Museum Of Contemporary Art San Diego

SERVE DIVERSE AUDIENCES THROUGH THE EXHIBITION, INTERPRETATION, COLLECTION & PRESERVATION OF ART CREATED SINCE 1950.

MCASD'S COLLECTION INCLUDES MORE THAN 5,600 OBJECTS IN ALL MEDIA, DATING FROM 1950 TO THE PRESENT. WE USE OUR COLLECTION AS A BASIS FOR EXHIBITIONS, EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AT TWO LOCATIONS, OUR FLAGSHIP IN LA JOLLA, AND OUR DOWNTOWN SITE. WE DELIVER OUR MISSION THROUGH EXHIBITIONS CURATED FROM OUR OWN COLLECTIONS, PRESENTATION OF EXHIBITIONS ORGANIZED BY OR WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS, AND UNDERTAKE ORIGINAL RESEARCH TO PROVIDE INSIGHTFUL ANALYSIS OF ISSUES THAT IMPACT OUR WORLD. TOURS OF EXHIBITIONS, PANEL DISCUSSIONS, LECTURES, PUBLICATIONS, COMMUNITY EVENTS, AND OTHER SUPPORTING PROGRAMS PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INSIGHT INTO OUR COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS. FISCAL YEAR 2021 WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED YEAR AS THE MUSEUM'S PHYSICAL LOCATIONS REMAINED CLOSED DUE TO THE CONTINUING CONSTRUCTION EFFORTS AT THE LA JOLLA LOCATION AND THE PERSISTENT THREAT OF THE COVID-19 VIRUS. DESPITE MANY CHALLENGES, THE MUSEUM STILL ACTED TO UPHOLD ITS MISSION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS BY CONVERTING SOME IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING TO A DIGITAL PLATFORM.ART AUCTION: SINCE 1996, THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO'S BIENNIAL ART AUCTION HAS BEEN A PREMIER EVENT FOR THE MUSEUM, DRAWING ART COLLECTORS AND CONNOISSEURS FROM ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. FEATURING A LIVE AND SILENT AUCTION OF WORKS BY INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED AND EMERGING CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS, ART AUCTION RAISES FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE MUSEUM'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, EXHIBITIONS, AND ACQUISITIONS. THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS, GALLERIES, AND COLLECTORS, ART AUCTION OFFERS A WIDE RANGE OF PAINTINGS, WORKS ON PAPER, SCULPTURE, VIDEO, AND OTHER MEDIA. WHETHER AT THE PEAK OF THEIR CAREERS OR AT THE LAUNCH, NEARBY OR INTERNATIONAL, THE INCLUDED ARTISTS ARE SELECTED AND THEIR WORKS VETTED BY THE MUSEUM'S CURATORIAL TEAM AND THE OBJECTS REFLECT THE CURATORIAL INTERESTS AND PERSPECTIVE OF MCASD. NUMEROUS ARTISTS INCLUDED IN THE BENEFIT ART AUCTION HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN MCASD EXHIBITIONS AND MANY HAVE WORKS IN THE COLLECTION. MCASD WAS POISED TO LAUNCH THE ART AUCTION IN MAY 2020 WHEN THE WORLD WAS UPENDED BY THE ARRIVAL OF COVID-19. WITH PUBLIC SAFETY IN MIND, MCASD PROMPTLY CLOSED ITS GALLERIES AND CURTAILED ALL GATHERINGS, INCLUDING THIS BIENNIAL EXHIBITION AND CELEBRATION. THE MUSEUM REVAMPED THE AUCTION PROGRAM AND WENT 100% DIGITAL, DELAYING THE EVENT UNTIL OCTOBER 2022 AND ENGAGING AN ONLINE PLATFORM TO HELP REACH AN EVEN BROADER AUDIENCE TO TRANSLATE THE IN-PERSON CAMARADERIE OF PAST AUCTIONS INTO SPIRITED ONLINE BIDDING. 95 ARTISTS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS SPECTACULAR EVENT WHICH ALTHOUGH MAKING A DRASTIC CHANGE TO THE PROFILE AND EXPERIENCE OF THIS WELL-KNOWN EVENT, STILL ACHIEVED ITS REVISED FINANCIAL GOAL FOR THE MUSEUM.

PERMANENT COLLECTION: WHILE THE MUSEUM REMAINED CLOSED, OUR PERSONNEL WHO DEAL DIRECTLY WITH THE COLLECTION WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS SOME LONG STANDING PRESERVATION AND DIRECT CARE NEEDS. THIS INCLUDED REHOUSING AND REPACKING MUCH OF THE MUSEUMS PRINT COLLECTION AND PHOTOGRAPHING PREVIOUSLY UNDOCUMENTED WORKS TO UPDATE THE MUSEUM'S DATABASE SYSTEM. THEY ALSO REORGANIZED SHELVING AND VAULT SPACES TO MAXIMIZE EFFICIENY AND SAFETY OF FRAMED WORKS, AS WELL AS TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR FUTURE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES IN OUR LONG TERM STORAGE FACILITY. IN ADDITION THE TEAM UNDERTOOK THE DIGITIZATION AND CATALOGUING OF THE MUSEUM'S DIGITAL MEDIA COLLECTION. THE MUSEUM CONTINUED ITS ACTIVE ACQUISITIONS AND LOAN PROGRAM, INCREASING THE COLLECTION WITH 82 WORKS OF ART THROUGH DONATION, PURCHASE, AND PURCHASE WITH DONATED FUNDS. MCASD SHARED ITS COLLECTION THROUGH THE LOAN OF 6 ARTWORKS TO 4 EXHIBITIONS AT OTHER MUSEUMS IN SAN DIEGO, THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND INTERNATIONALLY.

MCASD DIGITAL: WHILE MCASD REMAINED SHUTTERED DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WE LAUNCHED A NEW ONLINE PLATFORM TO TRANSITION MANY OF ITS IN-PERSON ART PROGRAMS TO THE DIGITAL SPHERE AND MAINTAIN AND GROW ITS CONNECTION TO ITS DIVERSE AUDIENCES. MCASD: DIGITAL TAKES A JOURNAL-TYPE STRUCTURE WITH SECTIONS FOR EXHIBITIONS, COLLECTION, AND EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT WITH A REPOSITORY FOR SCHOOL LESSON PLANS, PREVIOUS ONLINE ARTIST TALKS AND CURATORIAL TEXTS. TWO EXHIBITIONS, TO TAME A WILD TONGUE: ART AFTER CHICANISMO AND EXPERIMENTS ON STONE: FOUR WOMEN ARTISTS FROM THE TAMARIND LITHOGRAPHY WORKSHOP WOULD HAVE BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC BUT FOUND NEW LIFE ONLINE. WE ALSO PRESENTED VERSIONS OF OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMS SERVING MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE.