Mingei International Museum

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Mingei International Museum
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Mingei International Museum
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Location within San Diego
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Mingei International Museum (California)
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Mingei International Museum (the United States)
Established1978 (1978)
Location House of Charm
Balboa Park, San Diego, California
Coordinates 32°43′52″N117°9′4″W / 32.73111°N 117.15111°W / 32.73111; -117.15111
Type Art museum
DirectorJessica Hanson York
Website mingei.org

Mingei International Museum is a non-profit public institution in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, that collects, conserves and exhibits folk art, craft, and design. The museum was founded in 1974, and its building opened in 1978. [1] The word mingei , meaning 'art of the people,' was coined by the Japanese scholar Dr. Sōetsu Yanagi by combining the Japanese words for all people (min 民) and art (gei 芸).

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History

Mingei International Museum was founded by Martha Longenecker, Professor of Art Emerita, San Diego State University. As an artist craftsman who studied pottery-making in Japan, she became acquainted with and learned from the founders and leaders of the Mingei Association of Japan. Under her guidance, the museum was established and developed over more than 27 years.

In May 1978, Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art opened at University Towne Centre in San Diego with the exhibition, Dolls and Folk Toys of the World.

In August 1996, Mingei International was relocated to the historic House of Charm on the Plaza de Panama in Balboa Park. It shares the central square with the San Diego Museum of Art and the Timken Museum of Art.

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In 2003, Mingei International opened a second museum in downtown Escondido, in North San Diego County. The premiere exhibition, Niki de Saint Phalle Remembered featured Niki de Saint Phalle's work from the museum's permanent collection and loans from the Niki Charitable Art Foundation.

In its 30-year history, Mingei International has presented 140 exhibitions, accompanied by related lectures, films, demonstrations, workshops, music, theater and dance.

Mingei International Museum closed its Escondido museum galleries to the public on June 26, 2010.

Collections

The museum's collections comprise 17,500 objects from 141 countries. The collections contain artifacts from the 3rd century BCE to the present day and include objects as diverse as ancient clay vessels and 21st-century Venetian glass. [2]

Several regions of the world are represented.

Exhibitions at Mingei

TitleDurationCurator(s)
MAKE: Skateboarding's Do It Yourself Revolution November 21, 2026 - May 9, 2027Mayo Mendoza

Guusje Sanders

Restitched: Feed Sacks in Mid-Twentieth Century Quilts November 22, 2025 - May 10, 2026Guusje Sanders
Boundless: Reflections of Southern California Landscapes in Midcentury Studio Ceramics September 27, 2025 - June 7, 2026Guusje Sanders
Inside the Design Center September 6, 2025 - April 12, 2026Dave Hampton

Steve Aldana Todd Pitman

Tuck and Roll: The Art of Armadillos May 24, 2025 - January 11, 2026Guusje Sanders
Layered Narratives: Quilted Stories of Gender and Race at the 1876 Centennial May 17, 2025 - November 16, 2025Olivia Zen Joseph
Historic Footprints: Native American Ledger Drawing from Fort Marion April 12, 2025 - August 17, 2025Ross Frank

Dr. Emily G. Hanna

Across the Spooniverse April 12, 2025 - August 17, 2025Dr. Emily G. Hanna

Bruno Claessens

Student Craft 2025 April 5, 2025 - August 17, 2025Juried Exhibition
Fashioning an Icon: Virgin of Guadalupe Imagery in Textile Design April 5, 2025 - September 7, 2025Ariana Torres
Blue Gold: The Art and Science of Indigo September 14, 2024 - March 16, 2025Dr. Emily G. Hanna

Guusje Sanders Barbara Hanson Forsyth

References

  1. Showley (1999), p. 183
  2. Collections

Further reading