Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture
Oct 19–Feb 18, 2025
Group Exhibition
Curated by Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Seph Rodney, Katy Siegel.
Image: Get in the Game Exhibition Entrance. SFMOMA, San Francisco.
SFMOMA
151 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
+1-415-357-4000
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SFMOMA Hours
| Monday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm |
| Friday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Saturday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Sunday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
Overview
You can take our sports teams (Vegas), but you’ll never take our love for the game—as evidenced by SFMOMA’s Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture.
This TERRIFIC exhibition, curated by Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Seph Rodney, and Katy Siegel, features 200+ sports-related works including interactive ping pong, foosball, and video games, across multiple shows: Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture; Count Me In; When the World is Watching; Unity Through Skateboarding; Bay Area Walls.
Preview of Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture. SFMOMA, San Francisco.
The museum’s second floor welcomes guests with Gene Luen Yang’s Bay Area Hoops mural.
Unity Through Skateboarding, curated by artist Jeffrey Cheung and Gabriel Ramirez of Unity Skateboarding, also on the second floor, piqued my nostalgia meter, since I grew up in the 1990s in the company of skaters.
There are so many INCREDIBLE works in this show. My guilty pleasure when it comes to sports is the fashion, and here, you’ll find athletic gems by Virgil Abloh and Thom Browne—and, of course, a sneaker collection.
Standouts for me are the Sko Habibi (Jasko Begovic) clothing sculptures—toward the rear on the seventh floor (see more of his work at Cult Aimee Friberg’s current group show/pop-up shop, exquisite thing, on view until February 8, 2025)—the amazing photos by Catherine Opie, the Michael Jang wall, the Cary Leibowitz (“Candy Ass”) display case (middle left side); and so many fantastic paintings—Joan Semmel, Derek Fordjour, Ernie Barnes, Martin Wong, just to name a few.
Love the David Huffman Portals mural on the fifth floor. It’s a somewhat of a departure from his Traumanauts series—a littler looser, perhaps even dreamier in its darkness.
The precious thing about this show is that you don’t need to be a sports fan at all to appreciate the immense talent of these artists. The selected works represent a diversity of backgrounds and audiences, including LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and individuals from a multitude of cultures.
Many of the works explore themes of racism, competition, and discipline within sports—an industry run like a machine with clear winners and losers. So, the next time you ‘Get in the Game,’ what’s it gonna be? Wink.
The exhibition’s accompanying book by Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Seph Rodney, Katy Siegel, and Megan Rapinoe reads like a graphic novel, and is wonderfully illustrated by AG Dungo. It can be purchased at the SFMOMA store for $24.95/$22.46 (members) and on Amazon as well.
🗓 Get in the Game is on view until Feb 18, 2025 at SFMOMA. It runs alongside some FANTASTIC shows (see below), including Amy Sherald: American Sublime (post to follow soon) and the 2024 SECA Awards Exhibition.
💌 Did you see the show(s)? What did you think? Let us know in the comments (in the Reviews section located on the second tab at the top of the page).
Currently on View at SFMOMA
Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture (Floor 7) | Closes Feb 18, 2025
“Get in the Game” explores the powerful role that sports play in contemporary culture through paintings, sculptures, mixed media works, as well as design breakthroughs in gear and apparel and participatory installations that visitors can play.
Count Me In (Floor 2) | Closes April 27, 2025
A gallery of artworks showcasing the deep desire among athletes (and artists) to participate in games that prove that they are worthy of the task at hand, even when the sociopolitical context makes it even harder.
When the World Is Watching (Floor 2) | Closes April 27, 2025
“For me, there was no use having such a big platform if I wasn’t going to use it for good.” — Megan Rapinoe, pro soccer player 2009–23 Major international competitions where athletes compete as members of a national team are highly anticipated and widely watched media events. Such tournaments find participants facing their fiercest competitors, […]
Unity through Skateboarding (Floor 2) | Closes May 4, 2025
Celebrate the dreams and realities of queer, trans, BIPOC, and women skaters as well as the diverse communities that have shaped the sport.
Bay Area Walls: Artist Commissions + Features (Floors 2, 3, 5) | Closes June 2025
Established in 2020, “Bay Area Walls” is a series of commissions by local artists that actively engage with pressing issues of our time. *Includes Gene Luen Yang’s 𝘉𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘴 Mural (Fl 2); David Huffman’s 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴 mural (Fl 5); Jenifer K. Wofford’s 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘰 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 mural (Fl 3).
