SF Ballet and FAMSF: A Collaboration Celebrating Art, Dance, and Heritage

A Visionary Collaboration

This season we have unveiled an exciting new chapter in our ongoing collaboration with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF). This season’s partnership highlights the transformative intersection of visual art and ballet, featuring Bay Area artist Ranu Mukherjee as the creator of the curtain drop for SF Ballet’s upcoming Cool Britannia program, in addition to an array of talks, performances, and public programming to celebrate the Legion of Honor’s centennial.

The partnership between with FAMSF, spearheaded by SF Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo and FAMSF’s Claudia Schmuckli, Furio Rinaldi, and Maria Egoavil, reflects a shared commitment to showcasing Bay Area creativity and fostering interdisciplinary innovation. This collaboration began last season and has evolved into an annual celebration of local artistry, with Mukherjee’s commission following Oakland artist Maria A. Guzmán Capron’s inaugural curtain drop for the 23/24 Season’s Dos Mujeres program.

Ranu Mukherjee in her studio // © San Francisco Ballet, photo by Lindsey Rallo

Ranu Mukherjee’s contribution to the Cool Britannia program embodies her signature hybrid aesthetic, which blends painting, digital media, and textiles. Her work draws inspiration from the three ballets in the program—Sir Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour, and Akram Khan’s Dust.

Mukherjee’s curtain drop incorporates:

Angular forms reflecting McGregor’s choreography.
A luminous palette inspired by Wheeldon’s exploration of light.
Medicinal plants symbolizing the resilience depicted in Khan’s World War I narrative.
The piece, initially crafted as a painting, will be scaled up by SF Ballet’s scenic design team for its premiere in February 2025.

In addition to the curtain commission, we've worked with FAMSF to present events celebrating the Legion of Honor’s 100th anniversary:

Pre-Performance Conversations: Held at the War Memorial Opera House, these discussions will feature curators and artists exploring the intersection of dance and visual art before select performances.
Chamber Music Series: Members of the SF Ballet Orchestra will perform at the Legion of Honor’s Gunn Theater alongside art history lectures by FAMSF curators.
Dance-Along Workshops: Interactive sessions at the Legion of Honor will include family-friendly and sensory-friendly dance workshops.
Panel Discussion on Krazy Kat: This event will delve into SF Ballet’s 1990 production in conjunction with the Legion’s exhibition Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art.

Join us for special events with FAMSF

This partnership between SF Ballet and FAMSF celebrates the Bay Area’s rich cultural heritage and pushes the boundaries of artistic collaboration. As Cool Britannia debuts in February, audiences can look forward to experiencing Mukherjee’s visionary curtain drop alongside groundbreaking choreography.