Navigate the local art scene with walks, tours, maps, and guides

Posted by Mary on Sep 9, 2010

Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. So: Behold! There’s so much creative work going on in San Francisco and Northern California, it’s hard to miss — but for visitors, it can be hard to know where to start.

Art walks, tours, maps, and guides can help you make the most of your time, and there are plenty to choose from — in San Francisco, Marin County, Sacramento, and beyond.

San Francisco

First Thursday Art in Union Square
There are loads of art galleries in the area around Union Square and the San Francisco Downtown Hostel. The first Thursday of every month, many of them are open late for a "casual open house," which means there’s wine, snacks, and mingling with both artists and locals. And it’s all free! If you’re not around on a Thursday, check out their gallery map anyway — regular hours for each are also listed. The organizers are also on Facebook, where they post additional information on area art events.

Divisadero Corridor Art Walk
This art walk — which runs along Divisadero Street from Haight to Geary — happens quarterly, in March, June, September, and December. It’s a night of art openings, live music, and drinking, dining, and shopping specials. Check out the blog or follow Divisadero Merchants on Facebook for updates on the next walk.

Yerba Buena Gallery Walk
With 11 world-class museums and a variety of galleries, movie theaters, and performance venues, the area around Yerba Buena Gardens is one of San Francisco’s many artistic centers. A few times a year, the Yerba Buena Alliance organizes a gallery walk — though a date hasn’t been finalized, the next walk is scheduled for October (see their website for up-to-date details). If you can’t make the walk but still want to explore the neighborhood, the alliance also has a guide to the area’s artistic attractions.

SF Open Studios
During the month of October, artist’s studios all over town are open to the public with different neighborhoods and artists featured each weekend. Check out the website for information on participating artists, or grab a free guide at various locations across the city.

Mural Tours
From the murals covering the Mission District to the work of Diego Rivera, this city is literally lined in art. Precita Eyes offers some of the best tours of the Mission’s murals — $1 gets you a self-guided tour, while guided tours run $12-15. SF City Guides offers a handful of free public art-oriented tours (in addition to architecture and neighborhood tours), including: Diego Rivera Mural: Pan American Unity, Diego Rivera Mural at the Stock Exchange Tower, Coit Tower Murals, Historic Murals Of Rincon Center, Mission Murals, and Murals And The Multi-Ethnic Mission.

Mission Arts Trail Guide
There’s more to the Mission art scene than just murals! Southern Exposure (a local nonprofit arts education organization) recently published this map of galleries, art spaces, and cultural venues throughout the Mission District.

The Stark Guide
The Stark Guide is an online guide to most of San Francisco’s art galleries — maps show all the galleries in various neighborhoods, including the Union Square-Yerba Buena-SOMA area (near the San Francisco Downtown Hostel) and the Hayes Valley-Tenderloin- Tendernob-Lower Haight area (near the San Francisco City Center Hostel).

Oakland Art Murmur
OK, so this art walk isn’t in San Francisco — but it is just a 15 to 20-minute BART ride away. Check out the art scene in neighboring Oakland on the first Friday of every month. Most of the participating galleries — along with some of Oaklanders’ favorite bars and music venues — are in the eight blocks north of the 19th Street BART station.

Marin County

Headlands Center for the Arts
Just a few buildings over from the Marin Headlands Hostel, the Headlands Center for the Arts hosts artists and art events throughout the year — including Third Sunday programs, workshops, panel discussions, and performances each month. Full open houses are held seasonally; the next one is October 17. During Sunday events, their Mess Hall Cafe is open to the public from noon to 4:30 p.m. — yes, that means there’s food available in the park!

Sausalito Art Walk
In Sausalito, just five miles from the Marin Headlands Hostel, this art walk includes about 20 galleries and vendors. It runs every second Wednesday, May - October. In addition, the art walk organization has a local gallery guide (complete with photo tours) for use year-round and information on open studios in the artist-occupied ICB Building.

San Rafael Second Fridays Art Walk
The second Friday of every month, head to San Rafael (14 miles north of the Marin Headlands Hostel and 25 miles south of the Point Reyes Hostel) for an evening art walk with "galleries, open studios, art shows, libations and inspiration." Tuesday through Saturday, visit Art Works Downtown — a 40,000 square foot space devoted to artistic activities (and run by same people who plan the regular art walk).

Mill Valley First Tuesday Art Walk
Mill Valley (10 miles from the Marin Headlands Hostel and 30 miles from the Point Reyes Hostel) hosts a monthly downtown art walk on the first Tuesday of every month. See the Mill Valley Art Commission website for the monthly gallery guide, info on the night, as well as the dates of other arts-related events throughout the year.

Sacramento

Second Saturday Art Walk
The second Saturday of every month, galleries across Sacramento stay open late for a casual evening of wine, art, snacks, and socializing. A majority of the participating galleries are in the hip Midtown district, starting about eight blocks from the Sacramento Hostel, and some are downtown, just a few blocks away! The art walk’s website is currently under construction, but a current gallery listing remains intact on the site. Even better, the Sacramento News and Review recently published a map of participating galleries that also includes area restaurants, searchable by cuisine.

Public Art Tours
The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission runs public art tours, art exhibitions, and events, and they also publish a free self-guided tour of statues, installations, and other art in public places. Groups of 5 of more can also book free guided art tours; see their website for more information.

Point Reyes

Several times throughout the year, Point Reyes Open Studios organizes a weekend for welcoming visitors into artists’ studios in the Point Reyes National Seashore area (around the Point Reyes Hostel). The next is scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, November 26-28. They also publish a list of local artists and galleries so you can arrange your own studio visits if you choose.

Half Moon Bay

There is no longer a regular art walk near the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel, but Coastside Live maintains a list of area art galleries if you want to make your own! Most are in Half Moon Bay, which is about 7 miles from the hostel. Update: Hostel staff report that there is an art walk in downtown Half Moon Bay every third Saturday — but it only runs May - August, and there is no website for it at this time.