The first large-scale, solo show for the artist explores urban decay and questions faith SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art presents Chapel of the Rocks, an exhibition by New York–based visual artist Justin Sterling on view October 29, 2022 – February 12, 2023. The first solo museum show for the artist, Chapel of the Rocks is a space dedicated to exploring conversations on protest and “bad faith”, a term used by existentialist philosophers to describe the act of rationalizing our decisions or actions through a biased belief system. Utilizing the built environment as his medium, the artist is installing over 30 broken and mended stained-glass windows into a 1,000-square-foot chapel custom-built within the Museum. Before taking their place within the chapel, each window was found in the street,…

Photo and Video Artist Lisa Ross Encourages Exploration of the Uyghur People’s Spirituality, Culture and Homeland SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art presents Lisa Ross: Elegy to a Uyghur Homeland, a new exhibition by New York photo and video artist Lisa Ross. Thoughtfully composed, poetic and reverential in their approach, the photographs of Uyghur shrines capture the rituals and spiritual traditions associated with the desert monuments, as well as the beauty of everyday life in and around the Taklamakan Desert of the Uyghur Region, officially called Xinjiang (or “New Territory”) by the People’s Republic of China. Lisa Ross: Elegy to a Uyghur Homeland will be on view from November 5, 2022 through March 5, 2023. Lisa Ross first visited the Taklamakan Desert in 2002. Over a decade,…

SDMA to offer free admission to military personnel and their families this summer (SAN DIEGO, CALIF.) May, 20, 2022 – The San Diego Museum of Art announced it will join museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a program that provides free admission to currently serving U.S. military personnel and their families this summer. The 2022 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 21, 2022, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2022. Find the list of participating museums at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and museums across America. “We are thrilled to welcome our military personnel and their families, both locally and from across the…

The renowned Chilean artist will create four ceramic installations that explore climate change, sustainability, and our Earth SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art is pleased to present TERRA: Fernando Casasempere. The Chilean ceramic sculptor’s first solo exhibition in the United States highlights the urgency of the environmental crisis through installations that utilize the Earth as both subject and medium. Debuting during Art Alive, the Museum’s signature fundraising event, the exhibition—previously presented in Madrid at Casa de América—will be on view from April 29 through September 5, 2022. Using clay colored by industrial waste produced by copper mining and drilling processes in his native Chile, Casasempere will create four immersive installations that provide a meditative experience inspiring the public to consider their interactions with our planet. The first,…

Floral Interpretations of Famous Works of Arton View April 29 – May 1 SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Museum of Art’s 41st annual Art Alive, an event in which floral designers transform famous works of art from the permanent collection into exquisite floral displays, returns April 29–May 1, 2022. A highly anticipated San Diego spring tradition,Art Alive is the Museum’s signature fundraiser that provides support for education, outreach programs and special exhibitions.  The celebration will feature nearly 100 floral interpretations of works of art throughout the Museum created by local floral designers, filling the galleries with a brilliant crescendo of color and scent. Local San Diego artist and owner of Tend Living, Britton Neubacher has been selected as the Rotunda Designer and will transform the Museum rotunda into…

Exhibition Features 60+ Works from Renowned Artists who Defined Impressionism and Post-Impressionism August 2, 2022, UPDATE: Exhibition extended through October 10, 2022. SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art is pleased to bring Monet to Matisse: Impressionist Masterpieces from the Bemberg Foundation, opening spring 2022, to San Diego. Featuring masterpieces from some of the most significant names in European painting, the exhibition will be on view at the Museum beginning March 19 through August 7, 2022. This marks the first time the Bemberg Foundation’s Impressionism collection, which rarely leaves its permanent home in France, has traveled to California and is one of only two showcases in the United States. Organized by the Bemberg Foundation, based at the historic Hôtel d’Assézat in Toulouse, France, the exhibition features more than 60 works produced…

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art has been approved for a $60,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the upcoming exhibition Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World. Inspired by a medieval Islamic text engaging human curiosity about the universe, Wonders of Creation will illuminate the convergence and extraordinary global impact of Islam, science, and artistic production. This exhibition is among 1,248 projects across the United States totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World from The San Diego Museum of Art that help…

Featuring Iconic Works by the Most Distinguished Photographers From the 20th Century to Present SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Museum of Art is pleased to present Masters of Photography: The Garner Collection, an exhibition featuring more than 100 works spanning major photographic movements that are diverse in subject, style and technique. Made possible by a loan from prolific collectors Cam and Wanda Garner, the exhibition includes works from many of the most influential photographers in the medium’s history. Originally installed in November 2020, but closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Masters of Photography: The Garner Collection will now be open to the public November 20, 2021 through February 21, 2022. The exhibition is grouped thematically into three sections. The first, Reflections on Nature, presents a variety of landscapes, including famed environmentalist…

On behalf of The San Diego Museum of Art Board of Trustees, I want to stress that we take all allegations of sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions very seriously. As a longtime Museum volunteer—working in the galleries as a docent for the past 11 years and now serving as Board President—I know this institution holds high standards for its treatment of staff at every level. Upon hearing of accusations from a former employee regarding the safety of working conditions and the treatment of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) on staff, the Board has engaged experienced, independent, third-party workplace investigators to investigate these claims further, and we’ll continue to hold ourselves accountable as we put in the work to ensure the Museum is a safe and inclusive environment for all…

A former staff member has made accusations against The San Diego Museum of Art regarding safe working conditions at special events and the treatment of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) on staff. This individual has started a petition to boycott SDMA. We were very saddened to learn that a staff member experienced harm in any way. The safety of all staff members is of paramount importance; quarterly training and protocol for the events team are in place and enforced at all levels. We take all allegations of harassment very seriously and are hiring a third-party group to fully investigate these claims further. The Museum is persistent in its focus on inclusive stories and experiences that add global dimension and provoke thoughtful dialogue. We believe in a continuing process of improvement…