Rave into the Future: Art in Motion
October 24, 2025–January 26, 2026
Group Exhibition
Curated by Naz Cuguoğlu
Image: Installation View Rave into the Future: Art in Motion. Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
+1-415-581-3500
Asian Art Museum Website
Asian Art Museum Instagram
Asian Art Museum Hours
| Monday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 1:00 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
Today’s LOVE LETTER TO ART features focuses on Rave into the Future: Art in Motion, currently on view at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum.
Rave into the Future, curated by Naz Cuguoğlu, is a vibrant group exhibition featuring electronic music and dance-inspired video, sculpture, photography, and immersive installations by women and queer artists from the West Asian (Middle Eastern) diaspora, including Morehshin Allahyari, Sophia Al-Maria, Farah Al Qasimi, Fatima Al Qadiri, Meriem Bennani, Yasmine Nasser Diaz, Sahar Khoury, :mentalKLINIK, Joe Namy, and Maryam Yousif.
Filling the Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion with sound, movement, and energy, the show includes performances, DJ events, and an in-gallery dancefloor that invites visitors to experience contemporary rave culture as a space for connection, healing, and collective imagination.
The exhibition unfolds through a sequence of immersive stages—from the dance floor and DJ booth to a soft space for rest and an after-party—echoing the temporal and emotional arc of the rave experience itself.
Rave into the Future: Art in Motion is accompanied by an EXCELLENT playlist by Collective Çukurcuma, which you can listen to HERE.
Preview of Rave Into the Future: Art in Motion. Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
Shown here:
1) Electronic music, dance culture, and immersive art collide in Rave into the Future—a vibrant exhibition by women and queer artists from the West Asian (Middle Eastern) diaspora.
2) Sahar Khoury’s Radio Tower
3) Walking into the exhibition feels like entering a techno underworld—violet-lit galleries, glitter-eating robots, altered states.
4) Works by Moreshin Allahyari
5) The exhibition moves like a rave itself: DJ booth → dance floor → soft space → after-party.
6) Yasmine Nasser Diaz’s For Your Eyes Only Dance Performance
7) Curated by Naz Cuguoğlu, the show reframes rave culture as a space for connection, healing, and collective imagination.
8) Curator Naz Cuguoğlu
9) Voguers Perform on Joe Namy’s Copper Dancefloor
10) Opening Night Partygoers on the Dancefloor
11) Video Installation by Sophia Al-Maria and Fatima Al Qadiri
12) Farah Al Qasimi’s The Ghost of the Party
13) Maryam Yousif Sculptures
14) Video Installation by Meriem Bennai
15) Copper Dancefloor by Joe Namy
16) Ravers, partiers, escapists, this mesmerizing show is for you.
17) :mentalKLINIK’s Puff Out Glitter Vacuum Robots
18) Rave into the Future’s Playlist by Collective Çukurcuma,
19) At the Gala
20) DJ Umami on Deck
21) Dream State’s Nate Yo
22) Dream State’s Confessional of Lost Dreams
23) Confessions…
24) What’s a Party without Flyers!
25) A LOVE LETTER TO ART‘s Michelle Kwan
26) Miles and Morgan Lindheimer
27) PJ Policarpio and Friend
28) Gala Attendee with Tianjin Ren’s Taihu Rock Sculpture
Walking into Rave Into the Future is like walking into the techno underworld. Here, glitter-eating robots and darkened gallery walls illuminated in violet light create a liminal, enigmatic space in which time and reality feel slightly off—akin to a party experience where you might say things have become a bit…altered.
As someone who loves dance and alternative nightclub culture, Rave Into the Future brought back a lovely sense of nostalgia for the 1990s rave culture I experienced in San Francisco during my teenage years. In those days, the Bay Area was a smorgasbord of dance parties and live music—party flyers were everywhere (those were art in themselves; wish I had kept more of them), and the city was truly spoiled for choice in terms of nightlife events.
Though I’ve identified with the gothic subculture since the 1990s, I did go to raves every now and then—mostly as the babysitter (wink and sigh), but also because I love to dance. My first rave was in 1994; my friend Liz, a hardcore raver, took me to a party that I believe may have been at the old Potrero bus yard. I remember meeting DJ Carlos at the end of the night at an afterparty. Even now, my body can’t resist a deep house beat. Ha!
I attended the gala and public opening parties for the exhibition, which were both so impressive. Obviously, the gala was a spectacular sight as attendees came and went in their fabulous evening regalia of tuxes and billowing gowns—but I always find the energy at these events is less centered on the art and more on the social front. The public reception was an absolute blast, and the energy was high: a good party with good vibes and lots of dancing. Good times. Ravers, partiers, and escapists alike will love and appreciate this mesmerizing show.
