Mingei International Museum

01/31/2025

We're celebrating the little wins this month—moments that uplifted our creative spirits, strengthened our desire to continue sharing stories from all cultures, and called us back to the heart of an enduring community. We aren't Mingei without you!

January at Mingei:

🗒️ Published our winter edition of Communiqué: Thrive

🧵 Practiced the art of sashiko at Stitch Together

💧 Experimented with shibori dye in a workshop with Sarah Winston

🤸 Danced with friends at Mini Mingei

🔤 Shared the art of typography and appliqué with School in the Park students

💭 Explored quilt history with Pat L. Nickols, Leah Zeiber, and Quilt Fellow, Olivia Joseph at a Director's Circle event

📚 Discussed 19th century Western interpretations of the East at Coffee and Conversations with Olivia Joseph

🐟 Printed art with rubber fish during Make at Mingei

🔵 Heard from Chief Curator, Dr. Emily G. Hanna on the traditions of African indigo

🌀 Continued to take in the art and science of indigo with "Blue Gold"

For more folk art, craft, and design inspiration, visit Mingei.org

01/29/2025

Makers are the heart of Mingei. Our latest edition of Communiqué, a quarterly publication, seeks to honor and celebrate artists and makers as we aim to uplift creativity and help each other thrive!

In the winter issue, "Thrive," discover:

✍️ A Word from Executive Director & CEO, Jessica Hanson York
🗓️ 2024 Impact Report: A Year in Review
🖼️ Exhibition Highlight: Artists and Acquisitions
🌅 On the Horizon: Spring Exhibitions Preview
📚 In the Stacks: “Blue Gold” Digital Catalog and Books by Featured Artists
🌟 From the Shop: Thriving Artists in Shop Mingei

Read more at mingei.org/communique/winter-2025

Cover: Marvin Lipofsky, "Violetta Series 1992-96 #17," 1996. Mold blown glass, cut, sandblasted, acid etched. Gift of the Marvin Lipofsky Studio. 2022-043-005.

01/28/2025

Staff Shoutout! When our galleries were temporarily closed for the installation of "Blue Gold," members of our Visitor Experience team shared their skills in other departments at Mingei.

Stephanna Bennett's mural in Mingei Studio is a combination of art and science in itself! Stephanna's background in illustration and animation is remarkable in this blue garden featuring multiple types of indigo plants. Starting with a penciled sketch, Stephanna worked with the Marketing and Design team to research the distinct shapes of indigo leaf varieties to make sure that each representation is not only beautiful but also educational. The result: a larger-than-life, 32'x8' indigo masterpiece!

See Stephanna's work on view now in Mingei Studio! 🌟

01/27/2025

Indigo-dyed textiles are central to many cultures on the continent of Africa. Indigo blue is symbolic, referring to water, sky, coolness, and life itself. Join Chief Curator, Emily G. Hanna for an Art Break Lecture discussing indigo traditions from across the continent of Africa, from Coptic Egyptian textiles, to Nigerian dye vats dating to the 15th century.

🔵 Art Break: Exploring African Indigo with Chief Curator Emily Hanna
🗓️ Friday, January 31 | 10:30-11:30am
🎟️ $0-$15
🔗 Mingei.org/Whats-On

Pictured:

Unidentified Maker, Fulani Wodaabe culture, "Girl’s Blouse," 20th century. Cotton, indigo. Gift of Leslie Grace, 2022-044-049.

Unidentified Maker, Fulani Wodaabe culture, "Pagne (Wrap skirt)," 20th century. Cloth, indigo. Gift of Leslie Grace, 2022-044-052.

Unidentified Maker, Hausa culture, "Baba Riga (Indigo Robe)," About 1940. Cotton, passementerie stich embroidered, indigo. Museum purchase, 2008-03-001.

