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Tuesday 11am - 4pm Wednesday 11am - 4pm Thursday 11am - 4pm Friday 11am - 4pm

Ruth's Table

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RT is an arts nonprofit committed to increasing access to creative opportunities for older adults. WHY A TABLE? It all started at Ruth Asawa’s home.

Welcome to Ruth’s Table, a center for creative learning rooted in the life of artist Ruth Asawa. With the support of Bethany Center Foundation of San Francisco, Ruth's Table bridges generational and cultural divides through its innovative arts and wellness programs. Her husband, architect Albert Lanier, built her a table that for decades served as a meeting place for artists, poets and politicians in San Francisco. Over conversations at the table, art was created and projects were organized. Asawa’s door was always open as she committed herself to linking her personal life with her community. Asawa generously donated her table to us with the one wish: it continue to serve as a hearth for creativity. Ruth's Table welcomes people of all generations and walks of life. It is a place where everyone can come together to share their artistic vision and discover a sense of purpose.

10/18/2026

Currently on View at the studio: Behind The Scenes—see it before it’s gone!

🖼️Our current exhibit is BEHIND THE SCENES, a group exhibition featuring members of the Ruth’s Table and Front Porch Studio team. This unique show celebrates the many ways creativity appears in our lives, from painting, filmmaking, photography, fiber arts, and writing to gardening, teaching, problem-solving, cooking, building, and community care.

Each participant has shared artwork, photographs, objects, writing, or other examples of creativity from their life. The exhibition is an opportunity to get to know the people behind the studios, start conversations between our team and visitors, and celebrate the many different ways creativity shows up in our daily lives.

In partnership with 500 Capp Street X City Studio, we will also be hanging the student drawings created in the City Studio Summer Program as well as showcasing one of the students' major collaborative projects: a large-scale fabric sculpture. Together, these works highlight the imagination, ingenuity, and creative spirit that connects our community.

We hope you'll join us to celebrate creativity in all its forms. Behind the Scenes is currently on display through October 28th. Ruth’s Table studio hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11:00am-4:00pm.

10/10/2026

It's time for our next Gallery Takeover! 🖼️

Gallery Takeover is a series of annual exhibitions that display the resulting works created through art-making programs designed and led by Ruth's Table teaching artists and educators, both onsite and offsite in our partner organizations.

👩‍🎨This interactive program serves as a platform for every participant, regardless of their age or abilities, to create, share, and connect through art.

This year's theme is Interconnected Evolution!

Interconnected Evolution calls upon the power of the group creative process and brings forth pieces of ourselves that we want to enhance or to shift which collectively move us forward as a community.

The exhibit will be held at Ruth’s Table and will be on view February 11th - April 22nd, 2027. Join us and be part of something special! Learn m ore and download the curriculum at ruthstable.org/

📢 Join us for our Exchange Table workshop on Wednesday, Oct 14 from 1-3pm for our Erasure Poetry activity! Participants who create erasure poetry art in this class will have the option of having their piece(s) displayed in this year’s Gallery Takeover exhibit!

More info can be found on our website at ruthstable.org/gallery-takeover

10/08/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for today’s Exchange Table! We had a lovely time experimenting with ink and mark making techniques using both traditional and not so traditional tools to make our expressive creations.

We can’t wait until next week where we will be focusing on ink and erasure poetry!

Learn more about our Wednesday Exchange Table series and all our classes at ruthstable.org/programs

10/07/2026

✒️Come experiment with pen & ink in our October Exchange Table workshops-- This month in Exchange Table we celebrate INKTOBER!🫟

Starting this week, join us on Wednesday afternoons from 1-3pm this month for a playful, hands-on exploration of pen and ink! This class invites participants to experiment with a variety of ink materials, drawing tools, and mark-making techniques. Each week will feature a different activity designed to encourage experimentation, play, and creativity with pen and ink.

Facilitators: Karin Dahl & Cassandra Sechler

📅October Activities Schedule:

🖊️Oct 7th - Pen and Ink Mark Making
✍️Oct 14th - Erasure Poetry
🫟 Oct 21st - Wet on wet with Ink!
🎃 Oct 28th - Halloween Still Life in Pen & Ink

Check out all class offerings at ruthstable.org/programs

10/06/2026

Calling all fiber artists! 🧵

What stories are woven into your work?

