Free, all-day celebration of the arts with Bay Area artists and community-based organizations in support of the SFUSD Equity School Partnership Project

SAN FRANCISCO – The beloved annual de Youngsters Day Out returns to the de Young museum on March 11, bringing free, artist-led, hands-on arts activities to 7,000 Bay Area youth. Following on the heels of 2022’s inaugural event, this daylong celebration is led by museum teaching artists and nonprofit community organizations, activating the de Young’s permanent collection and special exhibition galleries with collaborative programming and creative projects. By the Bay Area community, for the Bay Area community, the day’s activities and events are sure to spark wonder and ignite imagination. The event also raises crucial funding for the Museums’ Equity School Partnership Project, a key, yearlong initiative with the San Francisco Unified School District to make Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco exhibitions and programming accessible to all Bay Area youth. 

“Our de Youngsters Day Out is a special celebration for all Bay Area families," remarked Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Our local teaching artists and community partners will once again transform the museum with music, dance, art-making, and activities that bring our collections and special exhibitions to life. This fun-filled event raises crucial funding for our Equity School Partnership Project, enabling us to deliver on our mission to provide accessible art education to all Bay Area youth year round."

Enlivening the museum’s spaces, from its galleries to its grounds, de Youngsters Day Out serves up a smorgasbord of hands-on art activities for children, tweens, and teens. The artist-run, nonprofit Bay Area Mural Program will lead large-scale art-making with Oakland-based artist Shogun Shido. Longtime community partner Get Empowered! brings the beat with collaborative capoeira lessons, while San Francisco–based printmakers Suavecita Press—led by Youth Art Exchange faculty Alyssa Aviles–—teach us how to make prints on the front lawn. Oakland-based interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and social-justice activist Favianna Rodriguez will celebrate interconnectedness through the natural world with collage work, a joint collaboration with the Center for Cultural Power. Museum-teaching artists—Hitoshi Shigeta, Claudia Tennyson, and Hannah Freeman will lead spirited conversations in the galleries. This year’s iteration will feature special musical performances from Rene y Familia and a lively musical showcase of student work from the San Francisco Unified School District. San Francisco Public Library will join us with books on wheels and a roving reading library, giving books to kids and parents. Imaginary play becomes a reality thanks to Adobe Express Photobooth, in which kids and tweens alike can watch their dance moves become lenticular prints they can take home with them. On-site all day, Zenni Eyewear will once again offer free kids vision screenings and host free glasses giveaways for our de Youngsters in the Koret Auditorium. 

The event supports the Museums’ Equity School Partnership Project, an initiative with San Francisco public schools to make art equally accessible to all Bay Area students. The initiative provides in-classroom instructional support, art supplies, and transportation to the Fine Arts Museums for San Francisco students from Malcolm X Academy Elementary School (Bayview), César Chávez Elementary School (Mission District), Dr. Charles R. Drew College Preparatory Academy (Portola Place), Longfellow Elementary School (Oceanview), along with students from Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland.

“Our Equity School Partnership Project is a new initiative collaboratively conceived with public-school teachers and administrators to better address the evolving needs of communities historically underserved by the Museums.” stated Emily Jennings, Director of School and Family Programs. “Our teaching artists and museum staff work hand in hand with teachers and their students to develop curricula that is student-centric and focused on social-emotional and culturally relevant learning. These partnerships range in scope, but all offer multiple opportunities for students to visit the museums.”

