Join the FOG Theater for thought-provoking conversations with luminaries in the fields of art, design, and technology over the course of the FOD Art & Design Fair.
Thursday, January 22
4:00: Anne Fougeron + Tom Kundig in Conversation
Anne Fougeron and Tom Kundig, two architects whose work has helped define the West Coast’s design language, come together for a conversation about how architecture engages with place, materials, and our ever-shifting world. With journalist Jenna McKnight guiding the discussion, they’ll dig into what drives their practices today: how ideas evolve, how constraints spark creativity and solutions, and why craft and precision still matter in a culture moving at warp speed. Expect an exchange that’s candid, alive with stories, generous in spirit, and rooted in real experience.
Moderated by Jenna McKnight, Writer, Editor, Journalist
5:30: Long-term Relationships: Jeffrey Fraenkel, Richard Misrach, Xavier Hufkens and Sterling Ruby in Conversation
What happens when a gallerist and an artist commit to each other for decades? It's part marriage, part business partnership, part creative collaboration – and like any long-term relationship, it's full of stories that rarely make it into the press release. Join us for an intimate conversation between two legendary gallerists and the artists they've championed for years. The conversation will delve into the behind-the-scenes stories of what it really takes to go the distance together in the art world, and explore the human dynamics that sustain creative partnerships over time – the loyalty, friction, faith, and occasionally awkward dinner parties that come with representing someone's life's work.
Moderated by Veronica Roberts, John and Jill Freidenrich Director, Cantor Arts Center
Friday, January 23
2:00: The Stories We Carry: Jeffrey Gibson in Dialogue with George McCalman
Jeffrey Gibson makes work that defies categorization. His practice moves between painting and sculpture, beadwork and text, ceremonial tradition and queer club culture, punk aesthetics and powwow regalia. How does Gibson think about process, especially when working with traditional techniques that carry their own histories? And what about the humor and playfulness in his work – the camp, the flair, does that get lost when people focus only on the political weight? George McCalman, an artist, designer, and sharp cultural observer, will invite a dialogue that asks real questions about creativity, visibility, tradition, and the next chapter in Gibson’s life and career.
In conversation with George McCalman, CCO, McCalman.Co, artist, designer, author
3:30: When Design Leads: The Art of Building Tomorrow’s World Today
What does it mean to design for a future that doesn’t quite exist yet? Zoox's Nahuel Battaglia and OpenAI’s Caitlin Kalinowski join SFMOMA’s Joseph Becker to look at how design shapes the technologies that are beginning to reshape daily life, from new ideas in mobility to the next generation of AI tools we’ll hold, wear, and move through the world with. Together, they’ll explore how thoughtful design can make unfamiliar innovations feel intuitive, trustworthy, and human, and how those choices ultimately influence culture and the world we build next.
Moderated by Joseph Becker, Curator of Architecture and Design, SFMOMA
5:30: Where Curiosity Lives: Discovering the Eames Approach
The Eames Institute’s move into Marin’s iconic former Birkenstock building marks something significant – the transformation of a distinctive industrial space into a new home for one of design’s most enduring legacies. Join John Cary and Llisa Demetrios for a conversation that explores both the revitalization of this historic building and the ongoing relevance of the Eames philosophy. Through stories from the archives, personal history, and the vision behind reimagining this space, they’ll look at how Charles and Ray Eames’s spirit of curiosity, experimentation, and problem-solving continues to shape how we think about design today.
Moderated by Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Helen Hilton Raiser Curator of Architecture and Design and Head of Department, SFMOMA
Saturday, January 24
1:00: Beyond the Frame: Unlocking the Cross-Category Market
This conversation brings together Christie’s specialists from design to automobiles to iconic private collections for a conversation on today’s expanding landscape of collecting. The panel will illuminate underlying forces and the auction house’s role in driving markets, share insider stories of standout objects and their collectors, and discuss the surprising ways categories influence and inspire one another on the journey of building thoughtful and eclectic collections.
Moderated by Darius Himes, Deputy Chairman, International Head of Photographs, Christie’s
3:00: Between Light and Legacy: Suzanne Jackson & Alteronce Gumby in Conversation
Join artists Suzanne Jackson and Alteronce Gumby for a conversation about their creative journeys, brought together by curator Larry Ossei-Mensah. Gumby will reflect on how experimenting with glass, resin, gemstones, and color has expanded his approach to light and material. At the same time, Jackson will share insights from her six decades of painting, theater, dance, and poetry—and the community, curiosity, and persistence that have guided her along the way. Together, they’ll explore the lessons learned, influences embraced, and moments that shaped who they are as artists, offering an intimate look at how different generations find meaning through color, light, and lived experience.
Moderated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, Curator, Cultural Critic and Co-Founder, ARTNOIR
5:00: Art + Water: A New Model for Creativity and Access
Join writer Dave Eggers, artists Ana Teresa Fernández and David Wilson, and SOMArts Executive Director Maria Jenson for a look at Art + Water, Eggers’s new artist-led model opening at Pier 29. Part studio, part classroom, part community hub, it brings artists, students, families, and neighbors together in one creative space. This conversation explores what can happen when art-making is truly open to everyone, and how a more inclusive arts ecosystem can take shape.
Moderated by Maria Jenson, Executive Director, SOMArts
Sunday, January 25
12:00: AI, Art & the Future of Creativity
AI is rapidly reshaping how artists learn, work, and imagine. California College of the Arts has placed AI at the heart of its curriculum, training students to use new tools and understand the systems and values behind them. Trevor Paglen offers a counterpoint, looking beneath the surface of AI, its infrastructures, its biases, and its impacts on vision. Paglen’s work asks the questions that today’s students will have to confront: What are these systems trained on? Who do they serve? And how do artists work creatively and critically inside technologies that shape the culture around us? This conversation will cut through the hype and panic to focus on what really matters: how artists and institutions can navigate AI with clarity, ethics, imagination, and agency.
Moderated by Lesley Silverman, Head of Future Media at United Talent Agency
1:30: In Public View: Art, the City, and Creative Collaborations
As San Francisco’s downtown evolves, artists, cultural institutions, and city leaders are working together in ways that feel fresh, aligned, and energizing. With new efforts underway to reinvigorate downtown and help shape a neighborhood for the next century where residents and visitors can live, work, play, and learn, creativity is helping reshape the City’s core as more than a business district. This conversation brings together Ned Segal from the City; Lily Kwong of the EARTHSEED DOME; and Ali Gass of ICA SF to explore how collaboration across the arts – including design, performance, music, and dance - can open new possibilities for downtown.
3:00: Personal Histories, Public Narratives: Anoushka Mirchandani, Lava Thomas, and Arleene Correa Valencia in Conversation
Three artists, Anoushka Mirchandani, Lava Thomas, and Arleene Correa Valencia, draw deeply from their own lives, exploring migration, memory, identity, and family stories. With Jonathan Carver Moore guiding the conversation, they’ll come together to talk about how real experiences shape their work, and discuss what they choose to reveal, what they hold onto, and why these stories matter now. It’s a warm, engaging look at how personal histories become shared ones and how art helps us see each other more clearly.
Moderated by Jonathan Carver Moore, Dealer