Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

The mission of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, founded in 1941, is to serve diverse audiences through the exhibition, interpretation, collection, and preservation of art created since 1950. MCASD, which engages a regional, national, and international audience including the bi-national constituency of San Diego/Tijuana, is a museum providing public access to contemporary art, artists and the creative process; a forum for the exploration and understanding of contemporary art and ideas; and a laboratory for artists to experiment with new forms of creative expression. MCASD has two locations, a 3-acre oceanfront facility in La Jolla and a complex of three buildings in the heart of downtown San Diego. The Museum’s exhibitions are ambitious and at the cutting-edge, often featuring young, emerging artists. The 4,100-work collection includes outstanding examples of Minimalism, Pop, conceptual, installation, California (particularly San Diego and Los Angeles), and Latin American art (including Tijuana). MCASD operates as an agent of discovery, a place in which artists can experiment freely and are encouraged to stretch the boundaries of their thinking. Here, the public can directly experience the work and ideas of living artists through exhibitions and education programs that challenge, illuminate, and provide insight into the creative process.

Lord Cultural Resources was engaged to work with the Trustees and Staff to develop a new Long Range Strategic Plan for the organization, ensuring that MCASD’s mission and program were aligned. Through the planning process, goals and objectives were developed that addressed that new alignment, institutional needs, and financial realities.

"We were extremely pleased with Lord’s approach and the ways that they guided our staff and board members through a thoughtful and rational process of research and planning. As a result of the work we accomplished together, a number of organizational and program initiatives were developed, and the resulting plan will serve as a practical and useful roadmap for the next 5-10 years.”

Dr. Hugh M. Davies, The David C. Copley Director, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego