MOTHER x SFMOMA x Ruth Asawa—A Celebration
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Senay Inanici
We kicked off Mother’s Day month in the dreamiest of ways, thanks to a MOTHER x SFMOMA brunch to celebrate motherhood, creativity, and the ultimate artist-matriarch, Ruth Asawa. We invited 40 inspiring local women from the San Francisco Bay Area to enjoy a delicious lunch at SFMOMA’s Cafe 5, followed by a tour of the brand-new exhibition Ruth Asawa: Retrospective, led by curator Marin Sarvé-Tarr.
Every detail of our event was intentional, heartfelt, and inspired by the powerful legacy of Ruth Asawa—a prolific artist, mother of 6, and public arts advocate who changed the way art is taught in local schools. Our stunning floral arrangements featured blooms seen in Ruth’s botanical drawings, our 3-course menu was infused with Japanese flavors, and our guests found their tables through visual cues and reflection questions that were linked to the exhibition.
After walking through the sprawling 12-gallery show and hearing how the exhibition came to be (after several years of plotting by SFMOMA), our guests walked away filled with inspiration and a gift bag curated with goodies from Chronicle Books (the incredible Everything She Touched biography of Ruth Asawa), artful play things for the family (from Mudpuppy, Brass Monkey, Galison, and the SFMOMA Museum Store), and the cherry-on-top: a gorgeous bud vase inspired by the retrospective, encasing a succulent that was hand-harvested from Ruth Asawa’s Noe Valley garden by her grandson. Talk about legacy!
Re-live our incredible day—and be inspired for your own visit to Ruth Asawa: Retrospective—in our slideshow below.
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- A little peek inside of our gift bags: A Life Made By Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa by Andrea D'aquino, Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase, a Sunlight Print Kit, Ruth Asawa coloring sheets, and poster by SFMOMA, a Rainbow Fashion Magnetic Playset and Our World is a Rainbow Creativity Kit by Mudpuppy, Best Buds Googly Sticker Book by Brass Monkey, 7 Days Of Mindfulness Puzzle by Galison and Jessica Poundstone, and a Ruth Asawa-inspired vase, and succulent clipping from her garden.
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- Thank you to SFMOMA and the Ruth Asawa family and estate for this very special event.
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