Winter 2025

Ingenuity lies at the heart of everything we celebrate at Mingei.

Our fall exhibitions, like Inside the Design Center, reveal the ingenuity of mid-century makers and how they revolutionized how we live. Ilse Ruocco and the designers she championed—from Charles and Ray Eames to California innovators like Greta Magnusson Grossman—reimagined furniture, lighting, and everyday objects with clean lines, new materials, and a spirit of experimentation that continues to inspire today.

In fact, without the imagination and drive of our founder, Martha Longenecker, Mingei might not be here today. One of the guiding principles of our founder was that objects should honestly fulfill the purpose for which they were made, serving daily life while embodying imagination and care. Both Boundless and Restitched beautifully capture this idea: that necessity, curiosity, and creativity are forever intertwined in the art of making. Their work reminds us that the urge to innovate often grows from a reverence for place and a need for tactile connection.

Now, the artists we work with, and our own staff, are all pushing creative work into new directions, bringing new forms, untold stories, and evolving traditions to light. The rich, full, life of this Museum is a testament to the collective ingenuity of so many, both past and present.

Imagination and ingenuity drive us forward, but also remind us to take a breath and be in the present. Our health benefits from using our hands and focusing on a creative task. Through our workshops and educational programs, we invite you to experience ingenuity firsthand, whether you're learning a new craft technique in our classroom or discovering unexpected connections between objects in our collection.

Ingenuity celebrates the human impulse to make, improve, and reimagine. It honors both tradition and innovation, recognizing that the most enduring objects often emerge from the marriage of both.

At Mingei, we believe ingenuity is more than invention—it’s connection. It reminds us that creativity lives not only in galleries, but also in kitchens and classrooms. It’s found wherever hands and hearts come together to make something meaningful.

We look forward to exploring ingenuity with you at Mingei, this season and beyond.

Jessica

Ilse and Lloyd Ruocco’s Design Center, located in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood, was the beating heart of the city’s modern design movement throughout the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. The space served not only as a showroom but also as a hub of collaboration and experimentation—a gathering place for architects, designers, and craftspeople who believed in the power of good design to shape daily life. Inside the Design Center brings this influential site back to life through a vignette of mid-twentieth-century interiors, lighting, and furniture as originally curated by Ilse Ruocco for her 1950 showroom.

This exhibition offers an immersive look into San Diego’s culture of modernism, viewed through the lenses of architecture, interior design, home goods retailing, landscape architecture, graphic design, and photography. Historic images of the original Design Center set the backdrop for more than 30 original works of modernist furniture and décor. Featured designers include Charles and Ray Eames, Greta Magnusson Grossman, Dorothy Schindele, Milo Baughman, and Edith Heath of Heath Ceramics, each representing a unique approach to material, form, and function.

Inside the Design Center is an exploration of ingenuity, showcasing how postwar designers embraced new technologies, materials, and ways of living to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world. California’s designers were not only redefining style, they were reimagining how people interacted with the spaces around them. Ilse Ruocco’s vision championed design that was intentional, functional, and lifestyle oriented. Each piece is meant to exist alongside the routines of daily life.

Mingei hopes to inspire an appreciation for San Diego’s surprising history of design and architecture. Inside the Design Center taps into the culture and community of postwar modernism, valuing groundbreaking creatives and emphasizing California’s distinct mark on mid-twentieth century design.

On a warm afternoon in Balboa Park, a group of high school students from across San Diego arrived with backpacks, notebooks, and a little bit of first-day nervousness. They gathered in Mingei’s classroom over TNT Pizza, with Japanese jazz curated by their new mentor, India Thompson, drifting through the work space. Each shared their different creative focus, but all wanting the same thing: to explore how to turn talent into a career journey. Their conversation marked the first day of Teens at Mingei.

