Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

This museum was not worth the trip downtown or a $ 10 ticket. There only for exhibit pieces and those were not worth spending $ 10 or the time to get there. We would not recommend that museum to anyone!

A friend and I decided to come to MCASD because of a photo we saw on instagram of one of their exhibits. Having lived in SD almost my entire life, I had actually never gone to any of the MCASD locations. I didn’t know how big this place was or if there was a parking lot, etc.
To answer the parking lot question: there isn’t. Well at least I couldn’t find one. I had to park on the street. But thankfully it was a Sunday and I didn’t have to pay!
To answer how big the place was: not very. It only holds a few exhibitions. When you walk in, there is an option to go right (immediately) down a hall that holds a piece of wall art. Then back to the main area, there are two large spaces. When I went there were two large installations in those spaces. Then in the large space to the left held two looping art clips. I’m not sure if MCADD split the rooms for this piece or if it’s actually two separate rooms. But either way, that area was small. The 2^nd building is across the street and only had 1 exhibit which was another video on loop.
Because I’m under the age of 25, I was able to go into the museum for free. However, I can’t imagine people actually paying for admission…
The staff were all nice so that’s definitely a plus. One even helped take our photo!
The exhibits are clean and there is enough room to comfortably walk around with multiple people in the room.
Overall I enjoyed the museum. I’ll definitely come back when a new exhibit opens.

My husband and I were visiting San Diego for the weekend and we were excited about checking out this museum. We arrived, paid our $ 20 (total), and set off to see the exhibits. After being there for about 2 minutes, we realized there were only three exhibits — some lights, some polyps (which looked like old balls), and a silent movie that made me want to fight somebody. We spent another 6 minutes at the museum. We left and got beers to soothe the pain. The beers were a much better use of our money.

I am a fan of this small art gallery, I just wish they would utilize the space better. They usually only feature two or three artist at a time. The last time I went here there was a large room, maybe the size of an average apartment bedroom, dedicated to found objects. It was an interesting exhibit but there was so much open space. It was essentially like, a few nails here, gum wrapper there, old discarded shoe in the corner. There is so much potential for this place.

Sadly, I am not under 25 so was forced to pay $ 10 for this underwhelming experience. It is small and has few exhibits. The architecture of the building is more intriguing.
The high point of my visit was when pointing out a divot in a rock to a friend to compare it to the mold, I was shouted at to not touch the art by an elderly gentleman who worked there.
To that gentleman, if you are an employee, please strive to keep your job as Walmart is not hiring. If you are a volunteer, you are overpaid. At 42, I do not need to be told not to touch things in a museum.
This place is barely worth it if you’re under 25 and it’s free. You’ll see more fascinating exhibits of contemporary art if you go outside to the bus stop and see how the homeless stack trash in their pilfered grocery carts.
To not leave a completely negative review, the female museum employee with short reddish blonde hair was extremely nice and gave us information on Anya Gallaccio’s work in progress, «Devils Mountain». Perhaps she could give lessons to the other employees on dealing with museum visitors.

Stumbled upon this place simply because it was on the route to my parking spot. Saw a sign outside saying FREE admission for 25 & under, sponsored by Qualcomm! Seeing as how my 25^th year is up in 3 months, I saw this as a golden opportunity to squeeze out what was left of my youth!
This is a small gallery, with only 3 rooms (or 4 if you count the entryway), but the artwork was substantial. I was lucky enough to catch the large scale works of El Anatsui on the last day of his exhibition! He was an artist who I’ve never heard of but I truly enjoyed the pieces. I also loved how peaceful the inside of the museum was so I could spend my time looking at each piece and getting up close without being in someone’s way.
There is also another location in La Jolla, with different exhibitions. I’m not exactly sure of how often they change the works, but judging from their current calendar & La Jolla’s calendar, it’s every 2 – 4 months.
No food or drinks but the receptionist was kind enough to let me leave my hot coffee with her at the front instead of making me throw it away.
Overall this isn’t LACMA or MoMA, but it’s a nice stop if you’re hunting for the small art scene in San Diego.

If you’ve ever toured a two bedroom house, you’ll experience something familiar here. I randomly walked by and noticed the free admission for 25 and below, so gave it a shot. They had up a collection of bottled caps and parts entwined with wire to form what I infer to reflect blankets and the like, but really it’s a bunch of trash envisioning materialistic simplications. I see no reason to have taken my companion’s bags when we explored the area in a matter of minutes, to which could be equivalent to the time we waited to be given a sticker to walk about anyway. Not much to see, and little variety, but nevertheless consistent. Not impressed, however I didn’t mind the little detour, and would point someone to check it out if they happened to be going through the area.