The de Youngsters Day Out event was made possible by our generous donations. Purple Level Giving includes Max Boyer Glynn and David Glynn, The Harris Family, Mariana Gantus Wall and Douglas Wall, and Diane B. Wilsey. Blue Level Giving includes Barbara and John Glynn, Rebecca and Cal Henderson, Deryck Maughan In Memory of Mariana Wall, Jason E. Moment, Alison Pincus, and Sakiko and Tomonori Tani. Green Level Giving includes Anne and Darren Bassin, Demetra Marcus Bell, Daniela Faggioli, Tiffany and Brandon Gantus, Charles and Brandi Hudson, Kristen Hale Kelly and Jim Kelly, Seth Matarasso, Lynn and Edward Poole, Robina Riccitiello, and Brenda Wright. Yellow Level Giving includes Carol Bonnie, Bettina Bryant, Kate Harbin Clammer and Adam Clammer, The Farron Family, Jessica and Jeffrey Gaynor, The Griffith Family, The Gomez Family, Kiki and John Gunn, William and Becky Heldfond, Jeanette Perez and James Kim, The Marchetti Family, Patrick Mulkeen, Katie and Matt Paige, The Perkins Family, Margaret Naraghi Quattrin, The Shafer Shah Family, The Spokes Family, and Roselyne Chroman Swig. Orange Level Giving includes The Arthurs Family, The Ayoub Family, Sarah Blaustein, Sydney and Scott Blumenkranz, Lindsay and Tim Brown, Carolyn Press Chatham, Antonia and Michael Cohen, Alexandra and Parker Conrad, The Dillard Family, The Drybrough Family, The Eccleston Family, Ali & Rocky Fried, The Gholson Family, Darby and Andrew Glickman, The Gruber Family, The Homan Family, Natalie Jamison, Stephanie and Robert Jensen, Lesley Bunim and Michael Jensen, Hannah and Bianca Kellogg, The Krouse Family, The Linker Family, Kevin Lynch, Danielle Lazier and Luis Mamayson, Megan Lundy and Ben Wanger, Amelia Manderscheid and Erin Wilson, Mimi Margaretten, Casey and John McDevitt, Fiona Montgomery, Kathryn and Christopher Mullens, The Pascolini Family, The Pearson Family, Jana Messerschmidt and David Richter, Christina and Rick Saveri, David Saxe, Dorothy Saxe, The Shorenstein Kuhn Family, The Spaldings, Erica and Clayton Timbrell, Katie and Todd Traina, The Van Buren Family, and Courtney and Jake Welch. Additional support was made possible by Susan Boeing, The Keyes-Salut Family Fund, Nora Quattrin, and Elizabeth Ross.

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Event Information

de Youngsters Day Out

Saturday, March 11, 2023

8:30 am–5:15 pm

For more information on the individual art activities and schedule of events, please visit our website.

Ticket Information

The event is free for all Bay Area families. Free admission to our permanent collections at the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor is made possible through our ongoing Free Saturday Initiative. 

de Youngsters Day Out Organization

Presenting Sponsors: Adobe and Kaiser Permanente.

Lead Sponsor: Zenni Eyewear.

Major Sponsor: Ernst & Young, Genentech, and Glynn Capitol.

Generous Sponsor: Golden State Warriors.

In-Kind Support: Chronicle Books, Clif Bar & Company, Dodo Banana, Guittard Chocolate Company, Leuchtturm 1917, and McCalls Catering & Events.

Our annual de Youngsters Day Out is an ode to all curious young art-makers. Annual gifts of any amount support this program and many more education initiatives at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. For more information, please contact Associate Director of Donor Relations, Dana Klein at donors@famsf.org, or call our Donor Relations team at 415.750.3508.

About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. It is the largest public arts institution in San Francisco, and one of the most visited arts institutions in the United States.

The de Young originated from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park and was established as the Memorial Museum in 1895. It was later renamed in honor of Michael H. de Young, who spearheaded its creation. The present copper-clad landmark building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, opened in October 2005. Reflecting an active conversation among cultures, perspectives, and time periods, the collections on view include American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the 17th to the 21st centuries; arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; costume and textile arts; and international modern and contemporary art.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco respectfully acknowledge the Ramaytush Ohlone, the original inhabitants of what is now the San Francisco Peninsula, and acknowledge that the Greater Bay Area is the ancestral territory of the Miwok, Yokuts, Patwin, and other Ohlone. Indigenous communities have lived in and moved through this place over hundreds of generations, and Indigenous peoples from many nations make their home in this region today. Please join us in recognizing and honoring their ancestors, descendants, elders, and communities.

Media Contact:

Anisa Esmail

Communications Coordinator

aesmail@famsf.org