01/24/2025

On display in Mingei's Entry Level, discover the "Piñas of Michoacán!" 💚

These green ceramics feature piña (pineapple) motifs from Michoacán, Mexico. The state is well-known for this fruit-inspired form, and one of the people credited for the style's popularity is a woman named Elisa Madrigal Martínez. During the mid-20th century, when most ceramics from her area were clay saucepans, Madrigal Martínez set herself apart by producing pineapple-shaped poncheras (punch bowls).

Learn more about these vessels and their ornamentation on your next visit to Mingei!

01/23/2025

Find the purr-fect keepsake on your next visit! Shop Mingei is full of locally made and handcrafted goods to brighten your day. 💙

Shop Mingei Hours
Tuesday-Thursday | 10am-5pm
Friday | 10am-8pm
Saturday & Sunday | 10am-5pm

Beginning at Independent Level, Mingei Members receive 10% off at Shop Mingei!

01/22/2025

It's here—Mingei International Museum’s first digital publication!

Developed for our 2024 exhibition, "Blue Gold: The Art and Science of Indigo," this publication examines the complex chemical process that transforms plants into pigment, while showcasing stunning objects from around the globe made with this prized blue dye. As part of the Getty’s initiative, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, "Blue Gold" exemplifies the intersection of these disciplines.

The ten essays within this publication present new scholarship, some examining historical practices with a contemporary scientific lens, or delving deeper into the craft traditions in a particular geographic region, and others examining the artistic and social impacts of indigo trade and use.

"We hope the insights in this publication spark your own appreciation for this remarkable dye and its place at the intersection of art and science." - Jessica Hanson York, Executive Director & CEO

Discover a world immersed in indigo, and read on at https://publications.mingei.org/blue-gold/ 📘

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Cover Image: Youngmin Lee, "Dawn," 2024. Hanji Bidan (Hanji, Korean mulberry paper and silk blend), 20 x 75 in. (50.8 x 190.5). Museum purchase, Photo by Ron Kerner for Mingei International Museum.

01/22/2025

Join us this Sunday for Make at Mingei - a monthly, free art workshop for the anyone with the desire to create!

For this month's Make at Mingei, we’ll explore Gyotaku, the traditional Japanese art of fish printing. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to make prints using life-like rubber fish and ink. Originally used by fishermen to record their catches, Gyotaku has evolved into a unique art form that captures the intricate details of each fish.

🐟 Make at Mingei
🗓️ Sunday, January 26 | 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm
🎟️ Free | Registration is recommended and walk-ups are welcome if space is available.
🔗 Register and learn more at Mingei.org/Whats-On

01/17/2025

These jeans changed the game.

These 1933 Levi 501's and their neighbor, a pre-production pair of Levi's Plant Based 501 jeans made in 2023, speak to the history of synthetic and natural indigo dye in the denim industry.

Wear your favorite pair of blue jeans to learn more about these Levi's in person, part of "Blue Gold: The Art and Science of Indigo," on view now at Mingei! 👖

01/16/2025

Today, Getty and a coalition of foundations, arts organizations, and individuals created the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund. Currently at $12M, the fund will support the arts community impacted by the Los Angeles fires.

The ongoing fires have destroyed residences, studios, archives, artworks, and places of employment for LA’s vibrant arts community.

Impacted artists and arts workers can visit cciarts.org to apply for an emergency grant starting on January 20.

Learn more—including how to contribute: https://gty.art/firerelief

01/15/2025

A new program is taking shape at Mingei! 🟡 💚 🟫

Teens at Mingei (TAM) is a paid, eight-month internship program that offers 10th and 11th grade high school students an in-depth look at diverse careers in the arts, providing them with the tools and connections to pursue these paths.

Through this program, high school students throughout San Diego county will meet artists and art professionals from across the city, gain first-hand experience of the behind-the-scenes operations of an art museum, and practice multimedia skills as a group.

Applications for the 2025/2026 school year will open in March. Visit Mingei.org/Teens-At-Mingei to learn more.

In partnership with TNT Pizza

01/14/2025

This Friday, join Quilt Scholar Olivia Joseph to explore 19th century Western interpretations of the East as found in quilts, and, more broadly, Western art and craft of that era.

