SFO Museum

Name: SFO Museum
Address: San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, CA, 94128, US
Telephone: +16508216700
Rating: 4.8

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Aviation museum, custodians of SFAC art, and temporary exhibitions located throughout the terminals at San Francisco International Airport.
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Created in 1980, SFO Museum was the first cultural institution of its kind located in an international airport. An ever-changing schedule of exhibitions on a diverse range of subjects provides an educational and cultural experience for all visitors to the Airport. SFO Museum's mission is to delight, engage, and inspire a global audience with a broad range of programming; to collect, preserve, interpret, and share the history of commercial aviation; and to enrich the public experience at San Francisco International Airport.

10/20/2026

Join SFO Museum and D. Denenge for an online Word Art Divination Portal event! In this lunch-hour talk with a virtual reading, D. Denenge, a current artist featured in “Women of Afrofuturism,” expands on themes in SFO Museum’s “One Step Beyond” exhibition. She will connect mystical and spiritual traditions in Africa and the Diaspora through the lens of Afrofuturity, linking elemental rituals with concepts of transcendental equilibrium across cultural currents.

Register for the event here: https://bit.ly/4jWmNML

10/19/2026

For more than twenty years, Dutch artist Charlotte Dumas has explored what she describes as “the bond between mankind and animals, and the extensive history that accompanies it.”

In the days after 9/11, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed approximately three hundred search and rescue (SAR) dogs and their handlers to support recovery efforts. The deployment marked one of the largest mobilizations of SAR dogs in U.S. history, with twenty-six of FEMA’s twenty-eight Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) task forces called into service. These canine teams worked around the clock alongside firefighters and other first responders at the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Ten years later, in 2011, Dumas set out to locate and photograph the dogs who had taken part in that mission. With FEMA’s assistance, she found fifteen of the surviving dogs, visiting them at their homes across the United States.

See “Charlotte Dumas | Retrieved” on display, post-security, in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 and online at: https://bit.ly/4gsmfMu

Not flying? Sign up for SFO’s Gate Explorer Pass to see the exhibition: https://bit.ly/Gate-Explorer

10/14/2026

Brothers Carlos Jr., Sair, and Uciel Rodriguez were introduced to lowriding by their uncle Che Shul Jr. Years later, Carlos Jr. expressed interest in working at his father’s auto body shop . Carlos Sr., a master painter who specialized in lowriders and other classic cars, asked him to build a lowrider bicycle as an apprentice’s project. With help from his uncle Che, Carlos Jr. located a 1960s Schwinn Sting-Ray and enclosed the front and rear frame in a unique sheet metal design. Sair added a custom paint job with tape-fade graphics, airbrush and tattoo artist “Dreamer” rendered Aztec-inspired murals on the rear, and Carlos dedicated the project to his four-year-old son Carlitos.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Carlitos later learned automotive bodywork at the family shop. When he was twenty-four, Carlitos was diagnosed with cancer and given one year to live. Father and son pulled their bike from storage, updated it with new wheels and a reupholstered seat, and once again entered lowrider shows. The family later remarked that focusing on the bike “kept him going for that last year.” After Carlitos passed, they disconnected the front fork from the stem and placed the crown over the frame, lowering the bike further and making it unrideable. Carlitos’ Bike now includes a custom-made sprocket and gold-plated plaque, both bearing his name in a loving tribute.

See “Lowrider Bikes: Familia y Cultura” on display, pre-security, in the International Terminal and online at: https://bit.ly/LowriderBikes

📸:
Carlitos’ Bike 1997/2018
1960s Schwinn Sting-Ray
Built by Carlos Rodriguez, Jr. and Carlitos Rodriguez
Courtesy of the Rodriguez Family
L2026.0304.001.01

Carlitos’ Bike 2022
Tyrone “Malow” Diaz
Bayshore Roundhouse, Brisbane, CA
Courtesy of the artist
R2026.0311.005

10/13/2026

Have you seen our “Women of Afrofuturism” exhibition? If not, here’s your chance! “Women of Afrofuturism” has be extended until November 16, 2026. Afrofuturism explores the Black experience through a combination of science fiction, magical realism, mythology, history, and technology in genres ranging from literature and music to fashion, film, and visual arts.

