MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO ANNOUNCES SUMMER PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

San Diego, CA—Summer is heating up at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) with a variety of engaging events and programs open to the public.

DON’T MISS…
If there’s one fundraiser to attend this summer, it’s the 2nd Annual Summer Solstice Soiree, a celebration that invites guests to welcome summer while supporting the arts. This deconstructed dinner party held on the oceanfront terrace at MCASD La Jolla will feature mouthwatering dishes from local restaurants, a full bar, and an art installation created specifically for the space by artist Brian Dick. Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on contemporary design goods in the silent auction. All proceeds from the Summer Solstice Soiree benefit MCASD’s exhibitions and education programs.

Wednesday, June 20 > 7 PM
MCASD La Jolla

NEW PROGRAM ALERT!
Feed your hunger for art! This summer, MCASD launches Loading Dock Lunches, an open invitation to visit a pop-up café at the Museum’s downtown campus. Guests may purchase lunch from MIHO Gastrotruck and dine in our loading dock for a true behind-the-scenes experience. Visitors will also receive an X-press pass good for free admission to the Museum that afternoon, allowing for a dose of art over the lunch break.

The second Friday of each month from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM:
Friday, June 8
Friday, July 13
Friday, August 10

MCASD Downtown

HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES FOR CHILDREN, TEENS, AND ADULTS

Teen Art Council Presents: A Night of Forks & Film
MCASD’s Teen Art Council presents a decidedly unique event: a communal dinner and workshop in conjunction with San Diego/Tijuana-based artist Elizabeth Chaney. Participants will be invited to consider issues of migration, globalization, and food justice during a screening of Ten Thousand Waves. The event is free-of-cost to current high school students. Space is limited and reservations are required. Send an email with subject line “Forks & Film” to education@mcasd.org with name, high school, and grade by by Friday, May 4, 2012.

Saturday, May 12 > 6 – 9 PM
MCASD Downtown

Family ArtLab: On The Wall
Families will participate in a Look/Explore tour with lively conversation about the exhibition Santa Ana Condition: John Valadez. Following the gallery exploration, participants will enjoy a collective mural workshop highlighting Valadez’s work and process.

Sunday, July 15 > 2 – 4 PM
MCASD La Jolla

Teen Workshops in Partnership with Outside the Lens
MCASD is partnering with Outside The Lens to offer two exciting summer photography workshops, both based at MCASD Downtown.

Portraits in the Urban Jungle > Grab a camera and hit the streets to explore the world through a new lens in the country’s eighth largest city. Participants will master aperture as they create urban portraits and freeze time by experimenting with shutter speed.

Friday, July 13 > 10 AM – 2 PM

The Perfect Exposure > Participants will refine their artistic eye while using exposure to capture the perfect landscape or portrait. Spend time playing with natural light as it bounces off the urban surroundings, then hit the studio to take control of professional lighting.

Friday, July 20 > 10 AM – 2 PM

Youth Workshops in Partnership with the Athenaeum
MCASD is partnering with the Athenaeum’s School of the Arts to offer two week-long art classes for children ages 7-12. Both classes run the week of July 16 at the Athenaeum’s La Jolla studio. Tuition includes free Museum admission for students and their parents during the entire week of the workshop, a guided Museum tour, and a showcase and small reception of student work at the Museum, where artist John Valadez will be present.
 

Portraits á la John Valadez> Students will create portraits inspired by the exhibition Santa Ana Condition: John Valadez at MCASD La Jolla, the first survey exhibition of important Mexican-American artist and muralist John Valadez. This class is from 9 AM–12 PM.

Still Life and Landscape á la John Valdez > Students will create still life and landscape drawings inspired by the exhibition, but also use the village of La Jolla as their source of inspiration. This class is from 1-4 PM.

Monday, July 16 – Friday, July 20 > 9 AM–12 PM and 1-4 PM
The Athenaeum, 1008 Wall Street

Adult Workshop in Partnership with the Athenaeum

MCASD is partnering with the Athenaeum’s School of the Arts to offer Oil Pastel á la John Valadez, a week-long oil pastel class which will focus on still-life, landscape, technique, and portraits inspired by the exhibition Santa Ana Condition: John Valadez at MCASD La Jolla. Tuition includes a guided tour by John Valadez of his exhibition, tickets to the John Valadez On Topic lecture on July 19, and admission to the Museum for the entire week.