In their research, Olivia was intrigued by the quilt exhibition at Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exposition which led to an interest in Japonisme, the vogue for Japanese art and craft in 1813. Olivia is currently working to produce a quilt exhibition, opening at Mingei in spring of 2025!

☕️ Coffee and Conversations: Through a Western Lens: 19th Century Interpretations & Explorations of the East with Olivia Joseph
🗓️ Friday, January 17 | 10:30-11:30am
🎟️ $10-$15
🔗 Mingei.org/Whats-On

01/13/2025

This week for Mini Mingei, we’re partnering with Nicolette De Saint Amour, a board-certified practitioner of The Feldenkrais Method and lecturer in Somatic Education at SDSU. With over a decade of experience, Nicolette will guide toddlers and caregivers through movement games and playful interactions designed to support cognitive, social, and motor development. Join us to explore how play fosters self-awareness, communication, and a love of learning.

🤸 Mini Mingei
🗓️ Friday, January 17 | 10-11am
🎟️ Free for Mingei Members | $7 for adults
🔗 Register and learn more at Mingei.org/Whats-On

Mini Mingei is perfect for parents, grandparents, and caregivers with children ages 2-5.

01/10/2025

In support of our LA neighbors 💙 Thank you to the team at ICA San Diego for organizing these relief efforts!

‼️Tomorrow: Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 / 9am-5pm

ICA San Diego will serve as a donation drop off site for items needed to deliver to relief organizations serving the communities affected by the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia, and other fires in Los Angeles County. Items will be delivered to organizations on the ground in LA County, including, but not limited to: 

* Superchief Gallery LA
* All Power Books

Items needed include:
* Toiletries and hygiene products
* Non-perishable food and water (for people and pets)
* First Aid supplies
* Masks of all kinds
* Insulin, epipens, Albuterol
* Boxes for storage and transport
* Batteries
* Socks and undergarments for children and adults 

⏰ When:
* Donations will be received beginning Friday, January 10 at 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
* Future drop off dates/times will be announced at a later date.
* To ensure your donation is properly sorted and loaded into ICA San Diego’s delivery vehicles, please do not leave donations overnight.

📍Where:
* ICA San Diego / North
* 1578 S El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024

For more information about ICA San Diego’s donation drive, including updates to ICA’s evolving support efforts, and an updated list of items needed, please visit icasandiego.org or 🔗 link in bio. ICA San Diego donation drive efforts are supported by San Diego Foundation, San Diego Magazine, and Encinitas Chamber of Commerce.

01/08/2025

A few spots have opened up for Friday's Stitch Together workshop! Practice the traditional Japanese embroidery technique of sashiko with us.

🪡 Stitch Together: Sashiko Patterns
🗓️ Friday, January 10 | 5-7pm
🎟️ $15 Members / $20 Non-members
🔗 Mingei.org/Whats-On

Inspired by the varied stitching techniques featured in "Blue Gold," join us for our monthly stitching workshop held at the George Nakashima table in Mingei's Founders Gallery.

01/06/2025

We hope your new year has been filled with rest and warm company! If your New Year’s resolution is to visit more museums, a world of folk art, craft, and design awaits you at Mingei. 🧵

Our mission is to further the understanding of art of the people (mingei) from all eras and cultures. This art shares a direct simplicity and reflects joy in making, by hand, useful objects of timeless beauty that are satisfying to the human spirit.

The Museum collects, conserves, and exhibits these arts of daily life – by unknown craftspeople of ancient times, from traditional cultures of past and present and by historical and contemporary designers.

12/30/2024

This week for Mini Mingei, we’ll learn how to make patterns! On Friday, we’ll read "My First Shapes" with Frank Lloyd Wright and make stamps out of recycled materials to decorate pencil bags.

🟡 Mini Mingei
🗓️ Friday, January 3 | 10-11am
🎟️ Free for Mingei Members | $7 for adults
🔗 Register and learn more at Mingei.org/Whats-On

Mini Mingei is perfect for parents, grandparents, and caregivers with children ages 2-5.