We make learning visual.

Your museum for photography & film.

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Admission:
Pay what you wish

Admission: Pay what you wish

MOPA@SDMAVisiting Hours

MuseumThu - Sun: 11 am - 5 pmStoreThu - Sun: 11 am - 5 pm

Upcoming Events

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Month
Week

Visiting Hours – September 18

Closed

Visiting Hours – September 19

Closed

Visiting Hours – September 20

Closed

Visiting Hours – September 21 @ 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Visiting Hours – September 22 @ 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Visiting Hours – September 23 @ 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Visiting Hours – September 24 @ 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

© James Balog Ice Diamond1

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/themes/mopa/img/icons/exhibitions.svg" alt="" width="32" height="29">

James Balog: Photographs from the Anthropocene

Current exhibition - September 16, 2023 - March 10, 2024

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/themes/mopa/img/icons/exhibitions.svg" alt="" width="32" height="29">

Video Portraits Robert Wilson

Current exhibition - April 1, 2023 - September 24, 2023

News - May 23, 2023

Exciting News!!

Blog - February 1, 2023

This Happened at MOPA: 1983 Push Pin Party

San Diego Italian Film Festival

<img width="1921" height="1921" src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1.jpg" class="mp-post-banner" alt="San Diego Italian Film Festival" decoding="async" srcset="https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1.jpg 1921w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-50x50.jpg 50w" sizes="(max-width: 1921px) 100vw, 1921px" />

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/themes/mopa/img/icons/film-screenings.svg" alt="" width="33" height="34">

San Diego Italian Film Festival

Film Screenings - October 7 @ 7:00 pm - October 7 @ 9:30 pm

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News - March 25, 2021

MOPA’s Solidarity Message to the API Community

Grow & Learn with MOPA

Learn more about photographic arts education and workshops with MOPA for adults, kids & school programs

News - March 2, 2021

MOPA Partnered with Bank of America Art Conservation Project to Restore Century-old Artworks of Cultural Significance

San Diego Italian Film Festival

<img width="1921" height="1921" src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1.jpg" class="mp-post-banner" alt="San Diego Italian Film Festival" decoding="async" srcset="https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1.jpg 1921w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://mopa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SD-Italian-Film-Festival-FBInsta-1-50x50.jpg 50w" sizes="(max-width: 1921px) 100vw, 1921px" />

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/themes/mopa/img/icons/film-screenings.svg" alt="" width="33" height="34">

San Diego Italian Film Festival

Film Screenings - October 8 @ 7:00 pm - October 8 @ 9:30 pm

#MOPASD Through Your Lens

Let's take a look at three Chinese photographers w

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="Let's take a look at three Chinese photographers who each draw inspiration from a rich artistic heritage. Artists featured: Hong Lei, Wang Ningde and Yang Yongliang.⁣ ⁣ 🔗 Full video through the link in our bio. ⁣ ⁣ #chineseartwork #chinesecontemporaryart #photographylovers #HongLei #ContemporaryChinesePhotography #LangJinshan #ShiGuorui #YangFudong #ShaoWenhuan #WangNingde #ChuChu #YangYongliang #NiYouyu">

Using a simple container with a pinhole, you can c

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="Using a simple container with a pinhole, you can create photos without a trip to the darkroom. To develop it, you'll use household items such as instant coffee.⁣ ⁣ Watch and create. To watch the full video, check out the link in our bio. 🔗⁣ ⁣ For more resources like these, visit 👉MOPA.org/learn 👈⁣ ⁣ #pinholephotography #pinhole @balboapark @explorebalboapark">

Happy birthday, Fazal Sheikh!⁣ ⁣ In 2016, MOPA

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="Happy birthday, Fazal Sheikh!⁣ ⁣ In 2016, MOPA announced that Sheikh was the sixth Lou Stoumen Prize in Photography, a prestigious international award that highlights a mid-career photographer whose work deals broadly with the concepts of humanity.⁣ ⁣ Sheikh was selected as the prizewinner for his portrait work with people from around the world living in displaced and marginalized communities.⁣ ⁣ Credit: Fazal Sheikh, Mexico/United States Installation (12 of 12 pcs.), 2000, gelatin silver print on paper. Gift of The National Millennium Survey, organized by the College of Santa Fe and the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego.⁣ ⁣ #FazalSheikh ##loustoumen">

Every photograph holds a story. From personal snap

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="Every photograph holds a story. From personal snapshots to conceptual work, an image provides a unique window into a broader narrative.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Take a look at three artists from MOPA's collection who each take a creative approach to crafting visual narratives. Check out the full video - 🔗 link in bio. ⁣⁣ ⁣ For more resources like these, visit 👉MOPA.org/learn 👈⁣ ⁣⁣ #JoanMyers #DuaneMichals #SusanRankaitis">

As a teenager studying in Shanghai, Lang Jingshan

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="As a teenager studying in Shanghai, Lang Jingshan received training in Chinese painting but fell in love with the camera instead. ⁣ ⁣ In the early 1930s, Lang developed his signature pictorialist style which he called “composite photography.” ⁣ ⁣ It utilized combination-printing and other darkroom methods to assemble photographic fragments into seamless landscapes, still lifes, and portraits following the style of traditional Chinese painting. ⁣ ⁣ In his own words, Lang describes that composite photography is a technical solution to the problem of photographing in the style of Chinese painting.⁣ ⁣ • See how thousands of years of pictorial traditions continue to influence the arts today. Step into Out of the Shadows: Contemporary Chinese Photography through January 2021 at MOPA. ⬜️◽️⁣ ⁣ The Museum of Photographic Arts reopens at @BalboaPark on July 2 and 3 to members and on July 4 to the general public. See what we’re doing to keep you safe: 👉 MOPA.org/MOPAisback 👈 ⁣ ⁣ ⁣• ⁣ ⁣ 📷 Photography by Sam Sanzetti. ⁣ 📝 Words by Tiffany Wai-Ying Beres, guest curator of Out of the Shadows: Contemporary Chinese Photography.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #chineseartwork #chinesecontemporaryart #photographylovers #HongLei #ContemporaryChinesePhotography #LangJinshan #ShiGuorui #YangFudong #ShaoWenhuan #WangNingde #ChuChu #YangYongliang #NiYouyu">

Called the “Father of Asian Photography,” Lang

<img src="https://mopa.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="Called the “Father of Asian Photography,” Lang Jingshan was a self-taught photographer who began his career in 1920s Shanghai. Lang's work demonstrates that Chinese artists have long advanced the pictorial qualities of photography by drawing inspiration from their own culture.⁣ ⁣ See how thousands of years of pictorial traditions continue to influence the arts today. Step into Out of the Shadows: Contemporary Chinese Photography through January 2021 at MOPA. ⬜️◽️⁣ ⁣ The Museum of Photographic Arts reopens at @BalboaPark on July 2 and 3 to members and on July 4 to the general public. Check out our basic personal safety requirements: 👉 MOPA.org/MOPAisback 👈⁣ ⁣ Photo credit:⁣ Lang Jingshan, Pavilion in Fairyland, 1955, gelatin silver print. Collection of Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan. © Taipei Fine Arts Museum.⁣ ⁣ #chineseartwork #chinesecontemporaryart #photographylovers #HongLei #ContemporaryChinesePhotography #LangJinshan #ShiGuorui #YangFudong #ShaoWenhuan #WangNingde #ChuChu #YangYongliang #NiYouyu">

MOPA is now MOPA@SDMA!Learn More