SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART
PO BOX 122107, SAN DIEGO, CA 92112 www.sdmart.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: TO INSPIRE, EDUCATE AND CULTIVATE CURIOSITY THROUGH GREAT WORKS OF ART.

EXHIBITIONS: THE MUSEUM PRESENTED A BROAD RANGE OF EXHIBITIONS DURING THE YEAR. THESE WERE CREATED FROM THE MUSEUM'S OWN COLLECTION, AS WELL AS BORROWED FROM OTHER MUSEUMS AND LENDERS. ART & EMPIRE: THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN, BLACK LIFE: IMAGES OF RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND BOUGUEREAU AND AMERICA WERE SOME OF THE EXHIBITIONS PRESENTED DURING FISCAL YEAR 2020.ART & EMPIRE: THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN FEATURED MORE THAN 100 OUTSTANDING WORKS PRODUCED BY LEADING ARTISTS FROM SPAIN AND ITS GLOBAL TERRITORIES. THIS WAS THE FIRST EXHIBITION IN THE UNITED STATES TO EXPAND THE NOTION OF "GOLDEN AGE" TO INCLUDE THE HISPANIC WORLD BEYOND THE SHORES OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA. LOANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER WITH MASTERPIECES FROM THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION TO EMPHASIZE THE DIVERSE CULTURES INTERTWINED WITH THE GLOBAL REALITIES OF SPAIN'S CULTURAL HERITAGE. THE ACCOMPANYING CATALOGUE WAS METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED AND INCLUDED AN INTRODUCTION BY THE FOREMOST SCHOLAR OF HISPANIC ART, ALONG WITH ESSAYS THAT EXPLORED TOPICS OF ART HISTORICAL INTEREST FROM THROUGHOUT THE GLOBAL SPANISH EMPIRE OF THE 17TH TO 18TH CENTURIES. CREATED IN RESPONSE TO AND ON VIEW CONCURRENTLY WITH ART & EMPIRE WAS A GROUP OF 12 ENCAUSTIC-ON-CANVAS "PORTRAITS" OF CHRIST'S DISCIPLES BY CONTEMPORARY SPANISH ARTIST JOSE-MARIA CANO. BLACK LIFE: IMAGES OF RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WAS ORGANIZED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SAN DIEGO AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS. THE EXHIBITION PRESENTED PHOTOGRAPHS DOCUMENTING THE POLITICAL EVENTS AS WELL AS THE DAILY LIFE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE PHOTOGRAPHERS WORKED DURING ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS. THEIR SUBJECTS WERE THE NEWSMAKERS OF THE DAY - POLITICIANS, ACTIVISTS, ENTERTAINERS AND ATHLETES - AS WELL AS EVERYDAY LIFE IN CHURCHES, COCKTAIL LOUNGES AND SCHOOLS. THESE CANDID IMAGES REFLECTED A COMMUNITY WHOSE LIVES WERE RARELY SEEN IN THE WIDER MEDIA.BOUGUEREAU AND AMERICA BROUGHT TOGETHER MANY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORKS OF FRENCH ACADEMIC ARTIST WILLIAM-ADOLPHE BOUGUEREAU. IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, HIS GRAND CANVASES FEATURING AN ARRAY OF PLEASING, IDEALIZED SUBJECTS, WERE FAVORED BY ART INSTITUTIONS AND PRIVATE COLLECTORS. AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POPULARITY, AVANT-GARDE MOVEMENTS SUCH AS IMPRESSIONISM, WHICH EMBRACED MODERNITY AND REJECTED CONVENTIONAL DEPICTIONS OF SUBJECT MATTER, BEGAN TO GAIN TRACTION. BOUGUEREAU'S REPUTATION DECLINED, WHICH DEMONSTRATES THE POWER SOCIETY HAS IN SHAPING PREFERENCES IN THE ART WORLD. THIS EXHIBITION VIEWS HIS LEGACY ANEW, UNENCUMBERED BY A MODERNIST BIAS. THE MUSEUM PRESENTED SMALLER EXHIBITIONS IN ITS PERMANENT COLLECTION GALLERIES, SUCH AS JOSE-MARA CANO: APOSTOLATE, AMERICAN