San Diego Museum Of Art Balboa Park

When To Get There

The art museum is open every day, except Wednesday, and there isnt really a bad time to visit. If possible, avoid visiting on the third Tuesday of every month when the museum offers free admission for San Diego residents as these days tend to be busy. The museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

Save On Admission To Museums And Cultural Attractions

Experience the museums of Balboa Park in an easy and affordable way with the Balboa Park Explorer Pass. For one price, the Pass provides admission into as many as 16 of Balboa Parks museums and attractions at an incredible savings over purchasing individual admission tickets.

There are Explorer Pass options that fit any itinerary or interest:

• Just planning a quick visit? Choose the Limited Explorer Pass, which allows you to go to up to four of the parks participating museums listed below in one day. The cost is $56 for adults and $35 for children .
• Have more time to explore Balboa Park? Then the Parkwide Pass makes the most sense, offering admission to all of the participating Balboa Park museums over seven consecutive days. The cost is $67 for adults and $43 for children .
• Planning on coming back again and again? Then the Balboa Park Explorer Annual Pass is right for you, offering general admission to the participating cultural institutions year round. The cost is $229 for a family . For individual adults , the cost is $129. For seniors and full-time students, the cost for an annual pass is $99.

Participating institutions include:

Justin Sterling: Chapel Of The Rocks

On View October 29, 2022

A powerful new installation by Justin Sterling immerses visitors in a beautiful space and provokes contemplation on of the role of protest and bad faith in society. Constructed of unconventional materials, including over 30 broken and mended stained-glass windows, the custom-built chapel inside the Museum is complemented by carefully selected works of art from the Museums permanent collection acting in dialogue with the chapel and promoting spiritual inclusivity.

Justin Sterling, Window for “Chapel of the Rocks,” 2022. Reclaimed, broken, and stained glass. Courtesy of the artist.

Coming Soon

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San Diego Natural History Museum

Explore the natural history of Southern California from past to present at the San Diego Natural History Museum . From rattlesnakes and flesh-eating beetles to dinosaurs and fossils, to a pendulum that proves the earth is spinning, theres something for everyone at this Balboa Park favorite. The museum offers inventive, interactive exhibitions on five different floors, and features a giant-screen theater with daily showings of 2D and 3D films, as well as rotating exhibitions that bring nature to life.

A Village Of Visual Riches

Just south of the San Diego Zoo is a zone thats an art installation all its own: The Spanish Village Art Center. Home to numerous local artisans and craft studios, the village is alive with color and creativity. Its a great place to stroll through and view the works on display. Live music and art festivals are also often part of the mix.

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Japanese Friendship Garden Of San Diego

The Japanese Friendship Garden commemorates the connection between San Diego and its sister city of Yokohama, Japan. It offers visitors a wondrous experience through its bonsai exhibit, a moon-viewing deck, beautiful black pine trees, azaleas and ornamental plants such as camellias, magnolia, wisteria and cherry blossom trees.

Exceptions & Extended Hours

Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day, plus the following dates:

• May 2, 2022, for Art Alive de-installation

Extended Hours

The Museum will be open until 8:00 p.m. on Fridays starting June 24 through August 5. Regular admission rates apply during Summer Friday Extended Hours Friday, July 1, through Friday, August 5.

Before-Hours Viewing

Monet to Matisse Before-Hours Viewing is available for groups to see the special exhibition before the Museum opens daily to the public through October 10, 2022. See webpage to learn more and request reservation.

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The San Diego Museum Of Arts Collections Are All

with more than 20,000 objects from across the globe, and ranging in date from 3,000 B.C. to the present. Perhaps best known for Spanish old master paintingsincluding works by El Greco, Goya, Ribera, Sanchez Cotán, and Zurbaránthe Museum also holds a broad collection of American, Asian, European, and Latin American art. Among the most important aspects of the Museums holdings in Asian art are the world-class South Asian paintings from the collection of Edwin Binney 3rd Buddhist sculpture from China and Japan and Ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The Museum also holds one of the strongest collections of German Expressionism in the United States.

The collection includes works by internationally renowned artists such as Bellows, Calder, Cassatt, Cranach, Dalí, de Chirico, Deacon, Dix, Durand, Eakins, Fra Angelico, Giotto, Hepworth, Magritte, Matisse, Miró, Monet, Moore, Münter, Newman, OKeeffe, Rivera, Rosenthal, Sargent, Stella, and Tamayo among many others.

