Our SF Asian Art Museum Expands with $25 Million Gift

One of San Francisco’s greatest art treasure exhibition institutions is the Asian Art Museum at the city’s Civic Center. Millions have enjoyed its displays. Now, the museum has just received $25 million from Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and his wife Akiko Yamazaki (who is the chairperson of the AAM board). The gift is the largest in the museum’s history.

The donation is going to the museum’s $90 million construction and development expansion scheduled to begin in early 2018. The new construction is a 13,000-square-foot exhibition Pavilion and Art Terrace being added onto the front of the existing museum. The Terrace is being designed by LA architectural firm wHY and is anticipated being open in the 2019 summer.

Museum spokespersons also said the expansion project monies will be used to bring in new art, provide funding for education  and development, and create and manage a $25 million endowment.

The AAM is located in the 1917 Beaux-Arts building. This building was the original main library for San Francisco. The museum will remain open during the new construction.