STILL LIFE MODERNS, ABSTRACT REVOLUTION AND NICK ROTH: FATES ALONG WITH ROTATIONS IN THE PERMANENT COLLECTION GALLERIES. IN THE ONGOING EFFORT TO ADVANCE THE MUSEUM'S GOAL OF MAKING ART MORE ACCESSIBLE, THE MUSEUM CONTINUED TO OFFER FREE ADMISSION TO AGES 17 AND UNDER. ON FRIDAY NIGHTS, ART AFTER HOURS PROVIDES REDUCED GENERAL ADMISSION AND FREE ADMISSION TO COLLEGE STUDENTS. THE MUSEUM CONTINUED TO OFFER ITS SMARTPHONE APP TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING THE AUGMENTED REALITY FEATURE, WHICH BRINGS ART TO LIFE. THE APP IS FREE TO DOWNLOAD AND CAN BE USED AT HOME AS WELL AS ON THE PREMISES. SINCE ITS LAUNCH, THE APP HAS OVER 40,000 DOWNLOADS AND INCLUDES 8 AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCES. IN FY20, THE APP WAS USED OFFSITE IN 33 STATES AND 30 COUNTRIES. THESE DIVERSE EXHIBITIONS AND THEIR COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAMS RESULTED IN THE MUSEUM WELCOMING APPROXIMATELY 280,000 VISITORS, INCLUDING 10,000 FREE GUESTS FOR RESIDENT FREE TUESDAYS AND APPROXIMATELY 12,000 STUDENTS.DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THE MUSEUM CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC ON MARCH 14, 2020 AND RE-OPENED ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2020. THE MUSEUM HAD ALREADY BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF PUBLIC ARTS INSTITUTIONS IN DIGITIZING IMAGES OF ITS COLLECTION AND CREATING ONLINE CONTENT TO ENGAGE ALL THAT ARE INTERESTED IN ART. THE MUSEUM'S APP INCLUDES TOURS AND AUGMENTED REALITY, WHILE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL HAS TALKS AND VIDEOS OF LECTURES AND SYMPOSIUMS. DURING OUR CLOSURE, THE MUSEUM EXPANDED ITS ONLINE OFFERINGS INCLUDING A WEEKLY MASTERPIECE MINUTE PODCAST AND A VIRTUAL ART ALIVE EXHIBITION AND RELATED BLOOM BASH EVENT.

COLLECTIONS: THE MUSEUM'S MISSION IS, IN PART TO CARE FOR ITS COLLECTIONS, WHICH INCLUDES MORE THAN 20,000 WORKS OF ART. THE COLLECTION IS THE MUSEUM'S GREATEST ASSET. ITS WORKS OF ART ARE DISPLAYED ON A ROTATING BASIS WITHIN THE MUSEUM AND ARE FREQUENTLY LENT TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS FOR EXHIBITION ELSEWHERE. THE MUSEUM ALSO SEEKS TO ACQUIRE ART WHICH WILL ENHANCE ITS COLLECTION. DURING FISCAL YEAR 2020, THE MUSEUM ACQUIRED EIGHT LARGE-FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHS BY A CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ARTIST. THIS PAINTER-TURNED-PHOTOGRAPHER BEGAN TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS AS A WAY TO DOCUMENT THE TENSION OF CULTURAL SHIFTS AND ADDRESS THE RAPIDLY CHANGING SOCIETY OF CHINA. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS AN ACQUISITION OF A LARGE WOODBLOCK PRINT BY ANOTHER CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ARTIST BEST KNOWN FOR HIS POLITICALLY DRIVEN PAINTINGS WHICH REFLECT ON THE HISTORY OF 20TH CENTURY CHINA. THESE WORKS ADDED TO THE DEPTH OF THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION OF EAST ASIAN ART.CONSERVATION CONTINUED ON ACCELERATED POINT, A SCULPTURE THAT WAS CREATED FOR INSTALLATION IN THE MUSEUM'S REFLECTING POOL IN THE SCULPTURE COURT. IN ADDITION, CONSERVATION BEGAN ON WORKS OF ART TO BE FEATURED IN FUTURE EXHIBITIONS, BOTH AT THE MUSEUM AND AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS.