This 8-month, career-readiness program kicked off with 12 local teens who meet with Mingei staff to go behind the scenes of museum work, while also connecting with local arts organizations including Mortis Studio, Balboa Art Conservation Center, Sew Loka, San Diego Airport Arts Program, and The New Children’s Museum. Teens are compensated for their time while gaining exposure to creative careers, building confidence and community, and discovering how folk art, craft, and design can shape their future. This program serves an important age group through museum programming.

At Mingei, we are deepening our commitment to create meaningful entry points to folk art, craft, and design for every age. Our youngest visitors and their caregivers join us for Mini Mingei, where children ages 2–5 are introduced to the joy of making through playful, hands-on art experiences. Make at Mingei invites people of all ages to create side-by-side, offering cross-generational workshops with community artists that celebrate collaboration and the timeless love of making. Adults come together through programs like Dye Together, Stitch Together, and the newly launched Clay Together, each inspired by traditional craft and designed to build community through shared creative practice. Through these programs Mingei nurtures every stage of the creative journey.

Follow the teen run Instagram @teens.mingei where they’ll share their projects, inspirations, and experiences throughout the year.

Since reopening in 2021, Mingei’s Community Mondays program has blossomed into a gathering place for creativity, generosity, and connection. Fifty-seven organizations and individual artists have activated the Museum, using the space as a stage, a classroom, and a place of celebration. Community Mondays has hosted everything from intimate dinners honoring dedicated donors, to international film screenings sparking cross-cultural dialogue, to fundraisers advancing important work, to energetic dance performances that fill our spaces with joy and movement.

The impact cannot be measured in numbers alone; it lives in the stories that unfold when people come together. In 2025, we welcomed 1,670 attendees, each taking part in something bigger than themselves. Community Mondays embodies our belief that art and culture thrive when shared. By opening our doors, we create space to foster connection, amplify diverse voices, and strengthen creativity in our community.

2025 Participating Organizations

Dreams+Ducats

Postpartum Health Alliance (PHA)

One of One Community

Oncology On Kids

The San Diego Asian Pacific Islander (API) Coalition

Mental Wellness for Artists (MWA)

Silayan Filipina

San Diego Writers Ink

Border Angels

Transborder Film Foundation

Victor De La Fuente

TILTshift Dance and bkSOUL

Arts Education Connection San Diego

Bridge the Gap San Diego

House of Lebanon San Diego

Artful Mind

San Diego Hunger Coalition

Persian Place

The following is an excerpt from our interview with Carmen Pauli at her home, designed and built in 1958 by Lloyd Ruocco. In her interview, Carmen reflects on the creative influences that shaped her work and the ways her practice continues to celebrate ingenuity and craftsmanship.

Carmen is a fan of mid-twentieth-century modern styles, evident in all facets of her craft. Similar to the story of Ilse and Lloyd Ruocco in Mingei’s exhibition, Inside the Design Center, Carmen and her husband Todd Pitman are deeply involved in the San Diego mid-century design community. In the early 2000s, they hosted the first Mod Swap, a space for collectors of vintage objects, furniture, jewelry, and art to swap and sell iconic pieces. “Fun fact: When we first started doing it, it was just a fun hangout—bring some of your extra stuff that you wanna get rid of and we’ll hang out at someone’s house.” Mod Swap now exists as an occasional, swap-meet style event. In 2022, Mod Swap was part of San Diego Design Week, hosted by Mingei, presented by ObjectsUSA and Modern San Diego.

Architecture and jewelry both involve mixing mediums and materials to create something new. Architecture was a clear path for Carmen, and jewelry making is a natural extension of her creative ingenuity. In both disciplines, Carmen’s work aligns with the Mingei philosophy that celebrates the beauty in everyday objects of use.

Strolling through Shop Mingei, you see firsthand the impeccable curation of local and international artists by Mingei’s Director of Retail and Visitor Experience, Jill DeDominicis, and Visual Merchandiser, Kass Weston. Their keen eyes are always on the look out for artisans whose handcrafted pieces reflect originality and imagination. Among them is Atlanta–based artist Trecy Bleich, whose unique work blends geometry, color, and contemporary design. “My approach to ingenuity is hand-creating using my signature materials of Japanese glass and hematite beads,” she says. “I use the same materials in all my pieces so people know the design is from me.”