They have incredible pieces from well known artist. Its a big museum, so I recommend to go if you have enough time to check everything out

This is a small location, but the surrounding neighborhood and staff are amazing!
Pros:
–Clean, quiet place! Once you enter, you are immediately greeted. And you also see the first piece! I came here and the first one I saw was «Gravity and Grace».
Cons:
–I was hoping that someone would be able to come up and explain the pieces to us… but I’m not exactly sure if they actually do that at museums. Nonetheless, I could read the description so it’s not a big deal.
The art pieces are large scale (at least, when I went) so I was able to finish everything in about 30 minutes. I’m sure other people with a better understanding of art would appreciate it way more than me though!
Overall, I came here for a class assignment but I enjoyed this museum! Would come here again since 25 years and under is free admission.

Closed on Wednesdays but three people get paid to sit in the lobby on a Wednesday. I say send them all home or train them to become security guards and let visitors view the museum. I’d never make a large donation to this museum when they mismanage money this way, even though a few useless employees is probably the least of the Museum’s wasted funds.

I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego last month as part of a series called Blind Date that ran on Fridays through February. The series was curated by MCASD’s Cris Scorza, and it was built around interactions with Rita McBride’s «Arena,» an impressive set of bleachers as sculpture that’s traveled around the world since its creation in 1997. I read with the Vermin on the Mount reading series, and had a great time.
The museum was right at the Santa Fe Depot, easy to access from the Amtrak station. The area was charming and walkable, and I liked the museum space quite a bit, though I didn’t get to see all of it.
The reading was fun, with everyone sitting on the sculpture. The space was lovely, near the front of the museum, «Arena» occupying its own room. There was another cool installation in the room across the way.
I didn’t get a chance to explore the rest of the museum this time around, but I liked what I saw and would love to go back on a longer visit (this one was only for an afternoon). Cris was a wonderful hostess, and I liked the way the museum seemed to be run. I’ll be sure to buy a ticket the next time I visit.

We only come here once in a while but it is a great museum. There isn’t a lot to see, usually only a few artists on exhibit at any given time. It does cost more than going to museums in Balboa Park but this is a way better venue and you can talk to the docents in depth regarding the art.

The exhibit up right now is hella cool. Comedy. Stop and watch all the videos if you have the time. My boyfriend and I came in fresh off the beach and got in for free. It’s free up to the age of 26 I believe. Pretty sweet deal for broke art students like us!
If you’re a serious student of art (literally or in the grand sense of things) you HAVE to spend some time in the book shop. They’ve got everything! Including amazing artist biographies and killer graphic design books and guides I’ve been looking for everywhere.
Worth a visit!

Yeah–
It’s kinda a rip off.
The fact that the trolly location is under renovation and that the Santa Fe Station exhibit space is wicked small with questionable art. And yes, you get admission to the La Jolla location with purchase, but dang nabbit, it’s just so far away. However, I have to support the arts. Usually these spaces are filled with some pretty rad stuff. I’m giving them a free pass this time… Hopefully the next exhibit will blow our proverbial socks off. Like the street art exhibit or pacific standard time, remember those?!

Horribly TINY Place with snobby People, waste of $$. Balboa Park is so much better

I’m a big fan of this museum. I appreciate how if you’re 25 and under, admission is free. There is also discount for military and senior discount. It’s really interesting, and I enjoy the light exhibit. I feel quite artsy when I walk through this museum. It’s not that big, but it does the job. There’s an outdoor walking portion, which is fun, too. It has the perfect location, as well!

I really really like this place. They have a great layout of the artwork which I find more engaging than other museums. Everything is stacked from floor to ceiling, but the art is large enough where you’re not squinting or missing details of the ones up top. It’s similar to a French Art Salon. Note: There’s no artist or title info by each piece; the museum has a cool little map that tells you all the info at once.
Also, the art here is amazing! When you hear «contemporary» it can mean so many different things to different people, but to me, this stuff is really great contemporary. Fun, colorful, engaging, intriguing… I could go on, but you should just see for yourself! ;) I noticed a Helen Frankenfaler in here and that made me super happy. Love her.
The building itself is beautiful and there are some lovely arched windows which only enhance the experience. Overall a great place to chill for about 30 min — 2 hours depending on how long you like to look at art. Also the staff was very kind and helpful which again, is hard to come by in museums.
Oh, and for you picture takers out there I’m pretty sure you can photograph anything, although there is one room where they ask for no flash photography.
Love that it’s free for folks under 25, there’s not too many perks for this age anymore so I’ll take it! ;)