Our “Women of Afrofuturism” exhibition celebrates the women of Afrofuturism who continually imagine inclusive, joyful, and luminous futures for Black people while simultaneously addressing present issues and past injustices. Artwork by Oakland-based filmmaker and artist Celia C. Peters, Boston-based digital artist Nettrice Gaskins, and interdisciplinary artist Alisha B. Wormsley are on view alongside futuristic fashion designs by San Francisco native Afatasi the Artist and artist and professor D. Denenge Duyst-Akpem.

See “Women of Afrofuturism” on display, post-security, in Terminal 2 and online at: https://bit.ly/Women-Afrofuturism

Not traveling and want to see the exhibition? Sign up for SFO’s Gate Explorer Pass: https://gateexplorer.flysfo.com/sfo

10/08/2026

Listen to the rain. Listen to the wind.

That is what it sounded like as Raven returned to his home, a storm blowing in hard, and discovered a little red bird, soaked to the bone, freezing and afraid, cowering in the corner of Raven’s nest. At first, Raven was irritated by his uninvited guest. Raven had been through much and he was tired and wanted some “me” time. He pushed the little red bird toward the door.

“Yeep,” the little red bird said, and Raven stopped. He remembered his own experience, when he sought refuge in Bear’s cave. Bear did not shuttle Raven out of the cave and into the rain; he welcomed Raven; he fed Raven; he restored Raven.

Raven said nothing but left the little red bird alone in his corner, for Raven realized the little bird was likely frightened. Raven went to his fire pit and lit a fire. When the fire had been stoked and was giving off plenty of warmth, Raven left.

With Raven gone, the little red bird ventured out from the corner where he sat shivering. He inched closer to the warming fire until, slightly warmed, he grew bolder and moved closer still until he was fully warmed. Raven returned then with a small trout, not big enough for a meal for two. Without a word, Raven prepared and cooked that trout over that fire while the little red bird watched, and when the trout was nearly finished, Raven held his hand over it. He pricked the palm of his claw with his beak and squeezed and squeezed. The fat of a Raven is not as abundant as the fat of a bear, but Raven did his best and squeezed a few drops of fat onto the salmon and the hut came alive with the delicious smell of roasted fish.

Raven placed that roasted fish between himself and the little red bird. “All that I have, I give to you,” he said. And the two birds feasted together.

Narrative text written by Garth Stein.

“Preston Singletary: Raven Visits SFO” is on display, pre-security, in the Mayor Edwin M. Lee International Terminal Departures Hall and online at: https://bit.ly/Preston-Singletary

📸:
Raven’s Nest 2025
Preston Singletary (b. 1963)
blown and sand-carved glass
Courtesy of the artist
L2025.0601.005

10/07/2026

Shot in 16mm, filmmaker Omar Almahri’s short film captures life across the UAE and the Gulf under distant threat, as people hold onto what matters and choose to move forward.

See “Stillness” by Omar Almahri in the Video Arts Gallery, located pre-security in the Mayor Edwin M. Lee International Terminal Departures Hall, and open daily from 8:00am to 10:00pm. Learn more about this month’s films at: https://bit.ly/Video-Arts

10/05/2026

The global allure of San Francisco, “Everybody’s Favorite City,” has been nurtured by decades of promotional efforts to make people from around the world want to come and see what the fuss is all about.

San Francisco has been marketed as one of the nation’s most popular urban destinations by the commercial airline industry. Colorful travel posters offered evocative hints of romance and adventure in a memorable setting. Once people were on board and en route, everything from napkins to matchbooks and playing cards might be adorned with familiar scenes chosen to reinforce that San Francisco was a place worth visiting.