For Boundless: Reflections of Southern California Landscapes in Mid-Century Studio Ceramics, Curator Guusje Sanders brought together 162 objects from our permanent collection to examine how the region’s landscapes shaped mid-twentieth-century ceramic art. In “From the Curator’s Desk”, she describes the initial spark of inspiration for the exhibition and reflects on how the context of the time period influenced the work of featured artists.

The Natzlers—and this pot—are magnificent examples of the ingenuity that defines mid-century studio ceramics. They often went on long hikes, gathering inspiration and sometimes pitch—the sticky, resinous substance that seeps from the wounds of evergreen trees like pine and fir—to use during firing. Filled with experimentation and innovation, studio potters embraced what were once considered glazing defects. The little pinholes and blisters became mesmerizing lava glazes as artists deliberately applied glazes that create these pockmarks, turning accident
into intent.

Mingei International Museum honors the life and legacy of Wayne Chapman (1929–2025), whose work—and spirit—embodied the boundless creativity of Southern California’s mid-century studio ceramics movement. This past summer, curator Guusje Sanders had the privilege of visiting Wayne in his Solana Beach home, for what would become one of his final interviews.

At 96, Wayne remained as sharp, generous, and passionate as ever. His remarkable journey through clay offers a poignant reminder of how art can shape not only objects, but the trajectory of our lives.

A walk through the exhibition Boundless promises an encounter with vessels made by Martha Longenecker (1920–2013), who was both a pioneering ceramic artist and the visionary founder of Mingei International Museum. Martha was deeply inspired by an encounter with Soetsu Yanagi, a founder of the mingei movement, in Los Angeles in 1952. Over a decade later, she traveled to Japan to study with renowned ceramists, immersing herself in the mingei philosophy that emphasized beauty in everyday handmade objects. These formative experiences profoundly influenced her artistic practice and life’s work.

Mingei International Museum cares for nearly 30,000 works of folk art, craft, and design from around the world—each one carrying the story of a person, culture, or community. As stewards of these objects, we hold a deep responsibility to understand them fully and honor the people from whom they come.

In 2025, Mingei created a new role, the Collections Fellow, to strengthen this commitment to research, respect, and accountability. We are proud to welcome Sedna Villavicencio, who brings a wealth of knowledge and
passion for community-centered museum work.

Of the 30,000 works in Mingei’s permanent collection, 667 originate from Indigenous tribal nations within the United States. Sedna’s role includes implementing the Museum’s compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This landmark law ensures museums consult with tribes to determine accurate histories and rightful ownership of cultural materials, offering to return items in our collection to tribes who wish to regain ownership. Through her work, Sedna helps build bridges between Mingei and Indigenous communities—fostering healing, dialogue, and shared stewardship.

A graduate of UCLA, with degrees in Native American Studies, Anthropology, Chicanx Studies, and Museum Studies, Sedna is part of a curatorial team shaping a museum future that is both relevant and responsible. As she says, “NAGPRA helps heal the past through repatriation, but it also helps museums build positive, collaborative relationships with Indigenous communities.”

What is Museum Repatriation?

Museum repatriation is the process of returning cultural artifacts and human remains from a museum to their community or country of origin, often in recognition of historical injustices like colonial acquisition or looting. This ethical process aims to repair past harms by returning sacred objects, ancestral remains, and items of cultural patrimony to their rightful descendants, allowing them to reconnect with their heritage and history.

Learn more about NAGPRA from The National Park Service.

A team of 53 staff and a network of trained volunteers each work in their expert roles to make Mingei a place where visitors, artists, and students feel welcome, inspired and enlightened.