Amy Sherald: American Sublime (Floor 4) | Closes March 9, 2025 | *A LOVE LETTER TO ART'S Post to follow soon.
The largest presentation of Amy Sherald’s work to date, bringing together more than 45 paintings from her poetic early portraits to the incisive, moving figure paintings for which she is best known.
2024 SECA Art Award Exhibition (Floor 2) | Closes May 26, 2025
Every two years, SFMOMA celebrates Bay Area artists and our creative community with the SECA Art Award. Established in 1967, the award has honored nearly one hundred local recipients with an exhibition and platform for expanding their practices and sharing their work with new audiences. The 2024 SECA Art Award exhibition celebrates Rose D’Amato, Angela […]
Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors (Floor 6) | Closes Sept 28, 2025
Ragnar Kjartansson’s beloved video installation The Visitors (2012) is back at SFMOMA. In this mesmerizing hour-long work projected across nine screens, viewers are transported once again to the serene setting of Rokeby in upstate New York as the Icelandic artist and his musician friends perform together in various rooms of this historic mansion.
Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love (Floor 6) | Closes Fall 2025
Step into an unforgettable universe of luminous color and endless reflections, only at SFMOMA!
Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine) | Ground Floor | Closes Spring 2026 | *A LOVE LETTER TO ART'S Post to follow soon.
Explore the wonder of Kara Walker’s garden of automatons set amidst an energy field of gleaming black obsidian.
Coming Soon to SFMOMA
Ruth Asawa: Retrospective (Floor 4) | April 5–Sept 2, 2025
Ruth Asawa: Retrospective will present the full range of the artist’s groundbreaking practice, offering an in-depth look at her expansive output and its inspirations through more than 300 artworks. It will also explore the ways her longtime San Francisco home and garden served as the epicenter of her creative universe and highlight the ethos of […]
SFMOMA DINING
Grace | *Check out their FABULOUS HAPPY HOUR Thurs–Mon 3 p.m.–5 p.m. | 151 3rd (Floor 1), San Francisco, CA 94103
Grace, SFMOMA's public street-level restaurant, is an upscale establishment named after Grace McCann Morley, the museum's visionary founder. Reflecting her belief in art for all, Grace offers a welcoming space for the community to enjoy French American fare, drinks, and art in a casual indoor/outdoor setting on Floor 1.
Cafe 5 | 151 3rd St (Floor 5) San Francisco, CA 94103
Located in the museum's Floor 5 Sculpture Garden, enjoy spectacular views of the city skyline and large-scale sculptures in this indoor/outdoor café. A rotating menu showcases diverse cuisines throughout the year.
Steps Coffee | 151 3rd St (Floor 2), San Francisco, CA 94103
Stop by to enjoy illy coffee, tea, desserts, pastries, and more in a lively setting surrounded by art. Located inside SFMOMA, right off the Roman Steps in Schwab Hall, this space includes a community bookshelf, puzzle table, and charging stations. Enter through Howard Street.
QUICK GUIDE: SFMOMA
⭐ SFMOMA EXHIBITIONS:
- Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture [Floor 7] (Closes Feb 18, 2025)
- Count Me In [Floor 2. Part of GITG] (Closes April 27, 2025)
- When the World Is Watching [Floor 2. Part of GITG] (Closes April 27, 2025)
- Unity through Skateboarding [Floor 2. Part of GITG] (Closes May 4, 2025)
- Bay Area Walls: Artist Commissions + Features [Floors 2, 3, 5. Part of GITG] (Closes June 2025)
- Amy Sherald: American Sublime [Floor 4. *Post to follow soon.] (Closes March 9, 2025)
- 2024 SECA Art Award Exhibition [Floor 2] (Closes May 26, 2025)
- Ragnar Kjartansson: The Visitors [Interactive musical experience. Think: If melodic intensity was visual.] (Closes Sept 28, 2025)
- Yayoi Kusama: Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love [Floor 6] (Closes Fall 2025)
- Kara Walker’s Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine) [Ground Floor. *Post to follow soon.] (Closes Spring 2026)
⭐ MUSEUM HOURS: Open Monday–Tuesday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; CLOSED WEDNESDAY. Thursday 12:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.; Friday–Sunday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
⭐ ADMISSION:
⭐ ADMISSION:
- General Admission Adults $30
- Seniors 65+ $25
- Ages 19-24 $23
- 18 & Under FREE.