🗓 Rave into the Future: Art in Motion runs until January 26, 2026 at the Asian Art Museum located in San Francisco’s Civic Center.
💌 Did you see the show? 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).
QUICK GUIDE: Asian Art Museum
- Rave into the Future: Art in Motion through Jan. 26, 2026
- New Japanese Clay through Feb. 2, 2026
- Jitish Kallat: Covering Letter (Terranum Nuncius), Vikrant Bhise: Archival Historicity/Dalit Panthers, and Gurjeet Singh: When Words Hurt through March 23, 2026
- Bamboo through April 27, 2026
- Echoes in the Small Mountain: Park Dae-sung and the West Coast through July 13, 2026
- One Hundred Plays of the Noh Theater by Tsukioka Kogyo through July 27, 2026
- This American Life through September 28, 2026
⭐ ASIAN ART MUSEUM HOURS: Open Friday–Monday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Thursday 1:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. CLOSED TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY.
- General Admission Tickets Adults $20
- Seniors 60+ $17
- Ages 13–17, College Students with ID $14
- 12 and under FREE
- *SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS + $5 (Includes access to permanent collections)
- Membership starts at $119 GA; $89 Artist/Senior/Student/Teacher
- FREE FIRST SUNDAYS
- Discover & Go (Free w/library card – may not apply to all counties)
- SF Museums for All (show your EBT or Medi-Cal card/ID)
- Caregiver (one complimentary guest pass for a caregiver or friend accompanying a visitor with special needs. E-mail visit@asianart.org or call 415.581.3531.)
- Blue Star Museum Discount (FREE admission to U.S. active military personnel with applicable ID for up to 5 family members)
- Free General Admission for Asian Art Museum corporate partners.
- Baby Rave Dance and DJ Set for TODDLERS on Sunday, January 25, 2026 from 10:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. *Plus more activities for toddlers until 4:30 p.m. (FREE FOR MEMBERS & THEIR GUESTS)
- Artist Talk with Felicia Liang on Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 10:30 a.m (FREE WITH GA)
- Artist Talk with Park Dae-sung on Sunday, January 29, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. (MEMBERS ONLY)
- Takeout Tuesdays: Lunchtime Conversations About Art on “Contemporary Korean Art” with docent Myoung-ja Kwon on Tuesday January 20, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. (FREE)
- Asian Box. 100% gluten-free and locally sourced (+ vegan options) Vietnamese.
⭐ NEARBY ART
- Saint Joseph’s Arts Society (SoMa) | UPCOMING: The Recompense for the Righteous from Jan. 22–March 27, 2026 | 10-min walk // 5-min drive
- Root Division (SoMa): UPCOMING: Trina Michelle Robinson: Open Your Eyes to Water (double venue show with Root Division & 500 Capp Street) from Feb. 11–May 16, 2026 | 10-min walk // 5-min drive
- Jonathan Carver Moore (Tenderloin) | ON VIEW: Auudi Dorsey: What’s Left, Never Left through Jan. 31, 2026 | 11-min walk // 6 min drive
- Tenderloin Museum (Tenderloin) | ON VIEW: THE RETURN OF LORD FREDERICK through Jan. 31, 2026| 10-min walk // 3-min drive
⭐ NEARBY DINING
- Arsicault Bakery (Tenderloin) | Holy CROISSANT! | 5-min walk // 1-min drive
- Proper Hotel’s Villon (Tenderloin) | Breakfast/brunch/lunch restaurant. | 7-min walk // 2-min drive
- Timbri Hotel’s (Tenderloin) | Rise Over Run Rooftop Bar, Dark Bar [FABULOUS intimate bar specializing in Asian spirits and apps], and Tenderheart restaurant. | 11-min walk // 6 min drive
- Montesacro (SoMa) | AMAZING PIZZA. | 11-min walk // 4-min drive
A LOVE LETTER TO ART’S CHEAP & CHEERFUL PICKS
- Saigon Sandwich (Tenderloin) | My FAVORITE bánh mì in the city! | 5-min walk // 1-min drive
- Tú Lan (Tenderloin) | Quick and DELICIOUS Vietnamese—so good, even Julia Child was a fan! | 10-min walk // 4-min drive
A LOVE LETTER TO ART’S ROMANTIC PICK
- Proper Hotel’s Charmaine’s Rooftop Bar (Tenderloin) | *MY FAVE ROOFTOP BAR IN SF. | 7-min walk // 2-min drive
💌 More nearby suggestions are always welcome. Feel free to add in the comments!
A LOVE LETTER TO ART RECOMMENDS
NEARBY ART
The Tenderloin Museum celebrates the rich history of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.
NEARBY FOOD/DRINK
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Author: ALoveLettertoArt