From the Renaissance and Baroque to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and from Modern and Contemporary Art, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and photography, The San Diego Museum of Art has a strong commitment to building the collection and increasing access to the collection through research, publications, exhibitions, education and public programs. The entire collection can be searched online through this website.

See For Free At The Museums

Several of Balboa Parks great museums offer spaces, events and more that are free and open to the public. Admission to the Timken Museum of Art is always free, giving visitors amazing access to the Timkens prized collection, featuring works by Rembrandt and other masters. At the Mingei Museum, the Commons Area, which boasts an exhibition of objects from the folk-art museums collection, also offers free admission. And the full Mingei is always free for those 17 and under.

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The San Diego Museum Of Art

Located in the heart of Balboa Park, the San Diego Museum of Art is known for its nationally renowned collections of Spanish and Italian old masters, South Asian paintings , and 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures. The museum regularly features major exhibitions from around the world, and is known for its commitment to technology that enhances the user experience. The museum also hosts an extensive year-round schedule of cultural and educational programs, including Culture & Cocktails, Film in the Garden, Art After Hours and the annual Bloom Bash.

San Diego Museum Of Us

Housed in the historic California Building, with its soaring California Tower, the Museum of Us has been educating and entertaining visitors from around the world for more than 100 years. The museum offers a variety of unique, interactive exhibits that cover a vast range of human history and culture from beer to cannibalism to monsters. The museum also offers guided tours of the California Tower, where visitors can learn about the history of Balboa Park and San Diego while taking in sweeping, 360-degree views of San Diego from nearly 200 feet up.

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The San Diego Museum Of Art Information

Top 5 Things to Know About the San Diego Museum of Art

San Diego Museum Of Art

The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed its name to the San Diego Museum of Art in 1978. The official Balboa Park website calls the San Diego Museum of Art “the region’s oldest and largest art museum”. Nearly half a million people visit the museum each year.

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Friday Nights At Balboa Park

Start Your Weekends with FUN FRIDAYS at Balboa Park

Friday nights come alive this summer in Balboa Park! Its the perfect spot for date nights, family fun, art exhibitions, big-screen movies, live music, and fabulous foods. Check out our museum guide here for great ideas and details.

San Diego Museum of Art

You can now enjoy late-night access to the San Diego Museum of Art. SDMA will be open until 8:00 p.m. on Fridays through August 5. See all the Museum has to offer, including new contemporary art TERRA, the first US solo exhibition by Chilean ceramicist Fernando Casasempere special exhibition Monet to Matisse: Impressionist Masterpieces from the Bemberg Foundation and great gift items at The Museum Store.

Make the evening even better with cocktails, dinner and live music at Panama 66, located in the San Diego Museum of Art May S. Marcy Sculpture Court.

Mingei International Museum

The newly renovated Mingei International Museum offers a great Friday night experience at the Park. ARTIFACT at Mingei features craft cooking inspired by ancient methods, spices and botanicals. Located on the Commons level of the Museum, enjoy indoor or outdoor seating options surrounded by inspiring art. Dinner and drinks are served from 5 to 8 p.m. and Reservations are strongly recommended. See the latest menu here.

San Diego Natural History Museum

Japanese Friendship Garden

Fleet Science Center

Prado Restaurant

San Diego Model Railroad Museum

At 28,000 square feet, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum is the world’s largest operating model railroad museum. Dedicated to preserving the heritage of railroading, the unique museum has a series of miniature representations of California railroads, including four enormous scale and model layouts of Southwest railroads. In addition, the museum features a Toy Train Gallery with an interactive Lionel layout for children, and state-of-the-art theater lighting.

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San Diego Air & Space Museum

As one of only a handful of air and space museums in the country to be an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the San Diego Air & Space Museum is home to a collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft illustrating the history of flight. The collection includes a flight-worthy replica of Charles Lindberghs Spirit of St. Louis, the actual Apollo 9 Command Module, and the only real GPS satellite display in the world. View artifacts from the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Wally Schirra and other aviation and space pioneers.

Centro Cultural De La Raza

This cultural arts center is dedicated to creating, promoting, preserving and raising awareness of Chicano, Mexican, Indigenous and Latino art and culture. Housed in a former water tower and painted with colorful murals, Centro features rotating exhibits and performances with theater, dance, music and film/video.

