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We showed up. We spoke out.

Yesterday, our Executive Director and CEO, Jessica Hanson York, addressed City Council with a clear and urgent message:

Arts funding is essential.

These proposed budget cuts will devastate programs, limit community access, and impact the cultural life of San Diego. The arts are not optional. They drive tourism, power our economy, and serve San Diegans every day.

But we’re not done. This budget will be finalized on June 9. Our community will continue to show up and make their voices heard.

If you live in San Diego, now is the time to act. Contact the Mayor and your City Councilmember and urge them to restore arts and culture funding at artsandculturesd.org.

Mini Mingei has always been a space to make together.

This spring and summer, as a gesture of support for our community, Mini Mingei is now FREE for all families. 🧡

At Mingei, we know that current times can feel like a bit of a pinch for family budgets. We also believe that creating moments of joy and connection through shared making is essential.

Our doors are open to provide a welcoming, low-cost space where you and your little ones can explore creativity and discover the beauty of crafting together!

🗓 Free Mini Mingei dates:

🔹April 3
🔹April 17
🔹May 1
🔹May 15
🔹June 5
🔹July 17
🔹August 7
🔹August 21

🔗 RSVP and learn more at Mingei.org/Whats-On

From a rice field to our museum wall. 🌾

Tomorrow, “Farm to Craft: Grains in Global Folk Art” opens at Mingei, tracing how cultures across the globe transform grains and harvest traditions into tools of function and forms of artistic expression.

Among the works on view is a 19th-century Japanese rain cape, made of hand-beaten rice straw and cotton, used to keep the wearer dry.

Too delicate to simply hang, it required a thoughtful, custom mount. Our Exhibition Designer, Jerry Maloney, began by carefully measuring the piece, cutting the mount to size from plexiglass, and drilling precise holes to stitch monofilament supports directly to the cape. Rare earth magnets were secured with epoxy, allowing the mount to be safely and seamlessly installed.

Watch the full process unfold with support from Preparator Davie Leroi and Associate Registrar Emily Brown.

Come see the finished result in person beginning tomorrow!

Plan your visit at Mingei.org/visit 🌾

Rain Cape (Mino). Unidentified Maker. 19th century. Japan. Rice straw, cotton. Gift of Jim Gaudineer, 2022-013-001.

Mini Mingei is a playful hour of stories, art-making, and creativity designed for kids ages 2–5 and their grown-ups. We bring the books, set up the supplies, and guide the activity. You just come make together.

And this spring and summer, Mini Mingei is FREE for all families as a gesture of support for our community. RSVP highly encouraged.

This month, we’re celebrating Miffy, the beloved character created by artist Dick Bruna. On May 15, we’ll read “Miffy Is Crying” and make our own Miffy ears.

🐰 Mini Mingei
🆓 Free for all families
🗓 Friday, May 15 | 10–11am
🔗 RSVP and learn more at Mingei.org/Whats-On

✨ Free upcoming Mini Mingei dates:
🔹June 5
🔹July 17
🔹August 7
🔹August 21

Mini Mingei is a playful hour of stories, art-making, and creativity designed for kids ages 2–5 and their grown-ups. We bring the books, set up the supplies, and guide the activity. You just come make together.

And this spring and summer, Mini Mingei is FREE for all families as a gesture of support for our community. RSVP highly encouraged.

This month, we’re celebrating Miffy, the beloved character created by artist Dick Bruna. On May 15, we’ll read “Miffy Is Crying” and make our own Miffy ears.

🐰 Mini Mingei
🆓 Free for all families
🗓 Friday, May 15 | 10–11am
🔗 RSVP and learn more at Mingei.org/Whats-On

✨ Free upcoming Mini Mingei dates:
🔹June 5
🔹July 17
🔹August 7
🔹August 21

Some works are too delicate to ship. So we went to get it ourselves.

Come on a roadtrip with our Director of Registration and Manager of Exhibitions, Caitlin Podas, and Registration Intern Makena Jackson to Pasadena to retrieve a remarkable work by Robert Lang for “To Catch a Fish.”

After meeting Lang (and his dog, Casey), they carefully packed dozens of his hand-folded origami koi and brought them back to San Diego.

Once safely at Mingei, the work continues. Caitlin and Makena conduct detailed condition reporting using Articheck, documenting every detail to ensure each piece is protected, tracked, and preserved.

Then, installation. Joined by the rest of our install team, Alejandra Moran and Litzy Torres, they followed Lang’s precise diagram to bring the piece to life.

“Vertical Pond III: From the Ashes” is made from paper created using ashes from Lang’s Altadena home and studio, lost in the Eaton Fire. What was destroyed (materials, archives, decades of work) has been transformed into something new.

The result is a powerful, immersive reflection on resilience.

🎣 Experience this piece in “To Catch a Fish”.
🔗 Plan your visit at Mingei.org/Visit

Go beyond the label.