Free for anyone under the age of 25 or $ 5 off with a student id. A nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon as it’ll be relatively empty. There are two locations that are across the street from each other with different exhibits on display. Great location that is close to the Gaslamp district and it is also right off the Amtrak station (Santa Fe depot) which is super convenient. Support your local arts!
Tip: Don’t forget to visit the La Jolla location because you get admission to that with your ticket. I believe mine was good for up to 7 days after my first visit.

Word!!! That’s right, another museum in the San Diego area besides the major the ones located in Balboa Park. But unlike the Art Museum in Balboa Park, this one is just strictly contemporary art. Thanks to Kristin F. for suggesting this one!!!
Admission is $ 10, general admission. Military and seniors gets in for 5 bucks, MCASD members get in for free, and if you’re under 25 years old, you totally get in for free.
At the time of this review, they had the Viva la Revolution exhibit out for display. It’s here until ½/​2011. And it’s definitely a great exhibit to catch before it goes away. Some of the highlights of this exhibit include a trash can that does some techno music, a couple of video games that also does some techno and 20 or so more random art, sculptures, and other creations compiled from everyday household items to old bottles of glass, car parts, etc. The Viva la Revolution also uses parts of downtown San Diego as part of its exhibit. Again, this is a temporary exhibit.
Across the street, towards the American Plaza trolley station is the other building that holds the permanent collection of MCASD. This part of the museum holds the «Home Bodies.» This exhibit makes reference to the human body and domestic objects.
Some of my faves include Rorschach; it’s a set of silver plated items that was crushed by a 250 ton press!!! Twist, which is a prosthetic boot that continually spins and keeps pounding on the walls. Yah, you just have to see it too believe. The Home Bodies is supposed to be a permanent collection, though it is scheduled to be finished on 2÷27÷2011.
So yah, although it’s a relatively small museum, it’s a must for a San Diegan to check out.

Sundays this time of year are precious, and yesterday I decided to spend my Steelers-​less Sunday checking out the Viva la Revolución exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
This Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego location in Little Italy – there’s another location in La Jolla Village – is split between 2 buildings: the 1100 Kettner address is housing Viva la Revolución from 18JUL2010 through 02JAN2011, and across the street the 1001 Kettner building is home to the museum’s permanent collection. I was so impressed by Viva la Revolución that I’m willing to overlook the museum’s meager and entirely underwhelming permanent collection and provide a 4-​star review.
The quality small space at 1100 Kettner (a.k.a. the Jacobs Building) is ideal for Viva la Revolución: it’s an industrial-​looking space with high ceilings, loads of natural light, and exposed ceiling pipes and rafters. The gentlemen working the front desk were pleasant and helpful, briefly explaining the exhibit and informing me that my regular adult $ 10 ticket would be good for free entry into any of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego locations during the next week.
I’m big on freebie brochures, and the brochure associated with Viva la Revolución was fantastic. The brochure states that the exhibit is «the first international museum exhibition of street art» and is especially cool because it includes a map of San Diego and indicates on the map where street art can be viewed in the city (e.g., Hillcrest Mural by Shepard Fairey on the Urban Outfitters building in Hillcrest, the mural by Os Gemeos on the side of the Horton Plaza parking garage).
I was ecstatic when a museum staff member told me that no-​flash photos are permitted in certain Viva la Revolución exhibit rooms. I took advantage of this relatively rare art museum opportunity and took a few photos of my favorite pieces.
Unfortunately but not surprisingly, the Bansky and Shepard Fairey portions of the exhibit were off-​limits for cameras. Most people associate Fairey with his Obama Hope poster and Bansky with his socially aware satirical screen prints and stencil graffiti technique. Both major artists were represented well in Viva la Revolución. Specifically, I was really impressed by the Bansky exhibit room: the guy’s work tends to be downright disturbing and extremely thought-​provoking.
I’m not particularly fond of contemporary art, but the street art scene has interested me ever since I snapped photos of beautiful graffiti-​molested trains when I was a teenager visiting Italy. Viva la Revolución is an exceptionally fantastic contemporary art exhibit, and I strongly suggest that you check it out if this scene or contemporary art in general interests you.