Mayor Lurie Celebrates MOU Between SFMOMA And Korea National Museum Of Modern And Contemporary Art

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today celebrated the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA). The MOU between arts organizations will form a partnership to promote cultural exchange, artistic research, and public engagement through joint artistic and scholarly initiatives.

Signed in Seoul during Mayor Lurie’s visit commemorating 50 years of the sister city relationship between San Francisco and Seoul, the MOU builds on his efforts to accelerate San Francisco’s economic recovery through the arts. To continue driving San Francisco’s comeback with arts and culture, the mayor is advancing the city’s creative economy with a search for San Francisco’s new executive director of arts and culture. In his first year in office, he launched SF LIVE, a citywide show guide and online events calendar designed to boost ticket sales for live arts venues, and brought back SF Music Week, which returned this year, further strengthening San Francisco’s position as a vital music hub. The mayor has also taken steps to strengthen local arts and culture institutions, built partnerships with the private and philanthropic sectors, and advanced a plan to accelerate downtown San Francisco’s comeback.

“As San Francisco and Seoul celebrate 50 years as sister cities, partnerships like this one highlight how our arts and culture institutions can bring people together,” said Mayor Lurie. “The connection between SFMOMA and MMCA is promoting cultural exchange and building bridges between cultures—strengthening the arts sector that is helping drive San Francisco’s economic comeback.”

The signing marks another milestone of Mayor Lurie’s first international trip as mayor—visiting China and South Korea to strengthen San Francisco’s sister city relationships with Shanghai and Seoul, deepen arts and culture partnerships, and promote tourism to San Francisco.