What started as an ad hoc art show organized to fill its temporarily empty galleries in 2020 has become The de Young Open—now officially designated a triennial. Designed for local Bay Area artists, free to enter, and widely supported by local media, The de Young Open is the only exhibition of its kind at a major American museum. 

An Open Call lasting less than two weeks and free to any and all visual artists over the age of 18 across the Bay Area’s nine counties resulted in 7,766 submissions. Entrants were only allowed to submit one artwork for consideration. The curatorial team finally winnowed the bounty down to 883 works, which are installed salon style in the museum’s main galleries.

Timothy Anglin Burgard, the curator in charge of American Art at the de Young, who originated the show in 2020 said, “Unlike most museum exhibitions that take years of planning, The de Young Open is organized in four months and thus takes the pulse of Bay Area arts with a sense of immediacy and urgency.

“This is particularly apparent in the first gallery,” he continued, “which is devoted to artworks that address contemporary political and social issues including the January 6th insurrection, political polarization, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global warming, women's rights, and school shootings.”

Inspired by the debut event, the Svane Family Foundation made a $1,000,000 gift to the Fine Arts Museums [of which the de Young is one] for the subsequent acquisition of 42 additional artworks by contemporary Bay Area artists for the permanent collection.

“Less tangible, but equally important, is the opportunity for the artists, who typically work in isolation for much of their careers with little or no recognition, to have their artworks viewed and appreciated in their hometown museum, which is also a top-ten American art museum,” Burgard said. “One 2020 de Young Open artist described the exhibition as ‘a giant love letter to the artists of the Bay Area.’” Note: Mr. Burgard's quotes are from an article in Forbes

Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Tony Bravo selected five works that stuck in his mind after seeing the show. Among them was Property of the U.S. Govt., by Julie Carcione [above, photo courtesy of the artist]. Bravo writes, "The delicate lace work representing a woman’s uterus immediately summoned associations of how fine crafts and textiles have often been degraded as 'women’s work' in the art world. The piece seems to reclaim that distinction and celebrate cultures of lace making that span the globe. When I saw the title with its reference to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, that central motif of claiming space for women became even more urgent. It’s a work of beauty engaging in the ugly reality of our times". See Tony Bravo’s other picks here Photos © Gary Sexton, courtesy of The de Young Museum, except as noted

The de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA Info

Save the date: Saturday, October 28, 1:00pm PT: Full Circle | de Young Open Artists in Conversation, to be livestreamed. Info