Bay Area art lovers just lost one of their favorite deals. SFMOMA has put its Free First Thursdays program on hold, scrapping the monthly 4–8 p.m. window of free general admission for local residents. The pause starts immediately, which means the next First Thursday on Feb. 5 will go ahead without the free-entry perk.
What the Museum Announced
SFMOMA's events page now labels Free First Thursdays as "temporarily paused." The museum told KQED that it plans to reassess the program's scope, costs, and long-term funding, with the goal of relaunching it down the line rather than cutting it outright.
Artist Risa Iwasaki Culbertson, who led a December workshop at SFMOMA, told the outlet that First Thursdays created a space where people could "make art inspired by the museum" and helped foster a sense of community. For many, those evenings were less about saving on ticket prices and more about feeling like the museum belonged to them, too.
Budget Pressures and Staff Cuts
The pause is the latest sign of financial strain at the museum as leaders try to balance the books while keeping doors open to the public. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, SFMOMA raised its general admission to $30 in 2023, eliminated 20 positions in November 2023, and laid off about 29 employees in May 2025 after attendance dropped from roughly 892,000 visitors in 2019 to about 600,000.
In other words, fewer people are coming through the turnstiles while operating costs keep climbing, and the museum is now poking at every line item, including popular free programs.
Sponsors and the Funding Gap
Free First Thursdays were never purely a house expense. The program depended on outside sponsors and donor underwriting, and museum leaders say they no longer have the steady funding needed to guarantee those monthly free nights.
SFMOMA has still been able to land major one-time grants, including a $1.5 million gift from Google.org for its Ruth Asawa retrospective, which the museum highlighted in a press release as support for community and access initiatives. The challenge now is turning splashy, project-based money into consistent backing for ongoing free-access programs.
How to See SFMOMA for Less
For those counting every dollar, Free First Thursdays may be gone for now, but SFMOMA has not closed the door on budget-friendly options. The museum still offers Free Family Days, participates in access initiatives such as Museums for All and Discover & Go, and keeps tens of thousands of square feet of public gallery space open without charge.
As KQED notes, SFMOMA's next announced Free Family Day is set for June 14, and other Bay Area cultural institutions continue to run their own free-admission nights, softening the blow for locals who plan their art outings around deals.
What Comes Next
SFMOMA has not given a firm return date for Free First Thursdays. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the museum expects to roll out a new series of programs in the summer that could reshape how visitors experience late-night access.
For now, the pause removes one of San Francisco's most popular low-cost cultural options while museum leadership hunts for a more sustainable underwriting model. Whether Free First Thursdays return in their original form or as something entirely different will depend on who is willing to help pay the tab.