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Go City: San Diego Explorer Pass

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Museum Of Photographic Arts

As one of only three independent museums in the nation dedicated solely to the lens-based medium, the Museum of Photographic Arts aims to inspire, educate and engage through the innovative collection and presentation of photography, film and video. Exhibitions are presented in English and Spanish, with work from the museums archive as well as from contemporary artists. The museum also stores a permanent collection of nearly 9,000 images. The Edmund L. and Nancy Dubois Library strengthens the permanent collection with more than 24,000 items, all related to photography.

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Seasonal Fun And Festivities

Some of the parks free events are geared toward the winter holidays and other occasions. Each November, the Old Globe Theatre hosts its grand Christmas Tree Lighting on Copley Plaza outside the theater complex. As the holidays draw closer, the park hosts , a sprawling celebration that boasts food, music and plenty of festive happenings. And in April comes EarthFair the largest free environmental festival in the world featuring a children’s parade, booths, educational exhibits and more.

What To Do Without Spending A Dime In San Diegos Cultural Heart

San Diegos beautiful Balboa Park beckons visitors with its 18 museums, striking Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, gorgeous gardens and sprawling green spaces. But you dont need to spend a lot of money to find a whole lot of fun at this 1,200-acre wonderland in the heart of San Diego. Here are some great ideas for having a blast on a budget in Balboa Park.

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Lisa Ross: Elegy To A Uyghur Homeland

On View November 5, 2022

Thoughtfully composed, poetic, and reverential, nearly 30 photographs of Uyghur people and shrines capture the rituals and spiritual traditions associated with the desert monuments, as well as the beauty of everyday life in and around the Taklamakan Desert of the Uyghur Region, officially called Xinjiang by the Peoples Republic of China. Shown across two galleries, the exhibition showcases the strength of an increasingly endangered people and culture.

Lisa Ross, “Unrevealed, Site 1 ,” 2006. Archival pigment print 100% cotton paper. Courtesy of the artist and Palo Gallery.

Coming Soon

Located In The Heart Of Balboa Park

Providing a rich and diverse cultural experience, The San Diego Museum of Art houses the worlds finest art in Americas Finest City. Located in the heart of Balboa Park, the Museums nationally renowned collections include Spanish and Italian old masters South Asian manuscript illustrations, including the Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of Indian paintings and 19th and 20th century American paintings and sculptures. At The San Diego Museum of Art, exhibition text is always in English and Spanish.

The San Diego Museum of Arts mission is to inspire, educate, and cultivate curiosity through great works of art. The Museum regularly features major exhibitions from around the world, bringing new works of art to San Diego, as well as sharing our holdings and exhibitions with audiences around the globe. The Museum hosts an extensive year-round schedule of cultural and educational programs for children and adults. Programs and events include lectures, tours, Culture & Cocktails, On the Steps at SDMA, and SDMA+ partnerships. Admission is always free for visitors ages 17 & under at The San Diego Museum of Art.

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Sergio Hernndez: Embers Of Oaxaca

On View November 12, 2022

Internationally renowned contemporary Mexican artist Sergio Hernández brings his works of art to the US for his first solo museum exhibition in the country. The exhibition features more than 30 large-scale paintings and mixed-media works with motifs drawn from the iconography of Hernándezs Indigenous heritage and wonders of the natural world, including native species of southern Mexico, Pacific Ocean marine life, and constellations of the night sky. A recently completed series of five mixed-media paintings on gold leaf debuts to the public for the first time as part of this exhibition.

Groups & Event Ticketing

Explore a world of art, beauty, history and more at The San Diego Museum of Art.

We welcome social, professional, family, religious, and all other groups to view the wonders of The San Diego Museum of Art. Self-Guided groups require a reservation and payment 14-days in advance. For groups requesting a Docent guided tour a reservation 21-days in advance of your visit. For all groups we request one adult chaperone for every ten children under the age of 15.

Groups of 10 or more receive discounted admission prices. Please call the Group Sales office at 696-1935, or contact us at .

Benefits of group tours include:

• Discounted and priority ticketing for special exhibitions and the Museums collections
• Free gallery tours a minimum 3 weeks advance notice is required

Before-Hours Viewing

Monet to Matisse Before-Hours Viewing is available for groups to see the special exhibition before the Museum opens daily to the public through August 5, 2022. See webpage to learn more and request reservation.

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