Contemporary Art San Diego Mission Statement

Mission, Vision, and Values The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) articulates a clear mission: to "invite all audiences to experience our world, our region, and ourselves through the prism of contemporary art." This vision extends to "harness the potency of contemporary art to inspire expansive thinking and an inclusive world", while their values include the belief that "art is essential to our well-being,... the preservation and care of art is critical for the future, and in listening and responding to the needs of our diverse publics and communities, respecting differences, and embracing the vibrancy of our binational region." These values highlight the museum's dedication to inclusivity, engagement, and cultural diversity, particularly

I would, however, say that they do hold true to these values, generic as they may be. I have personally visited this gallery thrice, and their collection includes a lot of works by non-white, non-male artists. It is not often that I have come across a gallery that gives the same amount of deference to Yinka Shonibare and Miriam Schapiro as it does to Andy Warhol and Ellsworth Kelly, but this gallery is full of spaces where artistic notoriety is not as essential as the message of the artwork. I know this is what museums are supposed to be, but anyone who has been to any major art museum knows that the majority of people hover around a canvas just because it was attributed to someone famous, not because the work itself is good or strong. In this regard, I think MCASD’s curatorial department and gallery planning are some of their greatest strengths. There is plenty of evidence outside of my personal experience to support this; reviews on TripAdvisor and other similar forums illustrate similar sentiments, with many claiming to not be fans of contemporary art at all, but appreciating the time and care that has gone into both the curation of the permanent collection and the rotating