San Diego's Summer 2026 Art Season: Giants, Centennials, and Native Glass
In summer 2026, San Diego is poised to showcase a series of noteworthy art exhibitions. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego will present "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection," featuring 130 artworks by 37 Black American and diasporic artists, including an impressive 25-foot creation by Mickalene Thomas. This exhibit, curated by the Brooklyn Museum, will run until August 9. Additionally, the San Diego Museum of Art celebrates its centenary with two exhibitions, "Forging a Legacy," concluding on September 7, and "Cafés and Cabarets," ending September 20. Mingei International Museum will debut "Clearly Indigenous" on June 27, 2026.
Key facts
- MCASD hosts 'Giants' from the Dean Collection, featuring 130 works by 37 Black artists.
- Mickalene Thomas's 25-foot work, inspired by Manet, debuts with the Dean Collection.
- SDMA celebrates its centennial with two exhibitions: 'Forging a Legacy' and 'Cafés and Cabarets.'
- SDMA opened as Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926.
- Mingei International Museum presents 'Clearly Indigenous' with over 100 glass works by 29 Native artists.
- Chicano Park murals resulted from 1969 protests against a highway patrol substation.
- UC San Diego's Stuart Collection includes site-specific sculptures like Fallen Star.
- Geisel Library at UC San Diego houses Dr. Seuss archives.
Entities
Artists
- Swizz Beatz
- Kasseem Dean
- Alicia Keys
- Mickalene Thomas
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Kwame Brathwaite
- Gordon Parks
- Derrick Adams
- Arthur Jafa
- Titus Kaphar
- Amy Sherald
- Nina Chanel Abney
- Lucas Cranach
- Albrecht Dürer
- Jusepe de Ribera
- John Singer Sargent
- Francisco de Zurbarán
- Claude Monet
- Pablo Picasso
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Baldwin M. Baldwin
- Theodor Geisel
- Dr. Seuss
- Audrey Geisel
- Marvin Gaye
- Edouard Manet
Institutions
- Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
- Brooklyn Museum
- Dean Collection
- San Diego Museum of Art
- Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego
- SDMA Archives
- San Diego History Center
- Mingei International Museum
- Balboa Park
- Chicano Park
- University of California San Diego
- Stuart Collection
- Geisel Library
- California Highway Patrol
- Forbes
Locations
- San Diego
- La Jolla
- Balboa Park
- Logan Heights
- Chicano Park
- Bronx
- Pacific Ocean
- United States
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Africa
- Europe
- Caribbean
- Mexico