See “Destination: San Francisco” on display in the Aviation Museum and Library and online at: https://bit.ly/4y85taV

The Aviation Museum and Library is located, pre-security, in the International Terminal and is open daily from 10am to 4:30pm. https://bit.ly/4x4bSF1

📸:
China Airlines San Francisco tourist map 1973
Collection of SFO Museum
Gift of the William Hough Collection
2015.074.386; L2026.0401.049

Western Airlines San Francisco brochure 1960s
Collection of SFO Museum
Gift of Robert Behr
2024.100.6282; L2026.0401.050

Japan Air Lines San Francisco tourist guide 1960s
Collection of SFO Museum
Gift of Thomas G. Dragges
2015.165.943; L2026.0401.051

Finnair San Francisco tourist guide 1981
Collection of SFO Museum
Gift of Thomas G. Dragges
2015.165.939; L2026.0401.052

10/02/2026

SFO Museum is deeply saddened to share the passing of Forrest L. Merrill (March 22, 1933–September 11, 2026). Forrest was a lifelong collector, patron of the arts, and a dear friend of SFO Museum who shared his passion for craft, specifically the vessel form, with us for close to two decades. His dedication amassed an extraordinary collection, unlike any other in the world. Each piece held inestimable value to Forrest, representing close relationships forged over decades of studio visits and countless exchanges, allowing him to gain a deeper understanding of the works he acquired. Every vessel represented a conversation, a gesture, and a special memory, but as Forrest insisted, “the artists themselves are the real treasures.” SFO Museum remembers and celebrates Forrest L. Merrill’s remarkable legacy.

Learn more about Forrest L. Merrill in the 2014 online exhibition and catalog, "Turn, Weave, Fire, and Fold": https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/turn-weave-fire-and-fold-vessels-forrest-l-merrill-collection and in his most recent partnership with SFO Museum, the 2023 exhibition "Kay Sekimachi: Weaving Traditions": https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/kay-sekimachi-weaving

📸:
Forrest L. Merrill with his collection 2014
photograph by SFO Museum

Moon and Mauna Kea V 1998
Kay Sekimachi (b. 1926)
double-woven linen, transfer-printed dye on warp
Collection of Forrest L. Merrill
L2023.1101.036a

Rainbow 1981
Kay Sekimachi (b. 1926)
double-woven linen, transfer-printed dye on warp
Collection of Forrest L. Merrill
L2023.1101.033a

Face vessel 1970s
Marguerite Wildenhain (1896–1985)
Pond Farm, Guerneville
stoneware, glaze
Collection of Forrest L. Merrill
L2015.1701.020

09/25/2026

Jean Louis (1907–1997) entirely re-imagined the 1970 United uniform into an all-season wardrobe for the wide-body jet era. Introduced in 1970, the mix-and-match collection’s base garment is a double-knit jumper in red with a black-trimmed scoop neck. The matching wrinkle-resistant jacket has patch pockets and brass buttons. A bodysuit blouse came in short sleeve white or black sweater turtleneck versions, both made of polyester. Louis added a signature print scarf selection and eliminated the hat.

“Fashion In Flight: A History of Airline Uniform Design” was on display, from June 16, 2016 to January 08, 2017 in the International Terminal and the Aviation Museum and Library. See our exhibition catalog online at: https://bit.ly/FashioninFlight

📸:
United Air Lines stewardess uniform 1970
Jean Louis
Dalton Apparel
Blouse by d’Armigene
SFO Museum
Gift of United Airlines Historical Foundation
Scarf: Gift of Thomas G. Dragges
Jacket insignia: Gift of Georgia Panter Nielsen
L2016.0301.096-.100
2001.134.008, 2006.017.009, 2012.100.060, .062, .066

09/24/2026

Colombian filmmaker Laura Steiner’s short dance film takes viewers on a journey through the Colombian capital while meditating on what it takes to navigate Bogotá’s bustling urban life.

See “Thick Skin” by Laura Steiner in the Video Arts Gallery, located pre-security in the Mayor Edwin M. Lee International Terminal Departures Hall, and open daily from 8:00am to 10:00pm. Learn more about this month’s films at: https://bit.ly/Video-Arts

Address

San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco, CA
94128

Telephone

+16508216700

Website

http://www.sfomuseum.org/

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