Floating on a cloud of creativity, our artistic little burg is home to a multitude of muse-worthy museums. If one were so inclined, visits to several of San Francisco’s relic repositories, housing art spanning from the ancient to the modern, can be achieved easily in one day. Though, to receive the recommended dose of culture, I recommend you choose one museum with a temporary exhibit to your liking, saving for later the permanent fixtures that make San Francisco’s museum circuit a phenomenon lauded the world over. Read on to get the specifics on some upcoming shows arriving in SF this spring and summer.

Asian Art Museum
Disguised among the hulking government buildings of San Francisco's Civic Center, across the square from City Hall, the Asian Art Museum may not be as architecturally bold as some of San Francisco’s more design-deliberate grand galleries. Nonetheless, the treasures of the East abound in this tribute to the aesthetics of Asian culture. Make the trip before April 8th to see “Maharaja – The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts,” or explore “Deiteies, Demons and Dudes with ‘Staches – Indian Avatars" by Sanjay Patel. Also, beginning on May 18th, you'll find the “Phantoms of Asia – Contemporary Awakens the Past” exhibit. This blend of both ancient and contemporary works from multiple cultures is sure to educate as well as inspire. 

SFMOMA
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, better known as the SFMOMA, is an ever-changing design boutique with a singular mission – to captivate and question every spatial law holding this planet together. Creating culture everyday through ingenious design, garnering the attention of the art world with roundly renowned artists, SFMOMA has recently welcomed an exhibit by abstract painter Mark Bradford, who utilizes urban objects to create strikingly bold works. Starting in March the museum will feature “Photography in Mexico: Selected Works from the Collections of SFMOMA and Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser," “The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area,” and an exhibit from Dutch graphic artist Parra titled, “Parra: Weirded Out”. 

De Young Museum
Monolithic, rising out of the eucalyptus forests of Golden Gate Park, imposing and inviting all at once, the De Young Museum is San Francisco’s finest example of harmonization between new and old, man and nature. The structure peaks amongst the trees, leaving its gargantuan size cleverly disguised from a distance. Playing host to past exhibits featuring noteworthy names like Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne, the De Young has also featured luxury related showcases from Cartier, Balenciaga, and Yves Saint Laurent. Next in the line-up of clothiers-as-artist exhibitions is “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier – From the Sidewalk to Catwalk,” starting March 24th. Come for the fashion and stay for the permanent displays on American Painting, African Art, Textile Arts, and Multimedia. 

Contemporary Jewish Museum
One of San Francisco’s more recent additions to its cultural landscape is the Contemporary Jewish Museum located on Mission between 3rd and 4th. The huge, off-kilter obelisk cube set to the left of the museum's entrance sits in stark contrast to the more conservative, older style brick building in which the museum itself is housed. Currently featured is the exhibit “California Dreaming – Jewish Life in the Bay Area from the Gold Rush to the Present." Coming up on March 18th is “Black Sabbath – The Secret History of Black - Jewish Relations.” Also housed in the museum is a recording booth for National Public Radio’s (NPR) StoryCorps. In the “StoryBooth” an interviewer and an interviewee record interesting and usually profound life stories which are archived in the National Library of Congress.