In March, following the unexpected closure of the Fine Arts Museums, The de Young Open and a call for submissions were announced and, beginning in June, local artists were encouraged to submit recent or newly created work to the exhibition through an online portal. An impressive 11,514 artworks submitted by 6,188 artists from across the nine Bay Area counties.
Every artwork image was reviewed anonymously multiple times by a group of qualified jurors who did not know the identities of the artists. The jurors included four Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco curators in charge and three prominent Bay Area artists: Mildred Howard, Hung Liu, and Enrique Chagoya. Given the space limitations in our main exhibition galleries, the seven jurors were faced with the challenging task of selecting and accepting less than 8 percent of all the works submitted.
The Museums want to thank every artist who submitted works for enriching the Bay Area’s cultural landscape, as well as that of the United States. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco would not exist without the talented artists whose works make our very existence possible.
We promise to carry on the mission of engaging with our local artistic communities through projects like The de Young Open, and look forward to welcoming artists—and all of our community members—back to the de Young as soon as it is safe to gather again in person.
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
The de Young Open
In celebration of the de Young museum’s 125th anniversary, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are hosting The de Young Open, a juried community art exhibition of submissions by artists who live in the nine Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. The de Young Open continues the museum’s long-standing tradition of engaging the local community and showcasing the talent of Bay Area artists, who will be able to offer their pieces for sale and retain 100 percent of the proceeds.
Works of art in The de Young Open will be hung “salon-style,” installed edge to edge and floor to ceiling, which enables a maximum number of works to be displayed. The de Young looks forward to filling the 12,000-square-foot Herbst Exhibition Galleries with 877 artworks by 762 Bay Area artists in The de Young Open.
We are still working with state and local officials to determine our re-opening date, and also the opening date for The de Young Open. To support participating artists, a separate, online platform will also be launched to help facilitate the sales of works. Get the latest updates and special content on The de Young Open delivered straight to your inbox.
Image (left to right): jesuuna, detail of Ophelia. © jesuuna, image courtesy of the artist; John Bonick, Wired (The Golden Thicket). © John Bonick, image courtesy of the artist; Christopher Williams, detail of The Long Goodbye. © Christopher Williams, image courtesy of the artist; Steve Mainini, detail of Homage to Michelangelo. © Steve Mainini, image courtesy of the artist; Lorenz Sonneman, detail of The River Thing King. © Lorenz Sonneman, image courtesy of the artist; Orin Carpenter, detail of Can You Hear Me Now?! © Orin Carpenter, image courtesy of the artist; Diana Liu Benet, detail of Heritage Moves. © Diana Liu Benet, image courtesy of the artist; Pablo Villicana, detail of Maya. © Pablo Villicana, image courtesy of the artist; Carmen McNall, detail of In Her Own Element. © Carmen McNall, image courtesy of the artist
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Herbst Exhibition Galleries
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are profoundly grateful to the 2,375 donors who generously contributed to the Museums’ recovery efforts. Their critical support was a lifeline for the Museums during the COVID-19 pandemic and supported the presentation of The de Young Open.
The Museums are especially indebted to the extraordinary generosity from presenting sponsors John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn, San Francisco Auxiliary of the Fine Arts Museums, Sherman Fairchild Foundation, The Hearst Foundations, Jessica and Jason Moment, and Diane B. Wilsey.
Lead support is provided by the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund, Margaret and William R. Hearst III, and Helen and Charles Schwab. Major support is provided by Bank of America, The Bryant Estate, The Diana Dollar Knowles Foundation, The Herbst Foundation, Inc., George and Judy Marcus, Marissa Mayer and Zachary Bogue, Denise Littlefield Sobel, Paul A. Violich, and Barbara A. Wolfe.
Significant support is provided by The Bernard Osher Foundation, Bettina Bryant, The Fieldwood Fund, The Harris Family, Lorna Meyer Calas and Dennis Calas, Pamela and Richard Kramlich, Susan and Bill Oberndorf, Lynn and Edward Poole, Mariana Gantus Wall and Douglas Wall and the Vance Wall Foundation. Generous support is provided by Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., Jack Calhoun and Trent Norris, Kate Harbin Clammer and Adam Clammer, Phoebe Cowles and Robert Girard, Juliet de Baubigny, Kate and Bill Duhamel, East West Bank, Max Boyer Glynn and David Glynn, Lucy Young Hamilton, Marie and George Hecksher, Frances Hellman and Warren Breslau, Rebecca and Cal Henderson, The Ive Family, Christine and Pierre Lamond, Mauze Family Charitable Fund, Leslie Berriman and Nion McEvoy, Meehan Family Trust, Harriet Heyman and Michael Moritz, Merrill Private Wealth Management, Yurie and Carl Pascarella, John Pritzker Family Fund, Shelagh and Thomas P. Rohlen, MaryBeth and David Shimmon, Margaret O. Wadhwani and David Wadhwani and The Paul L. Wattis Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Annenberg Foundation, Janet Barnes and Thomas W. Weisel Family, Nancy and Joachim Bechtle, Brigitte Sandquist and Phil Black, Katharine Sheridan Chung and David H. S. Chung, Mrs. George Hopper Fitch, Frank-Linn Charitable Fund, George F. Jewett Foundation, Maurice W. Gregg, Lauren L. T. Hall and David Hearth, Debbie and Blake Jorgensen, Mrs. Gretchen B. Kimball, Wanda Kownacki, Kyogoku Family Charitable Fund, Cathy and Howard Moreland, Jan and Bob Newman, Katie and Matt Paige, Pamela and Richard Rigg, Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock, Lisa Sardegna and David A. Carrillo, Laura Scher and Ian Altman, Lisa and James Zanze, and Anne M. Zucchi.