It was once a great school. The professors, teachers and staff were the best but make no mistake, that was then. Now, after SFAI has fired a majority of those people it is well... kind of the bones of what was and nothing more.I was a student there in spring 2020 when they kicked out a bunch of students because of their financial issues. Little to no help was provided to transfer and they weren’t and still aren’t the least bit remorseful.I am sad for this school. However, if you are looking for good views and a historic building with ghosts possibly roaming the halls reminding you of the creative community that use to exist, this is your place.

Beautiful, historic site with incredible works of art!

One of three Diego Rivera murals in San Francisco. He appears seated on a scaffold with his back to the audience. Great views of Coit Tower.

This historic art school is a unique incubator for visual artists for over 100 years. In addition to exhibits of students work in hall galleries throughout the buildings the Diego Rivera gallery contains a huge mural by the famous Mexican painter. Other lovely smaller murals are found in hallways in the original Spanish mission style building. The new building houses another art gallery, an auditorium, a cafe and patios boasting panoramic views of the bay, Marin and the North Beach neighborhood. In the massive areas below are painting, ceramics, and sculpture studios as well as media production rooms. The old building is a Warren of passageway s connecting photo labs printmaking and drawing classrooms and a lovely library with its own mural. Entering through the two massive red arching wooden doors you find yourself in a arcade of arches surrounding a bricked patio with a tiled octagonal fountain at its center. This is the portal to another world. A world full of creativity, imagination and timeless possibility. From Minor White and Ansel Adams to Richard Diebenkorn and Richard Shaw it has provided education to thousands of major artists from all over the world. Worth many visits as it is ever changing and full of surprises.

Discover where the future of the contemporary art is shaped. Deserted on Friday, I walked alone on the halls.

Beautiful art and some amazing views of SF!

Its 2:20 am and everyone doesnt get that when the dead sleep and the living sleep...i walk.... This is when we live...but yall living sleep....The dead dont have phones like us for all the living knows

I really like the place. A must visit!

Worst school in America; destroyer of worlds. Quite possibly the reason for the breaking of the barhroom. Please do not use our phone applications

SFAI was top of the list for me when I was applying to grad schools after graduating from Hampshire College back in 1998. It was in my top three, and if The New School in my hometown of NYC not given me a better Fellowship and Financial Aid Package to pursue my MFA in Film and Media Studies, I would have been at SFAI, NO DOUBT! Moved out to the Bay Area in 2004 ANYWAY, but man, would I have LOVED to start my life out here in grad school.

Superb view of the city that you dont normally see. A quiet and serve place thats out of the usual tourist traffic.

A cool place - when I was there they presented an interesting project. Grants that are funding by buying their crypto-currency.

Amazing place to v isit and view art the building its self is art and history, wonderful friendly staff that is so helpful. I went to view the Van guard photo exhibit.

A time&place of transition,exploration of possibilities both banal&mundane!The specific place&Process of Unorthodox Methodology...Aquiring angles of Sight/Vision/Action&Capturing the possibility of Rebellion,fantastical Destruction and The In between!SFAI/ALCHEMISTS/ARTIST/LEADERS!

The San Francisco Art Institute is amazing accepting. While we casually walked through its campus, we enjoyed the artworks on display. The gem of the place is the roof top where you can have a stunning panorama view of the city.

The building and the views from the rooftop alone are worth a visit. There is a gallery, and student work, a cafe. Relaxing courtyard. Put on good events. See famous paintings of Diego Rivera too.

The view from the roof is 100% worth the visit. Come in the late afternoon for a beautiful shot of the city. Explore the art museum as the sun sets and then re-climb the roof for an evening view! When I visited the exhibit featured a set of work from students in the 1980s/1990s which was incredibly interesting and fun!

Diego Rivera’s work

Awesome studio spaces and art galleries

Hidden gem for beautiful skyline views! You can see Alcatraz and Coit Tower, amongst the rest of the city backdrop. A nice, quiet respite from the tourists clustered at Lombard St.

One of my favorite spots to relax in San Francisco. In a busy area (Fishermans Wharf, Lombard Street nearby), its a hidden gem. Go on the terrasse to get a breathtaking view of the City. Ive been there on week-ends, and its usually desert. Dont tell anyone!

The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) is an exceptional place for modern and contemporary art lovers!The Diego Rivera Mural can be found here.without the monastic atmosphere of most of the museums.You can discover and enjoy works of art quietly, and get a true relation with the works exposed there.You can enjoy refreshments at the cafeteria, with a wonderful view over San Francisco!We visited this place in August 2012The SFAI is an inescapable place.

The view is amazing you get walk around everywhere in the Building follow me on insta Rol0w Ill follow back

If you are here on a weekday, you can walk right in. If you take a left and then a right and walk all the way down you will find some great places to take photos of the bay.

Beautiful Italian style art school right on the hillside of North Beach with amazing views and even more stunning facilities to study Fine Arts.

Awesome spot to casually check out the works from the students. They also have an awesome platform to check out the view of the city facing North.

I can review you now that I have a BFA from you, isnt that a silly thought. Well I guess I dont need the degree to write the review, but I can say that it was an interesting time. I learned a lot while I was there, but the merchandise that advertises the school needs a serious review. Its 2013, maybe let a former student help out?Ill be back~

Ive made frequent pilgrimages to the giant Diego Rivera mural, and the quiet front courtyard and the main building, open to the public, are also well worth the steep uphill hike.

A beautiful building with an amazing view of the northern side of the city.

Campus is open to the public and has some great views over North Beach.

Beautiful architecture, beautiful view

Stunning rooftop views of SF. Open to the public.

I met my future husband (Kent Roberts) while attending the San Francisco Art Institute in the Seventies, a place of very few rules and experimentation, and growth. Personal growth was achieved when attending my first Photography class. As a student, I had become used to assignment-oriented classes. What a shock when the instructor went around the room and asked us what we were planning to work on that semester! Suddenly I realized that I was now the master of my own ship, adrift in a sea of uncertainty! However, the sudden change caused me to focus, and direct my own energies, a skill that I developed while at the Art Institute and which became extremely valuable later in life. I am still friends with many of the students (now Artists) I met back then. The photography program had some of the finest teachers: Jack Fulton, Linda Connor, Pirkle Jones, Richard Conrat, and many more. At the graduation ceremony, we had a streaker, Larry White, who waltzed down the aisle to the front of the crowd and recieved his diploma from Sissy Swig totally in the nude!-Cid Young

I attend SFAI in the early 1970s majoring in Painting with a minor in Printmaking.I look back with very a nostalgic longing and a very grateful to my Instructors, Prof. Bruce McGaw and Prof. Mike Hannah. Prof. Mary ONeal also had a great influence on my artistic development. Prof. Gordon Krugers printing classes can never be forgotten. His encouragement influenced me to start a second career as a printer after teaching for over a quarter century. Incidently, I graduated on the same day as Cid Young. Can never forget the nude gentleman strutting up to Ms. Sweeny to receive his Degree Diploma as if it was the most natural thing to do. I think he was a photo/film making major. I visited the Institute in April 2008 and was amazed at how quiet the place was unless they were on a Spring Break, but nonetheless, in our day SFAI was always a beehive of activities no matter what day of the year it was- holidays and all. Taking a photo of my wife, Bernadette Musundi in front of the Diego Riveras mural was an ultimate high note of my trip. Trouble is I was the only one of that opinion. One can never explain with enough clarity about how steep the SFs Russian Hill is.

U should visit the big mural of diego rivera and look for san francisco roof view :)

Very nice place to check out current art trends

This is an art school that has a few art galleries.

Favourite roof in SF.

This is really great place!