Get to Know

The Women Shaping San Francisco Arts and Culture

Barbara A. Wolfe Curator-in-Charge of European Painting at the Fine Arts Museums and Chief Curator of the Legion of Honor

Emily A. Beeny curates not one museum, but two! Her expertise on European painting helps shape the collections of both the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor. 

Emily is marking the Legion of Honor's centennial by bringing a fresh and inclusive lens to its collection that spans centuries and cultures. Visitors can look forward to new exhibitions that reevaluate overlooked women artists.

The Legion is really San Francisco’s jewel box: a place full of treasures, stories, even secrets. I’m eager to find ways to bring more of that magic alive for our visitors." - Emily A. Beeny

Executive Director, International Ocean Film Foundation

As Executive Director and Chair of the Festival Committee, Ana is responsible for organizing the annual International Ocean Film Festival, held at Fort Mason's Cowell Theater. With a background in non-profit management and a passion for the seas (she's a certified scuba diver!), Ana has led the Foundation for more than a decade.

SF's Fantastic Film Festivals

Head of Contemporary Art and Senior Associate Curator, Asian Art Museum

Abby Chen has made the Asian Art Museum an essential platform for emerging, established, and historically underrepresented voices from Asia and the Asian American community. She leads the largest curatorial team at the Asian Art Museum, and helped acquire works by Bernice Bing, Zheng Chongbin, Jenifer K Wofford and Rupy C. Tut, among others. Chen’s next major exhibition, a collaboration with award-winning designer Jenova Chen, will debut in spring 2025: a first-of-its-kind immersive gaming exhibition. 

Visit the Asian Art Museum

Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design and Head of the Department for Architecture and Design, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)

Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher is here to show that modern art isn't only found in galleries; rather, modern art is all around us in unexpected, even seemingly unartistic places. The upcoming Get in the Game exhibit, which she co-curated, will examine how sports permeate culture, bring people together, and offer a critical lens for conversations about gender, race, national identity, and the human body. This highly anticipated exhibit will be on display through Feb. 18, 2025.

Explore SFMOMA

Alison Gass is the inaugural director of the ICA San Francisco, where she emphasizes the development of globally aware exhibitions that engage the community, as well as efforts to diversify museum collections, personnel, and audiences. Previously, she held the position of Chief Curator at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and served as Assistant Curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). 

Kristen Jacobson leads Grants for the Arts in San Francisco. She is an arts leader, educator, and program designer dedicated to the accessibility of arts for diverse populations. Recently, she was the Executive Director of Youth in Arts and Managing Director of Education at Alonzo King LINES Ballet where she led initiatives to expand LINES’ programs that promote individuality, creativity and communication through dance and movement learning.

Caroline H. Hume Music Director, San Francisco Opera

With a resume that includes the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, and Houston Grand Opera—to say nothing of her international engagements—Eun Sun Kim brings an unbelievable amount of experience and a global perspective to her job as the Music Director at San Francisco Opera. 

See An Opera in SF

Anne Lai is the Executive Director of SFFILM. A seasoned leader in the industry with extensive experience in both the non-profit and film studio sectors, she's has devoted her career to offering creative support to filmmakers around the globe. Before joining SFFILM, Lai spent 12 years at Sundance Institute, where she successfully led and developed various initiatives aimed at supporting storytellers and nurturing new talent.

Explore Film Festivals in SF

Executive Director, Edge on the Square

Edge on the Square is a new contemporary art hub in the heart of Chinatown, led by Executive Director Joanne Lee. Since its inception, Edge on the Square has collaborated with more than 50 BIPOC artists and 30 local merchants and vendors. The hub hosts exhibitions, music events, and cultural gatherings year-round. Their Contemporary Art Festival features an array of original art experiences, ephemeral installations, family-friendly activities, creative performances, panel conversations, culinary delights, and interactive exhibitions.

Executive Director, Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco

Jenny Leung is known for her commitment to cultural diversity, equity, and arts access, as well as for expanding the Chinese Culture Center's programming. She also led the efforts to purchase the Center's future home on Chinatown's Grant Street. 

Artistic Director and Executive Director, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.)

This award-winning duo always ensures A.C.T. is rolling out a fantastic season of plays. First on is Nobody Loves You (February 28 to March 30), then Two Trains Running (April 15 – May 4), followed by Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors (April 22 to May 3), Co-founders (May 29 to July 6) and, finally, the award-winning Kim's Convenience (September 18 to October 19). 

See A Show in SF

Chief Executive Officer, Yerba Buena Center for Arts

Having recently taken the reins of one of downtown San Francisco's most visible and vibrant venues, Mari Robles is excited for the future of YBCA. She previously held leadership roles with Headlands Center for the Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Her expertise in leveraging the arts as a tool for community-building, civic participation, and social change promises thrilling new experiences for visitors.

Visit YBCA

Artistic Director, San Francisco Ballet 

Tamara Rojo's inaugural season at San Francisco Ballet was a record-breaker. The premiere of Mere Mortals and revival of Swan Lake were such hot tickets that both runs were extended.

Early in Rojo's tenure, the Ballet received a historic $60 million donation that will be used to fund new works, attract top talent, and revolutionize what audiences can expect from the nation's oldest professional ballet company.

See A Ballet in SF

Founder, Jessica Silverman

Jessica Silverman is more than a gallerist; she's an entrepreneur! Since founding her eponymous art gallery in 2008, she has built a national reputation and been a champion of Bay Area artists. Her gallery, now located in Chinatown, is currently showing the works of artist Davina Semo. The exhibition focuses on bronze bells of various shapes and sizes, which hang throughout the space. 

Visit SF Art Galleries

CEO, Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)

CEO Monetta White has led MoAD's successful efforts to expand its global reach and digital audience, creating new opportunities for Black curators and artists. This year’s exhibitions include Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors and Radical Black Joy, an exhibit showcasing designs, artworks, and environments dedicated to the global necessity for Black people to cultivate domestic interiors not only as spaces of revolutionary action, but also of radical joy and revolutionary rest.

Visit MoAD