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Photo: Lexey Swall
Celebrating Susan Fisher Sterling
Celebrating 40 Years of Leadership and Service to the National Museum of Women in the Arts
Join San Francisco Advocacy for the National Museum of Women in the Arts as we celebrate
Susan Fisher Sterling's extraordinary forty years of service and leadership on behalf of women artists.
The morning will feature special tours at the de Young Museum, followed by a private luncheon honoring
Susan's remarkable contributions to the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Program
11:00 AM - Arrival and Welcome
11:00–11:30 AM
Nengi Omuku: The Gathering
Led by Abram Jackson and Claudia Schmuckli
Nengi Omuku: The Gathering brings together paintings that reimagine Lagos, Nigeria, as a world shaped by beauty and community. Working on handwoven sanyan cloth, a textile whose survival echoes the resilience of the people she portrays, Omuku builds imagined spaces of refuge and renewed possibility. The Gathering invites us to look at contemporary life through tenderness rather than spectacle, through possibility rather than precarity.
11:30 AM–12:15 PM
Preview of Made in San Francisco
Led by Emma Acker
Made in San Francisco considers the pivotal role played by the California School of Fine Arts (later the San Francisco Art Institute) in catalyzing many of the Bay Area's most significant postwar artistic developments and movements, including Bay Area Abstract Expressionism and Figuration, and Beat, Funk, and assemblage art.
Though Made in San Francisco will not open until April 2027, this special preview tour will highlight the women artists in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's permanent collection who will be featured in the exhibition.
12:30 PM
Private Luncheon Honoring Susan Fisher Sterling
Guests will gather for a catered luncheon by McCall's Catering & Events in the historic Piazzoni Murals Room,
a rarely accessible setting within the museum and a fitting venue for this special celebration.
About Susan Fisher Sterling
For forty years, Susan Fisher Sterling has championed the mission of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, transforming the institution into a leading voice for the recognition and advancement of women artists. Her vision, scholarship, and unwavering commitment have helped reshape the conversation around women's contributions to the arts, inspiring advocates, artists, and museum professionals around the world.
San Francisco Advocacy is honored to celebrate Susan's remarkable legacy and enduring impact.
Kindly respond by Friday, July 3.
We look forward to celebrating Susan Fisher Sterling with you.