For its 101st season, San Francisco Opera explores new stories, contemporary voices, and classic works. The 2023/2024 season includes premieres of three co-commissioned operas. OMAR, the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner for Music by Grammy Award-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens and composer Michael Abels. From June 1 to 21, the Opera House will also host the American premiere of  INNOCENCE, the final opera by the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho with libretto by Sofi Oksanen.

CATS & DOGS: Disney Cats & Dogs is on view at The Walt Disney Family Museum through June 2. The exhibit features over 300 archival reproduction concept sketches, paintings, model sheets, animation drawings, posters, photographs, digital artworks, and final film sequences.

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