Fall 2007

Since its grand reopening in 2005, the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum has dazzled diverse audiences through unique programs and world-class exhibitions.

Koret was an active supporter of the new de Young project, resulting in the new Koret Auditorium used for lectures and presentations by artists and art scholars. The Foundation also supports special exhibits and Friday Nights at the de Young, drawing a younger, more ethnically diverse crowd into the Bay Area arts scene.

Since reopening on October 15, 2005, the de Young Museum has hosted 2.7 million visitors and 30 special exhibitions in its 293,000-square-foot facility. Membership has increased 51 percent, with the museum now boasting 80,000 active members.

Featuring a multilevel design that incorporates art, architecture, and the natural landscape, the new de Young occupies an 8-percent smaller footprint while offering 30 percent more program space than the old building. In addition to expansive exhibition space, the new de Young welcomes its visitors with a colorful courtyard, a sculpture garden, and a 144-foot education tower that overlooks a Bay Area panorama.

Current exhibits include The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend. Running through January 13, 2008, this unique exhibition is the only Nevelson exhibit to explore her artistic journey by juxtaposing her writing with her sculpture. This multimedia presentation connects viewers with the common themes running through Nevelson’s half-century of work, including Jewish migration, female identity, and modernism.

For an art experience that is unique every week, the de Young is open until 8:45 p.m. every Friday through November 23, 2007, in the Friday Nights at the de Young series. Offering a variety of live performance, including music, poetry, dance, and artist
demonstrations, as well as films, lectures, cocktails, and food, the series reaches out especially to younger audiences, further contributing to the de Young’s significant increase in annual visitors.

More than 100 years since its founding, the de Young Museum, along with the California Academy of Sciences and Koret Children’s Quarter, continues to contribute to Golden Gate Park’s status as one of the world’s most vibrant urban oases.