- *SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS +$15 (Includes access to permanent collections)
- **Membership starts at $130 GA/$110 Senior/$90 Working Artist
⭐ DISCOUNTS: General Admission is FREE through the following programs:
- FREE 1ST THURSDAYS (Residents of the 9 Bay Area Counties – next one is Thurs, Feb 6, 2025
- FREE FAMILY DAYS (up to 4 adults accompanying one child – next one is Sun, Feb 9, 2025)
- FREE COMMUNITY DAYS (next one is April 13, 2025).
- Discover and Go (Free w/library card – may not apply to all counties)
- SF Museums for All (show your EBT or Medi-Cal card/ID)
- SF Unified Staff Free Admission (at show proof of empoyment/ID – reserve in-person, not available online)
- Blue Star Museum Discount (FREE Admission to U.S. military personnel and veterans plus up to 5 family members from the 3rd Sat in May until the 1st Monday in Sept.)
- Free General Admission + Guest w/Sotheby’s Preferred Membership.
- Free General Admission + Guest for SFMOMA coporate partners.
⭐ EVENTS:
- Eternal Echoes: The Soiree celebrating Amy Sherald: American Sublime on Thurs, Feb, 6 from 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. (FREE opera, R&B, voguing, and drag performances. “Sir JoQ”—who is AMAZING!—is on the lineup. He opened the fashion show gala for Creative Growth: The House that Art Built last year.)
- Who is Michael Jang Film FREE Screening re: Get in the Game on Thurs, Feb 13, 6:00 p.m. (SF is having a Michael Jang moment RN. Anyone who was at the Michael Jang “Garage Sale” recently at Anälog gallery, knows!)
- Zine and Baseball Card Making (FREE w/Admission) with Artivate on Sunday, Feb 16 from 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
- Pick Up Games: Play With a Pro: Foosball w/ Dana Marr on Thurs, Feb 13, 2025 from 4:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m; Play With a Pro: Foosball w/ Adrian Zamora on Sun, Feb 16, 2025 from 12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
- Last Look for Members — Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture on Mon, Feb 17 + Tues, Feb 18, 2025 from 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
⭐ SFMOMA DINING (*MEMBERS RECEIVE A 10% DISCOUNT):
- Steps Coffee (2nd floor) is open Fri-Tues 9:30–4:30 p.m.; Thurs 11:00-6:00 p.m.
- Cafe 5 (5TH FLOOR) is open Fri-Tues 10:30–4:30 p.m.; Thurs 12-7:30 p.m.
- *Grace (street level) is open to the public, MUSEUM ADMISSION NOT REQUIRED. Hours: Thurs–Mon 11:30–5:00 p.m. CLOSED TUES AND WED. Thurs 11:30–8:00 p.m. **Check out Grace’s FABULOUS HAPPY HOUR Thurs–Mon 3:00–5:00 p.m.
⭐ SFMOMA NEARBY ART:
- MUSEUMS: YBCA [Nicky Nodjoumi & Nahid Hagigat are EXTRAORDINARY SHOWS feat. the Iranian American artists. Post to follow soon.] (1 min walk)
- MUSEUMS: MoAD [See Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors and Radical Black Joy on view until March 2, 2025] (2 min walk)
- GALLERIES: Berggruen Gallery [Don’t miss Historical Bay Area Painters from March 6–April 24, 2025] (1 min walk from SFMOMA’S Howard Street entrance).
- PUBLIC ART: Revelation, the Martin King Jr. memorial fountain and several others at Yerba Buena Gardens [see LINK for Yerba Buena Gardens self-guided art tour] (1 min walk)
⭐ SFMOMA NEARBY DINING:
- Tropisueño [counter-order Mexican] (4 min walk)
- Delarosa [pizza and pasta] BOOK DELAROSA ON OPEN TABLE HERE (4 min walk)
- Amber India [upscale Indian food w/ *Mon–Fri LUNCH SPECIALS starting at $18 & $32 Lunch Buffet!] BOOK AMBER INDIA ON OPEN TABLE HERE (4 min walk)
- Metreon Food Hall [Budget-friendly assortment of food vendors i.e. burgers, salads, poke bowls, wraps, ramen] (4 min walk)
- The Harlequin [Cocktail bar w/ Brooklyn vibes serving lunch and dinner Wed–Sun] (7 min walk)
A LOVE LETTER TO ART’S CASUAL DINING PICKS
- Oren’s Hummus [Delicious Israeli food in a casual friendly setting. *Check out their AMAZING HAPPY HOUR Mon–Thurs 3:00–5:00 p.m.] (3 min walk)
- Fang [Cantonese cuisine from the Fang family of House of Nanking. As seen on Chef Dynasty: House of Fang (oh, I like that Peter Fang!), chefs Kathy and Peter Fang blend tradition with charm.] (4 min walk) Book Fang on Open Table HERE.
