The mission of the Museum of Performance + Design is to keep the unfolding history of the performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area alive. They collect, preserve, and make available material on performance and theater design to support learning, appreciation, and creativity within a worldwide community of artists, scholars, and the general public.

Founded in 1947 by dancer and designer Russell Hartley, MP+D’s collection of 3.5 million items spans from the Gold Rush to the present day and holds some of our nation's most important performance related materials. It is used by local, national and international artists, arts patrons, students, scholars, organizations, and the media through its library services and its on-site and online public programs. MP+D’s collection includes historic radio broadcasts featuring the San Francisco Symphony, live rock concerts from the KSAN Radio Archive, personal papers of more than 100 artists including Calvin Simmons, Michael Smuin, June Watanabe, and Anna Halprin, archives of several defunct organizations including the Oakland Symphony and Pickle Family Circus, original video recordings of local performances from companies such as ACT, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Pocket Opera, and TheatreWorks, original costumes, oral histories, original art and artifacts, and rare books and manuscripts. MP+D also holds archival records of the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Opera, Stern Grove Festival, and San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.

Learn more at mpdsf.org.