Join Dr. Emily G. Hanna for a guided tour of "To Catch a Fish". As the exhibition’s curator, she’ll share behind-the-scenes insights into the artistry, ingenuity, and cultural significance of the fishing tools and traditions on view, revealing the deeper connections between craftsmanship and the natural world.

🎣 Curator-Led Tour: "To Catch a Fish"
🗓️ Thursday, May 14
⏰ 1–2pm
🎟️ Included with admission | RSVP encouraged
🔗 Plan your visit at Mingei.org/Whats-On

Pictured: Artist Marianne Nicholson (left) with Dr. Emily G. Hanna (right) in front of her piece "The Halibut Hooks", created specifically for this exhibition.

French based clothing company, La Maison des Fibres Naturelles, has quickly become a customer favorite! Cool, natural linen pieces in a variety of colors, from bright to subdued, are perfectly San Diego casual. Just restocked! So swing by & see all of our fresh new inventory. We’re open until 8 every Friday evening. @mingeimuseum @lamaisondesfibresnaturelles

What does it mean to call a place home?

"India Thompson: Looks Like Home" explores our emotional attachment to the everyday objects that shape our sense of home in the age of renting.

Through intricately woven reed sculptures, Thompson transforms familiar household forms, like a microwave and refrigerator, into reflections on ownership, memory, and what it means to live in a space that isn’t legally hers.

Based in San Diego, Thompson brings humor and tenderness to her work, using craft as a form of storytelling.

"Looks Like Home" opens Saturday, May 16.

🔗 Plan your visit at Mingei.org/Visit

Slow down. Work with your hands. Tap into your creativity.

Mingei is excited to bring you Camp Mingei: Craft Camp for Grown-Ups, a three-day craft experience for those with a lifelong curiosity for the handmade. This retreat offers a hands-on exploration of craft, material, and process guided by distinguished local artists.

Each day includes a light breakfast + coffee, a curator-led tour, and all materials
provided.

☀️ Day 1 — Beaded Suncatcher with Aidelen Montoya
🥄 Day 2 — Woven Spatula with India Thompson
🐟 Day 3 — Gyotaku Fish Rubbing with Dwight Hwang

Register and rediscover the profound joy of making.

🔗 Sign up at the link in bio
⚠️ Spots are limited

Slow down. Work with your hands. Tap into your creativity.

Mingei is excited to bring you Camp Mingei: Craft Camp for Grown-Ups, a three-day craft experience for those with a lifelong curiosity for the handmade. This retreat offers a hands-on exploration of craft, material, and process guided by distinguished local artists.

Each day includes a light breakfast + coffee, a curator-led tour, and all materials
provided.

☀️ Day 1 — Beaded Suncatcher with Aidelen Montoya
🥄 Day 2 — Woven Spatula with India Thompson
🐟 Day 3 — Gyotaku Fish Rubbing with Dwight Hwang

Register and rediscover the profound joy of making.

🔗 Sign up at the link in bio
⚠️ Spots are limited

Slow down. Work with your hands. Tap into your creativity.

Mingei is excited to bring you Camp Mingei: Craft Camp for Grown-Ups, a three-day craft experience for those with a lifelong curiosity for the handmade. This retreat offers a hands-on exploration of craft, material, and process guided by distinguished local artists.

Each day includes a light breakfast + coffee, a curator-led tour, and all materials
provided.

☀️ Day 1 — Beaded Suncatcher with Aidelen Montoya
🥄 Day 2 — Woven Spatula with India Thompson
🐟 Day 3 — Gyotaku Fish Rubbing with Dwight Hwang

Register and rediscover the profound joy of making.

🔗 Sign up at the link in bio
⚠️ Spots are limited

“Restitched” is closing this Sunday, May 10. Feels like just yesterday we were installing these beautiful quilts.

We’re a little sentimental but excited for what’s next: “India Thompson: Looks Like Home”, opening Saturday, May 16!

🪡 “Restitched” closes May 10.
🔗 See it before it’s gone at Mingei.org/Visit

Our limited-edition “art is for everyone” tote is here! 🧡

With public funding for the arts shifting, your support right now helps keep creativity accessible to all.

Gifts of $100+ expand access to programs like Mini Mingei, Make at Mingei, and summer camp, and include this tote as a special thank you!

🔗 Support our Spring Appeal and claim yours at the link in bio.

🚨 WARNING 🚨Objects in “To Catch a Fish” may trigger intense fits of cuteness aggression.

Proceed with caution…or don’t. We get it. They’re adorable.

🎣 “To Catch a Fish” is now open!
🔗 Plan your visit at Mingei.org/Visit

🐟 Objects featured:

🐠 Pull Toy–Fish, Unidentified Maker. 20th century. Japan. Wood, fiber.

🐡 Blowfish Whistle (Fugu-Bue), Unidentified Maker. 20th century. Japan. Clay, paint.

🐳 Miniature Bridged Double-Spout Orca Effigy. Unidentified Maker. 100 B.C.–650 A.D. Nazca Culture, Peru. Slipped terracotta.