The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a series of special exhibitions and a public birthday party. The centennial exhibition "SDMA 100 Years" opens January 24, 2026, featuring photographs, memorabilia, and film footage of key moments in the museum's history. Other exhibitions include "Local Visions: Reimagining the Façade" (through July 26), "Cafes and Cabarets: The Spectacular Art of Toulouse-Lautrec" (April 4–September 20), and "Forging a Legacy: 15 Years of Landmark Acquisitions" (May 16–September 7). The museum will offer free admission and extended hours on February 28 for its birthday fest with live music, art-making, and cake tasting.
The centennial highlights SDMA's evolution from the city-owned Fine Arts Gallery, which opened in Balboa Park on February 28, 1926, into a major cultural institution with a collection of over 35,000 items visited by about 500,000 people annually. The anniversary underscores the museum's role as San Diego's first art museum and its ongoing impact through traveling exhibitions worldwide. The museum is also fundraising for a renovation of its west wing, which will double exhibition space and add underground galleries and archives, with groundbreaking expected in 2027.