A Day at Mingei

Planning to visit soon?

Here is a comprehensive list of the various ways you can enjoy the new Mingei – from viewing commissioned artworks and newly renovated public spaces to sharing your experiences with us on social media and at San Diego Design Week.

Discover New Artworks and Iconic Mingei Objects

The Museum’s reopening arrives with two new exhibitions: GLOBAL SPIRIT – Folk Art from the Ted Cohen Collection and HUMBLE SPIRIT / PRICELESS ART. Each exhibition uniquely represents Mingei’s mission to celebrate craftspeople from diverse cultures as well as the profound creativity we can discover in our daily lives.

The Museum commissioned eight new pieces by six visionary women artists. Each contributes a key element of Mingei’s transformation.

• Sessions by Petra Blaisse – A billowing, acoustic curtain that stretches along the entire length of the 40-foot retractable glass wall in the Theater

• Truth & Beauty in Black by Claudy Jongstra – A 30-foot felted mural that hangs above the bar as a sound-dampening textile within the new Bistro

• sugi/kuruminoki and liquid2solid by Christina Kim:

  • sugi/kuruminoki – A pair of light, cut paper window screens to be installed in the Founders’ Gallery, home to the Museum’s iconic Nakashima table

  • liquid2solid – A series of flowing, hand-sewn temporary curtains to be used in the galleries, each made from off-cut waste of Dyneema®, a technological fabric

• Hedgerow and Suspended Refrain by Jennifer Luce:
  • Hedgerow – A sculptural fence defining the new public courtyard
  • Suspended Refrain – A perforated stainless steel canopy found on the interior public plaza and stretching the length of Shop Mingei and Café Mingei

• Two thousand seven hundred twenty-two miles Hand in Hand by Sharon Stampfer – A custom sculpted door-handle for the Founders’ Gallery door

• EAST | WEST by Billie Tsien – Mingei’s official gallery bench – one of three new benches that will be available for public use in the main galleries

Fan favorites from the Museum’s permanent collection will also return – including the Mingei International Museum Chandelier by Dale Chihuly, A Palace for Wednesday by Alice Hudson, The Poet and His Muse by Niki de Saint Phalle and many more.

Explore Mingei’s New Public Areas

In collaboration with LUCE et studio and its architect, Jennifer Luce, Mingei’s transformational construction project prioritizes openness, with the plan to become Balboa Park’s living room.

The Commons Level (main floor) of the Museum is accessible from two main entrances, Plaza de Panama and Alcazar Garden, and will be open and free to the public at all times. On this level you'll find:

• Shop Mingei – a chic shopping destination that features handmade and thoughtfully designed items from local and international creatives.
• CRAFT CAFÉ – where you can grab a coffee, tea and even some avocado and toast.
• An outdoor Courtyard with ample gathering space and a warm welcome for visitors.
• ARTIFACT Mingei’s full-service restaurant opening in October 2021

The upstairs Gallery Level will include newly configured, flexible gallery spaces with sculpted plaster ceilings referencing origami. This level is also home to the Frances Hamilton White Art Reference Library and Founders Gallery.

And for the first time in decades, the two upper-level terraces will be open to the public. By reclaiming lost spaces within a static footprint, visitors will now have an opportunity to experience the full size and history of the building while enjoying views of Balboa Park.

Engage with us!

Share your experience at Mingei with us – whether in person to our staff around the Museum or on social media. We’d love to hear from you and connect about your experience in the transformed Mingei! Follow us on Instagram or Twitter and use our hashtags – #MeetYourNewMingei or #MingeiTransformation!

Bonus: Check out the San Diego Design Week schedule and register for your favorite events.

San Diego Design week is a five-day celebration of our region’s binational design communities presented by Mingei International Museum. It takes place September 8-12, with a week full of hands-on workshops, discussions and exhibitions of the best that San Diego-Tijuana design has to offer. In addition to being the presenting organization, Mingei will host guided tours of our Ted Cohen exhibit and our Creative Director Patricia Cué will lead additional sessions such as “Finding our Way through Collaboration” and “Two Friends, One Book and Why Print” among other sessions. Check out the events and register here – we’ll see you there!