Monday, July 23 - Thursday, July 26 > 10 AM - 2:30 PM
The Athenaeum, 1008 Wall Street

LECTURES, DISCUSSIONS, AND TOURS

Perspectives: A Minimalist Accord
An engaging conversation with Erik Smigel, professor of Musicology at San Diego State University, whose studies of Minimalist Music lend a unique perspective to the work featured in the exhibition Iconic.

Wednesday, May 17, 2012 > 7-8:30 PM
MCASD Downtown

Xcerpts: Dissecting the Words of Brice Marden
This reading group will discuss selections taken from Oral history interview with Brice Marden, 1972 Oct. 3, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, and an interview between Marden and artist Michael Duffy. To obtain copies of the excerpts, e-mail education@mcasd.org.

Thursday, May 24, 2012 > 4-5 PM
MCASD Downtown

Introductions: John Valadez
Be one of the first visitors to get a curator-led tour of Santa Ana Condition: John Valadez, which opens Sunday, June 10. Learn about the installation and process relating to the artist and the exhibition.

Monday, June 11 > 2 PM
MCASD La Jolla

Perspectives: Mexican American Art Today
An enlightening discussion with artists Perry Vasquez and Marcos Ramirez ERRE as well as Misael Diaz and Amy Sanchez of Cognate Collective. They will discuss their practice, the challenges and ambiguities of belonging to a region, and their work in the global context.

Thursday, June 21 > 7 - 8:30 PM
MCASD La Jolla

Xcerpts: Art After the Chicano Movement
The group will discuss Rita Gonzalez’s essay “Phantom Sites: The Official, the Unofficial, and the Orificial” from the book Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, and take a closer look at works included in Santa Ana Condition: John Valadez. To obtain copies of the excerpts, e-mail education@mcasd.org.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 > 4-5 PM
MCASD La Jolla

On Topic: A Conversation with John Valadez
On Topic utilizes featured artists’ work as a launch pad to explore broad topics in contemporary art, providing an informal course taught by the artists themselves. Join John Valadez in a conversation about his practice and work featured in Santa Ana Condition: John Valadez.

Thursday, July 19 > 7 – 8:30 PM
MCASD La Jolla

Xcerpts: Exploring Recent Interviews with John Valadez
The group will explore recent interviews with John Valadez for the KCET Departures online series.

Thursday, July 26, 2012 > 4-5 PM
MCASD La Jolla

OPEN HOUSE: FREE THIRD THURSDAY EVENINGS
On the third Thursday of every month from 5-7 PM, visitors receive FREE admission to the Museum (both locations, pending exhibition schedules), plus free tours beginning at 5 and 6 PM.

Free Third Thursday dates for 2012 include: May 17, June 21, July 19, August 16, September 20, October 18, November 15, and December 20.

EXHIBITION OPENINGS

Santa Ana Condition: John Valadez
For thirty-five years, John Valadez has depicted the people and places of Southern California in his exquisite pastels and richly hued canvases. Moving from the realistic to the fantastic, Los Angeles-based Valadez conveys qualities of the city’s lived reality and imagined potential.

Opens Sunday, June 11 at MCASD La Jolla
Members’ Opening is Saturday, June 10 from 7 – 9 PM

Margaret Noble: 44th and Landis
This multi-media performance and installation by sound artist Margaret Noble charts a psycho-geographical path through City Heights, where the artist grew up. Combining visual traces of the neighborhood’s early Victorian years and motifs drawn from 1980s urban pop culture, 44th and Landis takes the form of a sculptural environment that also incorporates a soundscape of voices, field recordings, and elements sampled from pop culture.

Members and visitors are invited to celebrate the exhibition opening at TNT (Thursday Night Thing) on August 9 from 7 – 10 PM at MCASD Downtown.

MONTE CARLO: SAVE THE DATE
The annual Monte Carlo gala is one of San Diego’s most beloved events and among the most highly anticipated arts fundraisers of the year, generating necessary support for the Museum’s exhibitions and education programs.

Saturday, September 8, 2012
MCASD La Jolla
 

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO (MCASD)
Founded in 1941, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is the preeminent contemporary visual arts institution in San Diego County. The Museum’s collection includes more than 4,000 works of art created since 1950. In addition to presenting exhibitions by international contemporary artists, the Museum serves thousands of children and adults annually at its varied education programs, and offers a rich program of film, performance, and lectures. MCASD is a private, nonprofit organization, with 501c3 tax-exempt status; it is supported by generous contributions and grants from MCASD Members and other individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies. Dr. Hugh M. Davies is The David C. Copley Director at MCASD.
Institutional support for MCASD is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
www.mcasd.org

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