SOMArts Announces 2026–2027 Season of Exhibitions, Performances and Community Programs; World Premiere of In The Shadow of the West to Highlight the Season

Charles H. Lee, So You Wanna Be a Bullrider from salt + dirt; courtesy of the artist

SOMArts Announces 2026–2027 Season of
Exhibitions, Performances and Community Programs

World Premiere of In The Shadow of the West to Highlight the Season

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — July 15, 2026 — SOMArts Cultural Center today announces its 2026–2027 season, bringing together artists, curators, performers, and communities from across the Bay Area and beyond for a dynamic program of exhibitions and events exploring cultural memory, identity, history, resistance, and the transformative power of art.

From the enduring traditions of SOMArts annual Día de los Muertos to contemporary explorations of the American West with the world premiere of January’s In The Shadow of the West, the 2026-2027 season reflects SOMArts’ ongoing commitment to creating space for artists and communities to tell their own stories, challenge dominant narratives, and imagine new possibilities.

The 2026–2027 season begins with two major exhibitions opening in October, including the previously announced 40th anniversary Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition, followed by SOMArts’ beloved annual Día de los Muertos exhibition.

“This season reflects what makes SOMArts such a vital part of the Bay Area arts ecosystem: artists and communities coming together to remember, question, celebrate, and reimagine,” says Maria Jenson, Creative & Artistic Director of SOMArts. “Across these exhibitions and programs, we’re looking at the stories that shape us—from ancestral memory and collective care to the histories that have been left out of the frame. At a moment when artists and cultural spaces are facing enormous challenges and cutbacks, SOMArts remains committed to creating a place where bold ideas, diverse perspectives, and artistic freedom can thrive.”

2025 Murphy & Cadogan, photo by Claire S. Burke

Día de Los Muertos 2026 Artist Orientation

2026 Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition
The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday, October 16, 6–9 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: Saturday, October 17–Sunday, November 15, 2026

Celebrating its 40th year, the 2026 Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition, curated by Kevin B. Chen and presented in partnership with the San Francisco Foundation, showcases 15 emerging visual artists from regional MFA programs.

Working across painting, sculpture, hybrid practice, installation, mixed media, drawing, and photography, the artists represented in this year’s exhibition demonstrate the exceptional artistic potential being developed throughout the Bay Area.

The 2026 jurors are Gericault De La Rose, 2022 Murphy Award Winner; Nancy Lim, Associate Curator at SFMOMA; and Claudia Schmuckli, Holly Johnson and Parker Harris Chief Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

In Their Name: Día de los Muertos 2026
Saturday, October 24–Friday, November 20, 2026

SOMArts’ annual Día de los Muertos exhibition returns with In Their Name, continuing the legacy of founding curator and beloved artist René Yañez. Curated by Bridgètt Rex and Rio Yañez, the exhibition honors the tradition’s Mexican roots while bringing together artists and communities from across cultures and generations.

“The exhibit is and has always been a reflection of the Bay Area,” says curator Rio Yañez. “While it is rooted in Mexican traditions, SOMArts’ Dia de los Muertos exhibit is a multigenerational exhibit that shows how many cultures and many communities honor and celebrate the lives of the dead. The relationship this show has built with audiences over multiple decades is one based on the power of art and culture to connect to something so personal to us all.”

Co-curator of Día de los Muertos Bridgètt Rex adds: “ I think year after year, this exhibition holds a special place in visitors’ hearts because, one, bringing back an exhibition that has been around for so long builds trust within the community. In a time when lots of things are leaving and or being taken away from us, having this reoccurring exhibition continues to both build culture and foster a sense of trust and safety for the Bay Area community and beyond.”

This year’s exhibition centers on Mother figures and the many forms that Mothering can take—from communities and movements to house and drag mothers, birth families, and chosen families. The exhibition considers care as a collective and reciprocal act of liberation, and as a force capable of dismantling cycles of patriarchal harm.

Featuring emerging and established artists and collectives, this year’s exhibition is dedicated to Tosha Stimage, with an altar created by artists Elizabeth Blancas, Angela Hennessey, and Matthew Craven.

The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday, October 23, 6–9 p.m., featuring performances and a Día de Los Muertos-inspired artist market showcasing handcrafted goods from local artisans, makers, and small businesses. The exhibition concludes with a Día de los Muertos Drag Show & Closing Reception on Friday November 20, 6–9 p.m., exploring drag as an altar.

Admission during gallery hours are free and open to all ages. Ticketed Día de Los Muertos events are a $15 suggested donation, with youth 16 and under admitted free and no one turned away for lack of funds.

Charles H. Lee, Staredown from salt + dirt; courtesy of the artist

The Luminesce Ball: An Evening of Fashion, Runway, and Vogue

Spring 2027

SOMArts and Oakland To All present The Luminesce Ball: An Evening of Fashion, Runway, and Vogue, celebrating the creativity and talent of the Bay Area’s House and Ballroom community.

The evening will feature a culminating performance from SOMArts’ all-levels workshop series alongside an evening of fashion, runway, and vogue. The program is supported by the Svane Family Foundation

The Center Piece of the 2026-2027 SOMArts is the World Premiere of
In the Shadows of the West
Saturday, January 23–Sunday, March 28, 2027

Curated by Charles H. Lee, In the Shadows of the West examines one of the most pervasive narratives in the cultural imagination of the United States: the mythology of the American West. The exhibition challenges the familiar iconography of the cowboy, open range, frontier tools, and westward expansion by examining the diverse communities whose labor, knowledge, and traditions helped shape the culture and mythology of the West.

“Curating In the Shadows of the West was an opportunity to look beyond the mythology of the American West, ” said Curator Charles H.Lee, and recognize the many cultures and communities that shaped it. I hope audiences leave with a more complicated and honest picture of who built and inhabited the West—and question who gets remembered, who becomes a symbol, and who gets erased.”

In the Shadows of the West opens with a reception on Friday, January 22, 6–9 p.m., with a closing reception on Friday, March 26, 6–9 p.m.

Closing out SOMArts 2026-2027 season is A Counter Imaginary in Authoritative Times
Spring 2027

SOMArts will collaborate with internationally renowned artists Hito Steyerl and Dania Cabello as part of A Counter Imaginary in Authoritative Times, a groundbreaking anti-censorship initiative supported by a $2.6 million Mellon Foundation grant awarded to the University of California, Berkeley.

The initiative will bring together workshops, exhibitions, publications, and other programming designed to confront and resist the growing threat of censorship in the arts and academia. SOMArts will host special programming on Sunday, April 11, 2027. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

Together, the programs of SOMArts’ 2026–2027 season invite audiences to engage with rich histories while considering the cultural, political, and artistic possibilities of the present and future.

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About SOMArts
SOMArts, founded in 1979, cultivates access to the arts within the Bay Area by collaborating with community-focused artists and organizations. Together, we engage the power of the arts to provoke just and fair inclusion, cultural respect, and civic participation.

SOMArts is located at 934 Brannan Street—between 8th and 9th—within 2 blocks of 101, I-80, Muni lines, and bike paths. For public information call 415-863-1414 or visit somarts.org. Stay connected by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.