#1 Art & Design Event (up from #3)
A family-friendly spectacle in San Mateo, it’s a part-science fair, part-community fair gathering of almost 150,000 tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, artists, observers, and commercial exhibitors. It offers an opportunity to both see tech-driven art and learn how it’s made. Next: May 19-21, 2017
#3 Art & Design Event (up from #4)
Now in its ninth year in San Francisco, the fair is a curated showcase founded “by makers, for makers.” The free, two-day event happens three times each year and draws crowds around 21,000 each session for craft vendors, cool surroundings, interactive features, artisanal foods, and music. Next: July 16-17, 2016
#4 Art & Design Event (up from #6)
The oldest continuously operating international art and antiques show on the West Coast, the show draws 10,000-strong crowds annually. It features more than 60 dealers from across the United States and Europe, offering a variety of fine and decorative arts from around the world. Next: October 27-30, 2016
#5 Art & Design Event (new to the list)
A de Young Museum spring tradition for 30 years, more than 100 floral designers create bouquets to complement works in the museum's permanent collection, as well as architectural details in the building. The 2016 exhibit drew more than 67,000 visitors and raised more than $600,000 for the Fine Arts Museums’ special exhibitions, conservation projects, and educational programs. Next: April 25-30, 2017
#6 Art & Design Event
The gathering features more than 250 of the best contemporary artists and designers exhibiting wares influenced by the cultural and natural histories of the West Coast. The two-day semi-annual event is free to the public. Next: November 12-13, 2016
#7 Art & Design Event
The showcase features the best interior and landscape designers in the area while raising money for San Francisco University High School’s financial aid program. In 2016, 13,000 guests visited the house. Next: April 29-May 29, 2017
#8 Art & Design Event
More than 225 top contemporary jewelry, clothing, furniture, and home decor artists from across the country converge on Fort Mason for the largest juried craft show west of the Rockies. Next: August 5-7, 2016
#9 Art & Design Event
Named for the city’s beloved fog, the four-day event—in collaboration with SFMOMA—is a platform for modern art, architecture, tech, and design that “shifts, morphs, and reveals itself through multiple forms and dimensions.” More than an art show, the event is a destination fair with panel discussions featuring major players on the Bay Area art scene: The Thing Quarterly’s Jonn Herschend, Minnesota Street Project’s Deborah Rappaport, and Claudia Altman Siegel of the Altman Siegel Gallery all spoke in 2016. Next: January 11-15, 2017