💖 A LOVE LETTER TO ART’S ROMANTIC DINING PICKS
- Yokai [Hi-Fi cocktail lounge. Decadent lunch vibes, beautifully crafted drinks, and OMG—THAT CAVIAR POTATO!! SO. GOOD.] (7 min walk) Book Yokai on Open Table HERE.
A LOVE LETTER TO ART RECOMMENDS
More nearby suggestions are always welcome. Feel free to add in the comments!
SFMOMA NEARBY ART
YBCA | *Nicky Nodjoumi & Nahid Hagigat (Oct 6–Feb 23, 2025) | Post on A LOVE LETTER TO ART to follow soon.
The exhibitions “Nicky Nodjoumi: The Personal is Political” and “Nahid Hagigat: Etched in Time” tell the story of a family of artists shaped by revolution.
Museum of the African Diaspora | Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors & Radical Black Joy (Closes March 2, 2025)
Contemporary Art Museum | 685 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Public Art | Visit Yerba Buena | 🦋 FREE Self-Guided Audio Tour of Yerba Buena Gardens' Public Artworks
The Yerba Buena Gardens public arts program has created a FREE self-guided tour that is downloadable to your phone. Download the Engage ARt app for the FREE Audio Walking Tour HERE.
Berggruen Gallery | 10 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Berggruen Gallery specializes in the exhibition and sale of 20th-century American and European paintings, drawings, sculpture, and limited edition prints. *Don't miss Berggruen's Historical Bay Area Painters from March 6–April 24, 2025.
SFMOMA NEARBY DINING
Tropisueño Mexican Kitchen | Taqueria By Day, Full-Service Bar & Restaurant By Night! | 75 Yerba Buena Lane, San Francisco, CA 94103
Inspired by a tropical dream of the Jaliscan coastline and the complex cuisines from the very diverse regions throughout Mexico. We proudly offer a quick-service Taqueria by day and a charming, full-service Restaurant by night. Our Bar is open from start to finish, so enjoy our excellent handcrafted cocktails everytime you visit!
Delarosa | All-Day, Roman-Style Pizzerias in California | 37 Yerba Buena Lane, San Francisco, CA 94103
Delarosa is an all-day gathering place serving rustic Italian dishes, eclectic beers & craft cocktails in SF’s Marina, a second location in SF’s FiDi, and now open in Bishop Ranch, San Ramon, CA. Beloved for its Roman-style pizza, small plates, craft beer, Italian and Californian wines, and delicious craft cocktails, Delarosa and its interpretation of the classic and unpretentious beer and pizza pairing has made a mark on many locals’ and visitors’ must-visit lists.
Amber India | 25 Yerba Buena Lane, San Francisco, CA 94103 | Book on OpenTable
Amber India - San Francisco, Fine Dining Indian cuisine. Read reviews and book now. *Check out their Mon–Fri LUNCH SPECIALS starting at $18 & $32 Lunch Buffet!
Dining at Metreon | *Metreon has many great casual dining options. | 135 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Visit Metreon, a four-story vertical shopping and entertainment center, located in the heart of downtown San Francisco, CA. Shop with us today!
The Harlequin | Cocktail Bar, Restaurant, Lounge and Event Space | 68 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
WELCOME TO THE HARLEQUIN: A Decadent Era of Cocktails and Dining in Downtown San Francisco. Party like it's 1923 while enjoying expertly crafted cocktails paired with New American cuisine. Our spaces are great for happy hours, group celebrations, date nights, private dining, and corporate events. Located steps from Moscone Center in the Yerba Buena neighborhood.
*A LOVE LETTER TO ART'S CASUAL PICK | Oren’s Hummus | **Check out their AMAZING HAPPY HOUR Mon–Thurs 3 p.m.–5 p.m. | 71 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Our pita and hummus are prepared fresh numerous times throughout the day. We serve Angus beef, all natural chicken and 100% organic eggs, and we source most of our produce from local family farms.
*A LOVE LETTER TO ART'S ROMANTIC PICK | YOKAI | 545 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105
THE SPIRITS OF JAPAN AND THE HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO. Sonically elevated by vintage JBL audio, crafted by Chef Marc Zimmerman and accompanied by a robust cocktail program featuring Japanese whisky and gin.
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