It takes a special community of beautiful people who connect together to immerse our visitors in folk art, craft, and design. If you’d like to volunteer please join us!

Mingei celebrates all of our members who make the Museum a true community space for gathering, connection, and creativity! Your involvement in our programs and exhibitions helps bring the Mingei mission to life.

As we move toward a new year, we invite you to visit us again and see where inspiration strikes. Enjoy a delicious meal with friends at ARTIFACT, try a new look at Shop Mingei, or take part in a hands-on workshop.

If you’re enjoying your Mingei membership, we encourage you to consider upgrading to Mingei’s Director’s Circle! This vibrant group of Museum supporters provides essential financial support to Mingei while celebrating folk art, craft, and design in style.

From frequent Director’s Circle Salons to the annual Director’s Circle Dinner and Reception, there are many opportunities to connect with like-minded art lovers.

To learn more, reach out to Mingei Membership at (619) 704-7516.

At Mingei, we believe in connecting people to a creative community, and supporting and sharing the work of makers from our region and across the globe. We can only continue the Museum’s mission to celebrate folk art,
craft, and design through our exhibitions and programs with your help.

There are many ways to give to Mingei:

Volunteer time
Become a member
Make a donation
Join a donor group
Donate a car
Include Mingei in your estate plans

What’s your Mingei passion? Are you a design enthusiast? Do you want to support our programs for kids and students? Donations can be made to a special interest that speaks to you. Your contribution will have an impact on everything we do in the year ahead.

The Museum team is grateful to the many donors, members, and financial partners who help sustain this important work. You can see a list of recent donors of note here. Thank you for your involvement and support for Mingei!

Located just outside our front doors, Mingei dedicates a special installation space to local arts partners for rotating displays uplifting creativity, diversity, and cultural traditions of our region. This quarterly rotating display we call “Community Spotlight,” welcomes thousands of viewers each month and provides a place for community groups to share their work with the public in an accessible way. Mingei has partnered with nine community groups to produce eleven installations in this highly visible niche.

Each fall, we eagerly anticipate how artists Francisco Soto and Martha Diaz of Sherman Heights Community Center will create a new interpretation of a Día de los Muertos altar. This October, they paid tribute to the pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico and the enduring significance of remembrance and tradition. Just when we think these artisans can’t top the previous year—they do!

Written by Emily Hanna, Director of Exhibitions and Chief Curator

Mingei is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of work by Chase Kahwinhut Earles, a ceramic artist and member of the Indigenous Caddo Nation. Caddo culture has flourished for generations since about 900 A.D., spanning the present-day states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Earles lives and works in Oklahoma, where the modern-day Caddo Nation was established in the mid-nineteenth century following forced relocation to “Indian Territory”.

The Caddo were a settled, agricultural people and prolific potters. Vessels from this culture are instantly recognizable by their delicately swirling, cream-colored patterns etched into burnished dark pots. Earles learned the traditional way of harvesting and processing clay, burnishing, pit-firing, and carving through studying historic pottery, other potters, and by trial and error. He creates traditional forms but also innovates, turning to subjects from his own life—Star Wars, for example, and skateboarding.

Curated from Mingei International Museum’s Permanent Collection, this Farm to Craft: Grains in Global Folk Art explores our deep relationship with grains, one of the oldest materials used for art, expression, and everyday life.

In this exhibition, visitors will travel the world grain by grain, discovering how cultures are united by the harvest—transforming straw, husks, chaff, and the grains themselves into tools, textiles, and objects of function and beauty.

On view Feb 14, 2026 - Jan 10, 2027

To Catch a Fish

On View: May 2 - Nov 1, 2026

Presents over sixty works of craft and art that are either used in fishing or that illuminate the relationship between people and fish.

India Thompson: Looks Like Home

On View: May 16 - Oct 18, 2026

Thompson meticulously weaves reed sculptures of her apartment’s contents, transforming familiar items like microwaves, toilets, and refrigerators into poignant reflections on belonging and impermanence.