California’s San Diego Museum of Art has announced a merger with the Museum of Photographic Arts to create a new cultural institution for visual arts.
Founded in 1926 and located in Balboa Park, the San Diego Museum of Art is one of the city’s oldest institutions. Its collection of more than 22,000 works of art spans more than 5,000 years of art history.
Over the last eight years, the museum has added thousands of photographs to its collection and put on more than 20 photographic exhibitions in the last 10 years.
The museum also has a dedicated area for photography, and features photographic works in some of its galleries.
Roxana Velásquez, the San Diego Museum of Art’s executive director and CEO, said the merger “will enhance the visitor experience by leveraging our mutual cultural resources”.
“We will be able to share a greater story told together through photography and in dialogue with our overall collection, as both organizations share a commitment to promoting cultural understanding, education, and diversity,” she added.
“By joining forces, we can achieve these goals more effectively.”
Also located in Balboa Park and opened in 1983, the Museum of Photographic Arts has a collection of more than 9,000 images by 850 artists.
It is also home to 22,000 books and other materials highlighting photographic processes, and art objects related to photography.
New cultural institution for visual arts
The San Diego Museum of Art will create a new department – the Museum of Photographic Arts at the San Diego Museum of Art – where the Museum of Photographic Arts’ existing collection will live.
The Museum of Photographic Arts’ executive director and chief curator Deborah Klochko said the institution has always embraced change, “from multiple community partners in our education and film programs to bi-lingual text for all of our exhibitions”.
“Together, with our similar missions and combined photography collections, there will be so much more for our audiences,” she added.
The two institutions will officially merge on 1 July. Klochko will take on the role of curatorial advisor.
