San Francisco’s summer might be the ideal time to escape The City and trade the fog for sunshine, but it’s also perfect for an indoor day trip to see some great art.
The summer’s offerings include celebrations of Black history and LGBTQ+ pride, a deep dive into the legacy of the oldest art school west of the Mississippi, and a four-day fair dedicated to the excellent and unusual world of art books.
Whether you’re looking to get familiar with some of the most exciting contemporary artists on the scene or learn about their predecessors, there’s plenty to see this summer.
Black Gold
For-Site Foundation, the brainchild of esteemed San Francisco gallerist Cheryl Haines, has organized a number of art projects on national park land, from the Presidio to Alcatraz. The nonprofit’s latest effort is “Black Gold,” an exhibition of contemporary Black artists at San Francisco’s storied Fort Point.
The show features 17 artists and arts organizations, including international superstars like Isaac Julien, local legends such as Mildred Howard and a selection of artists from Creativity Explored, a San Francisco nonprofit that supports adult artists with disabilities.
Including several special commissions, the artwork on view traces the stories of Black Californians from the Gold Rush through Reconstruction, highlighting the lasting impact of Black communities in California history.
Fort Point, 201 Marine Dr., Friday–Nov 2, Free
To Be Seen
In celebration of Pride Month — and just in time for Juneteenth — “To Be Seen” brings together a group of seven queer Black artists across multiple generations, raising the question, “are we “Black” enough to be in Black spaces, but also queer enough to be a part of the LGBTQ community?”
On view at Jonathan Carver Moore, the only art gallery in San Francisco founded by a gay Black man, the exhibition itself stands as a resounding affirmation of the fullness of these artists’ identities, occupying space as queer and Black at once in and through their art practices.
Here, we see what happens when artists embrace who they are and invite viewers to do the same.
Jonathan Carver Moore, 966 Market St., Friday–Aug. 16, Free
San Francisco Art Book Fair
The ninth edition of the San Francisco Art Book Fair promises to be bigger, better and bookier than ever. Spread across the Minnesota Street Project campus in the Dogpatch neighborhood, the fair showcases punk ‘zines, fine-art photography monographs and historical ephemera such rave posters and political pamphlets.
This year’s fair welcomes 155 exhibitors from all around the world. The fair will also feature a robust schedule of special events, including a selection of short films curated by San Francisco Cinematheque, as well as open studios, offering visitors the rare opportunity to see what the artists who work at MSP get up to behind closed doors.
Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota St., July 10-13, Free
Fraenkel Film Festival
For the second year in a row, Fraenkel Gallery has partnered with San Francisco’s beloved Roxie Theater to present Fraenkel Film Festival. The festival brings a special selection of films to the big screen, hand-picked by the gallery’s stable of artists.
This year’s playbill includes an eclectic mix of flicks, from animated musical classic “The Little Mermaid” to adrenaline-fueled action masterpiece “Mad Max: Fury Road,” alongside more traditional arthouse picks in the vein of “The 400 Blows,” “The Conversation” and stone-cold classics like “Rear Window” and “The Wizard of Oz.”
Opening night will also feature a recorded conversation between photographer Richard Misrach and actor Jeff Bridges, following the screening of Misrach’s selection, the early Bridges film “The Last Picture Show.”
The Roxie, 3117 16th St., July 9-19; Single film tickets $16, festival pass $200
People Make This Place: SFAI Stories
Take a trip back in time through the illustrious history of what was once the oldest art school West of the Mississippi. The San Francisco Art Institute, which was founded in 1871 as the California School of Fine Arts, shuttered in 2022, is being celebrated in this exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
“People Make This Place: SFAI Stories” will highlight the college’s most important legacy — the people who made it what it was — featuring artwork from over 50 of the SFAI’s former faculty and alumni from throughout the school’s lifespan, alongside archival ephemera.
From the founding of the first fine art photography department by Ansel Adams to the early days of the Bay Area Figurative Movement and the Mission School, the history of SFAI is synonymous with the history of art in San Francisco. Its legacy, as this exhibition attests, will not be forgotten.
SFMOMA, 151 Third St., July 26–July 5, 2026. $30
Incorrect Museum
One of the Bay Area’s best kept art secrets is the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, housing the art collection of the late vintner Rene di Rosa on his former estate just off the Sonoma Highway between San Francisco and Napa. The collection contains some 1,600 artworks, including those of many legendary San Francisco artists.
But for those of us in The City, it can be too hidden of a gem. Luckily, starting in August, the di Rosa will begin programming exhibitions in San Francisco, at a satellite location in the Dogpatch.
They’ll christen the new space with “Incorrect Museum,” a show of historical Northern California artists, showcasing some of the best local work the collection has to offer and announcing their expanded presence with a bang.
di Rosa SF., 1240 Minnesota St., Aug. 2– Oct. 4, Free