Kai Caemmerer - Acting Director and Chief Curator | SFO Museum
Kai Caemmerer - Acting Director and Chief Curator | SFO Museum
A new exhibition at the San Francisco International Airport features the work of Ricardo Alvarado, a first-generation Filipino American photographer. Born in 1914, Alvarado moved to the United States from the Philippines in 1928 and settled in San Francisco. He worked various jobs before enlisting in the US Army during World War II. After his service, he became a cook at Letterman Army Hospital and began pursuing photography with a Graflex Speed Graphic camera.
Alvarado's photographs captured local multiethnic communities, documenting events like weddings and birthdays as well as daily life scenes in areas such as Fillmore and Bayview. His work offers a unique cultural record of Filipino American life in California. Upon his death in 1976, he left behind an archive of nearly 3,000 negatives and photographs.
In 1998, his daughter Janet established The Alvarado Project to preserve her father's legacy. Stanford University Libraries now holds this collection permanently. Janet continues efforts to share her father's work.
The exhibition "Ricardo Alvarado: Capturing a Cultural Legacy" is located pre-security on the Departures Level in Terminal 3 of San Francisco International Airport. It is open to all visitors from December 9, 2024, to November 3, 2025, free of charge.
The SFO Museum operates numerous sites throughout the airport terminals and has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1999. Its mission includes engaging audiences with diverse programming and preserving aviation history.
For more information about current exhibitions or details about visiting SFO, interested individuals can visit www.sfomuseum.org or www.flysfo.com.
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