Enjoy the Best of San Francisco's Culture at Home
San Francisco’s arts scene is one of the most vibrant, but all are dormant during Shelter in Place. Luckily, many of our institutions are stepping up and offering virtual experiences so you can get your dose of culture from the comfort of your living room.
Museums
You can peruse the Asian Art Museum’s collections online, either on your own, or via curated experiences on their #MuseumFromHome page. You can get crafty at home with a variety of activities, from creating a mandala to learning Arabic calligraphy, and much more. There are even pages to print and color.
The Contemporary Jewish Museum has gone virtual with a suite of daily #JewseumatHome activities. Each day is a different theme, such as Tuesday Creative Prompts, Todah Thursday’s reflections of gratitude, and long-form stories on Sunday. You can also explore their virtual exhibition, Levi Strauss: A History of American Style.
Inquisitive minds can dig into the wealth of content on the Exploratorium’s website, covering a wide array of scientific subjects — ideal for home schooling! Get creative with projects you can do with items you have around the house in the Tinkering Studio, explore how science is all around us in the city, and more. Sign up for their weekly newsletter for new material.
You can browse the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s (the de Young and the Legion of Honor) entire collection of American, African, European, Oceanic art online, including their most recent exhibitions, Soul of a Nation and Frida Kalho: Appearances Can Be Deceiving. They’ve also posted some special exhibitions and more on their YouTube channel.
One of the city’s best-kept secrets, the quirky Gregangelo Museum hosts weekly “Artalks” with different artists each Saturday, and on May 31 is streaming Whirling Tea in Wonderland, an afternoon of enchanting performances, virtual explorations, healing tea ceremony, grounding meditations, and illuminating conversations.
The Museum of African Diaspora (MoAD) posts an online calendar with constantly updated events, and has rich offerings on their YouTube channel, plus podcasts and playlists for your enjoyment. Sign up for their monthly book club to read and reflect on works by black writers, such as May’s offering, international best-seller, Small Country by Gaël Faye.
SFMOMA features spotlights on artists, creative projects, and gallery highlights on its #MuseumatHome page, plus some new material specific to our current environment. You can also tune in to the museum's award-winning arts and culture podcast, Raw Material.
The San Francisco Public Library has a 24/7 virtual collection, and does daily story times for the kids via IGTV. And if you have a library card, you can borrow ebooks via Libby OverDrive, and stream movies for free via Kanopy and Hoopla.
Music and Dance
Get your blood pumping with online classes from Alonzo King LINES Ballet. From ballet to hip hop and contemporary to belly dance, LINES Dance Center offers a wide selection of classes for all ages and levels of expertise.
Every Friday, SF Ballet streams a complete ballet from its archives on social channels and on its SF Ballet @ Home page.
Find out what inspires SF Symphony’s Music Director, Michael Tilson Thomas, in the documentary series Keeping Score, streaming on YouTube. You can also listen to Haydn, Stravinsky, Mahler and more as part of their 2019-2020 Digital Concert Series.
Theater and Film
My favorite cinema in the city, Alamo Drafthouse has launched Alamo on Demand, where you can rent films curated by Alamo’s team of programmers. There’s plenty of cult favorites, horror films, and camp classics to peruse. Make a batch of buffalo cauliflower with ranch dressing to complete the experience.
American Conservatory Theater is taking an extended intermission during Shelter in Place, but they have a robust YouTube channel with plenty to tune into, such as The Take 10 series: fun, interactive activities that teach you elements of the theatrical process from their Community Programs & Education team. They also have Meads Reads, a monthly book club for plays. After reading the same play, Director of Dramaturgy and New Work Joy Meads and the group will gather on Zoom to discuss. Each play comes with a suggestion for dinner from a local restaurant and/or a drink recipe from a local mixologist.
Our very own drag theater Oasis is streaming past performances on their YouTube channel on limited runs, so you can get your campy fix of Sex and the City, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.
Art house Roxie Theater is also serving up curated selections of films to rent and stream.
The longest-running queer theater in the world, Theatre Rhinoceros is soldiering on with free streaming content and live Zoom performances, with an option to pay if you want to support.