Research and Community
Advancing Ideas Through the Arts and Humanities
SFSU is home to a diverse collection of world-class artists, philosophers, historians, political thinkers, broadcasters, dancers, designers, filmmakers, musicians and creative writers. They are the spirit behind the College of Liberal & Creative Arts — the College of Ideas — challenging artistic norms, experimenting across media, genre and traditions, engaging in the business of production and inspiring diverse local, national and international communities and audiences.
Fine Arts Gallery
Acclaimed professional exhibitions alternate with student-focused shows — all prepared by students. Professional exhibitions explore international contemporary art and historical examinations of the diversity of art in California and the West.
Global Museum
Featuring cultural collections from ancient Egypt, Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, the university’s new museum presents rotating exhibitions, public programs, and K-12 field trips (all free admission). The museum also serves as a teaching lab for the Museum Studies Program.
DesignSpace
DesignSpace at San Francisco State University informs and educates the campus community, the design community and the general public in the diversity of practices and issues of design in its past, its present and looking to the future through exhibitions and events. DesignSpace functions as a collaborative teaching and learning workspace for students, faculty and internal and external partners and as a public forum — inviting deeper engagement in design and its practices and discourses.
Documentary Film Institute
This production hub and incubator aims to make SF State and the Bay Area a center for excellence in the documentary genre. Since its inception in 2005, it has screened more than 120 films and hosted more than 40 visiting filmmakers.
Visit the Documentary Film Institute
Morrison Chamber Music Center
Since the 1950s, this center has offered free concerts and topflight educational programs to develop new audiences and provide future generations of performers with mentorship by the world’s greatest practitioners (Afiara String Quartet pictured above). The world-renowned Alexander String Quartet is quartet-in-residence.
Visit the Morrison Chamber Music Center
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)
OLLI SF State is a community of inquiring adults, age 50+, who believe in lifelong learning, engagement, and exploration. OLLI SF State offers classes, interest groups and community to seasoned adults, and is one of 124 institutes hosted by universities and colleges across the country.
Visit the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Poetry Center
The center’s reading series, founded in 1954, is one of the longest-running such programs in the U.S. The archives is approaching 5,000 hours of original audio and video recordings documenting the reading series.
Visit the Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives
Queer Cinema Project
Queer Cinema Project (QCP) is a hub for innovative approaches to the research, production, promotion and distribution of cinema that speaks directly to the many aspects of the LGBTQ experience.
Visit the Queer Cinema Project
Veteran Documentary Corps
Veteran Documentary Corps (VDC) empowers veterans and filmmakers from around the world to tell true stories about the veteran experience to other veterans and global citizens alike.