MCASD promises Downtown San Diego destined to be the place for art lovers

If you love art, Downtown San Diego is filled— and there’s more to come. The neighborhood is becoming a destination for all types of art.

After an expansion that quadrupled gallery space in its La Jolla location, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is reimagining its Downtown San Diego campus and offering new experiences.

For example, MCASD Downtown will develop a multi-disciplinary arts hub to “nurture the visual and performing arts of the region.”

The goal is:

• Bridging new collaborations,
• Engaging new audiences, and
• Highlighting new voices.

“Downtown San Diego is changing. It’s a dynamic period for our arts and culture community, especially for the neighborhoods surrounding Downtown,” said Kathryn Kanjo, MCASD David C. Copley Director and CEO.

Kanjo’s role is to continue guiding MCASD toward its mission of “inviting all audiences to experience our world, our region, and ourselves through the prism of contemporary art.”

“Contemporary art looks forward and this initiative aligns directly with our forward-thinking mission. Our audiences are hungry for this type of vision: exciting partnerships, new experiences, and a place of gathering and connection to reflect on the art of our times,” she said. “The strategic shift will leverage creative partnerships from across the region to further enhance Downtown San Diego as an arts destination for the region.”

The Downtown campus is made up of two nearby addresses, each with their own function. At 1100 Kettner Blvd., the building will be transformed into a flexible exhibition and performance space. With its vast gallery spaces, the Jacobs Building will continue to host MCASD’s education activities and art installations, alongside new, programmatic partnerships. 1001 Kettner Blvd. Will serve as an arts incubator.

At both addresses, MCASD Downtown will welcome people to artistic performances, exhibitions, events, and experiences. The campus will continue supporting MCASD’s education initiatives to connect students with contemporary art through offerings like Extended School Partnerships and Teen Arts Collective.

The new Downtown San Diego experiences will each have appropriate entrance costs attached to them that support the village of creatives working together to make San Diego an arts destination for all.

“I imagine each experience will attract different types of participants. I expect the partnerships will foster expanded audiences for each organization or creator. Together we can evolve not just what we do but who experiences it,” Kanjo said.

In 2023, MCASD has exciting partnerships with local leaders in design and performing arts, including La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls (WOW) Festival, World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024 (WDC 2024,) and Blindspot Collective.

The WOW Festival marks the first step in the “reimagined” Downtown campus.

“People can expect a lot of fun and intriguing programs and partnerships beginning with the immersive theatrical experience La Lucha, which is a partnership between The La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls (WOW) and Optika Moderna.

“Inspired by Lucha Libre – where professional Mexican wrestlers use masks and high-flying maneuvers to astonish and captivate audiences – La Lucha will transport visitors to a realm of ringside thrills and backstage secrecies,” Kanjo said.

As part of its initial limited run, San Diego audiences will be able to preview the experience as part of The 2023 WOW Festival running April 27-30. After the festival, La Lucha will open to the public in May 2023.

In additon, MCASD partnered with WDC 2024 to share its Downtown exhibit space as a premier venue to spotlight. The designation as World Design Capital is significant as San Diego is the first U.S. city to win the distinction and brings an international audience to the city’s designers– another step in Downtown becoming an art destination on its own.

Kanjo believes the reimagined museum should attract people from near and far.

“I believe [Downtown] is and it will only continue to grow as an arts destination. The recent debut of the San Diego Symphony’s Shell and the completion of our expansion are evidence of that. Most importantly, I believe in the large community of creatives, artists, tastemakers, and arts advocates and administrators who work tirelessly to ensure that San Diego’s arts and culture continue to thrive,” she said.

Kanjo added that she is incredibly proud of MCASD’s contributions in helping place the city on a map that attracts art lovers and those curious and hungry for the type of enrichment and revelation that comes from, for example, a visit to the museum.

The campus will be a gathering center and a place to get involved —not just a stuffy archive.

“The museum is not just a place where art is stored. It needs to be an accessible site for cultural gathering and understanding. We want to use the Downtown campus to find community in the art and with each other and we will find that through partnerships that are programmatic and experiential,” she said.

“We will be a partner and a host, nurturing the visual and performing arts of the region. You can imagine the hub both as the excellent location Downtown—central—and as the site that gathers the ‘spokes’ of creative partners: together we produce energy.”

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