Ruth’s Table invites submissions for A Stitch in Time: Threads of Connection, an exhibition exploring memory, family traditions, culture, resilience, and the connections we carry across generations.

Quilting, weaving, crochet, knitting, embroidery, basketry, felting, mixed-media textiles, and experimental fiber work are welcome.

📍 San Francisco, CA
🗓 Submit by October 20, 2026
🎨 Exhibition: November 11, 2026–January 29, 2027
✨ Free to enter

Artwork must be suitable for hanging on a wall, with in-person drop-off and pickup required.

Know a fiber artist? Share this with them!

Link to the call on our website: www.ruthstable.org/upcoming

10/02/2026

Thank you everyone for joining us in September! Enjoy a look back at our September Exchange Table experience where we focused on reusing fabric scraps.

The first several weeks focused on the art of Kinusaiga, a Japanese textile art that uses foam boards and fabric scraps to create unique patterns and images. The month concluded with special guest artist, Aida Peerzada Aidaa Peerzada leading an Abayomi doll making workshop. Thank you so much to Aida for teaching us this incredible technique along with its historical and cultural context!

Our October Exchange Table will celebrate Inktober and focus on experimenting with pen and ink—we hope you can join us for one of our upcoming workshops! See all experiences at ruthstable.org
♻️

09/24/2026

Welcome Karin Dahl to Ruth’s Table! Karin joined the Front Porch team as a Creative Discovery Guide & Studio Manager this summer, and we are so thrilled to introduce her to the community.

Karin Dahl comes to Front Porch with practice rooted in a longstanding engagement with creative learning. She supports collaborative, community-centered artmaking across generations and has facilitated art workshops everywhere from her backyard in Oakland, to children’s summer art programs, to the public library. Drawing on her MA in anthropology and material culture studies,
Karin brings a thoughtful approach to visual communication, hands-on making, and the ways art and craft practices can build connection, encourage shared inquiry, and open alternative ways of knowing.

Some of Karin’s art pieces are currently on display as part of Ruth’s Table’s current exhibit: Behind the Scenes, which will be on display through October 28th. Stop by during studio hours to meet Karin in person and see some beautiful artwork! Studio hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11am-4pm.

09/22/2026

In keeping with September's Exchange Table focus on recycled textiles, we are thrilled to welcome artist Aidaa Peerzada to lead an Abayomi doll making workshop.

ABAYOMI DOLL MAKING with AIDAA PEERZADA
Wednesday | September 30th | 1 - 3pm

Modeled on the creativity of captive African women during the middle passage, this technique turns scraps into precious items to share with loved ones. Materials are provided, and no prior experience with crafts is necessary.

09/17/2026

Welcome Cassandra Sechler to Ruth’s Table! Cassandra joined the Front Porch team as a Creative Discovery Guide & Studio Manager this summer, and we are so excited to introduce her to the community.

Cassandra Sechler comes to Front Porch with over 10 years of arts administration and program coordinating experience and degrees in fine arts and liberal arts. She also brings her enthusiasm for arts education and love for enhancing and providing a diverse range of inclusive, inspiring, and engaging creative experiences and community events. She is delighted to share her dedication and passion for the arts and creative knowledge with the organization, residents, creative communities, and beyond. In addition to her role at Ruth’s Table, Cassandra is an artist, filmmaker, and operates her own film production business in San Francisco.

Some of Cassandra's art pieces will be on view as part of Ruth’s Table’s current exhibit: Behind the Scenes, which will be on display September 19th through October 28th. Please join us on Saturday, September 19th from 2:00-5:00pm for our opening exhibition event for Behind the Scenes, a group exhibition featuring members of the Ruth’s Table and Front Porch Studio team.

Stop by during studio hours to meet Cassandra in person and see some beautiful artwork! Studio hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11am-4pm.

06/16/2026

We are looking forward to the Creative Aging Symposium this Thursday at 1pm PT! This year's theme is Interconnected Evolution and we will explore how innovations in technology, creativity and human connection are helping shape the future of aging. To learn more about this free, virtual gathering and to register, visit https://www.creativespark.org/creative-aging-symposium.

Address

3160 21st Street
San Francisco, CA
94110

Opening Hours

Tuesday	11am - 4pm
Wednesday	11am - 4pm
Thursday	11am - 4pm
Friday	11am - 4pm

Telephone

+14156421000

Website

https://www.ruthstable.org/

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