PROGRAMS: THE MUSEUM OFFERS A BROAD RANGE OF PROGRAMMING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, FILMS, EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS, TEEN ART CLASSES, SUMMER CAMPS, FAMILY DAYS, AND LECTURES AND SYMPOSIA. "SCREEN ON THE GREEN", OUR FREE FILM SERIES IN BALBOA PARK, PRESENTED A VARIETY OF FILMS REPRESENTING THE DIVERSITY OF THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION AND EXHIBITIONS. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED AN AMERICAN IN PARIS WHICH COINCIDED WITH OUR IMPRESSIONIST EXHIBITION AND SPELLBOUND WHICH HIGHLIGHTED OUR MODERN, CONTEMPORARY ART, SPECIFICALLY SALVADOR DALI, AS HE DESIGNED THE DREAM SEQUENCE IN THE FILM. THE FILM SERIES CONCLUDED WITH THE SPANISH VERSION OF DRACULA, CELEBRATING ART & EMPIRE: THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN. IN FY20, THE MUSEUM CONTINUED THE POPULAR SERIES "ON THE STEPS AT SDMA" WHICH PRESENTS PERFORMANCES AND OTHER ACTIVITIES TO LARGE AUDIENCES IN THE PLAZA DE PANAMA IN FRONT OF THE MUSEUM. THE HIGHLIGHTS OF "ON THE STEPS AT SDMA" INCLUDED A FLAMENCO DANCE PERFORMANCE RELATED TO THE ART & EMPIRE EXHIBITION AND AN EVENT FOCUSED ON THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION OF PERSIAN ART. THE BLACK LIFE EXHIBITION OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A CONVERSATION, WHERE PARTICIPANTS RELAYED THEIR CONNECTIONS TO THE WORKS ON VIEW AND ASKED QUESTIONS OF THE CURATORS. IN ADDITION, PERFORMANCES PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BLACK XPRESSIONS INCLUDED A POETRY READING, SPOKEN WORD AND A-CAPPELLA SINGING. SDMA PLUS IS A PROGRAM LAUNCHED BY THE MUSEUM IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER LOCAL ARTS INSTITUTIONS TO CREATE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES AND A DEEPER EXPLORATION OF THE ART ON VIEW. DURING FISCAL YEAR 2020, COLLABORATIONS INCLUDED PERFORMANCES BY THE SAN DIEGO BALLET, THE SAN DIEGO OPERA, THE SAN DIEGO SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY AND THE SAN DIEGO YOUTH SYMPHONY. UPON THE MUSEUM'S CLOSURE DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WORK BEGAN TO TRANSITION THE IN-PERSON PERFORMANCES TO VIRTUAL PERFORMANCES. ONE OF THE FIRST VIRTUAL PERFORMANCES WAS THE CLASSICAL MUSIC OF ART OF ELAN. THE LONGSTANDING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE MUSEUM AND ART OF ELAN IS DESIGNED TO EXPAND THE SCOPE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC THROUGH INNOVATIVE PROGRAMMING IN A UNIQUE PERFORMANCE VENUE. THE ON-LINE SERIES FEATURED MUSICAL RESPONSES TO WORKS OF ART IN A WAY MEANT TO INSPIRE AND UPLIFT THE COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION, THE MUSEUM SPONSORED A DOZEN OUTREACH PROGRAMS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. MORE THAN 25,000 VISITORS PARTICIPATED IN THESE PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. MANY OF THESE PROGRAMS WERE FREE OF CHARGE OR INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF ADMISSION.

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