This museum Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is not interested in working with new artists. The only way they will look at your work is if you’re “Refered”. I don’t support those that don’t encourage open minded acceptance of ALL Equally. This negative review is my public voice.

Fascinating. The giant sphere alone will fascinate you. You must have an appreciation for art no matter what the medium is or somehow see what the ARTIST envisions. So do not go my recommendations, BUT do go with an open mind.

Nice small space situated inside the rear of the Santa Fe Depot. Admission is only $10 and free under 25. Currently you can go across the street to their annex and get FREE tickets (not sure why or how long but it is directly kitty corner to the south). Docent was extremely helpful. Stop by Stone brewing just a block to north after!!

Loved it! One of the security guards is an art enthusiast and explained to me the story behind the mouth exhibit.

It was very nice to be part of the veterans art show. Thank you so much for hosting this event and putting together a lovely spread.

Weird, spooky art work!

I have a love/hate relationship with contemporary art. Some of it looks like a 5 year old could replicate it, some looks like the artist is trying to fool the general public into believing that bits of wood standing up is an art installation. But then there is the genuinely talented artists too. Its very subjective. This gallery is located right next to the Sante Fe Train Station downtown which is a cool location. The building itself is art. Its well lit and well displayed.

It was smaller than I thought it would be, but we’ll curated. Big open space in a cool building. Actually it’s broken into two buildings so you cross the street to get to the other/smaller part. Worth a visit especially if you’re under 25 because it’s free.

Worth a look if you like contemporary art.

Really small place, we got lucky because we happened to go on a free day so thats really all that made it worth it. I think it also depends on what exhibits are there when you go to make it worth while. Im assuming a lot of the bad ratings went out of their way to go here but I was already in the area.You can go on their website to see what exhibits are up and more likely than not you can go through the Instagram tag and see recent photos. Its nice place if it was always free.

While the La Jolla site is under construction, the downtown location is a great temporary show featuring artists on both side of the borders.

Love the monthly Downtown at Sundown event (third Thursday of the month) -- free admission and music, plus often there are tours or other activities. Great cultural resource for the city.

If art is important to you, do yourself a favor and stop by. The museum is very small compared to Balboa Parks MOA. Make sure you check the website to ensure they have what youre looking for. They sometimes feature local artists with their weird funk art, but its still very cool.Downside: Parking is a pain, youll have to bring quarters to feed the meter. Be aware of the time you spend here, an hour should be good.

Interesting,thought provoking, a lovey place to spend a couple of hours.

I always love the art displayed here and its convenient that it is right next to the Santa Fe Depot trolley station. The added bonus of this being free for people that are 25 and under keeps me coming back for every exhibit.

Great contemporary installations. Tours and explanations by Kiko extremely informative and beneficial. I will visit again.

Very nice modern art. Great for those who appreciate modern arts

Went here tonight for an exhibition. I’m not sure of the theme or if there even was one for the show. There didn’t seem to be a connection between the two. There was a performance in the middle of the exhibition. The artist walked around making strange sounds. I didn’t enjoy it so I left.

From my perspective, the exhibit was stereotypically esoteric contemporary art. I left without having really connected with any piece. The staff was very friendly though and the museum building itself is very pretty.

Cool place, but is very empty. Theres little artwork for how big the space is.

The most intricate pieces of art very lovely museum. Art here is so unique and valuable.

So disappointed, it is $10 for regular admission. I thought I could at least spend 30 mins here. But it was 10! No joke! There are two rooms of some random pictures to look at, nothing special! You are better off scrolling ok Instagram on your phone for 10 mins for free....

Always a nice time. Great exhibits friendly staff

Small but cozy place. Staff are great and friendly. They have discounts for students and under 25 is also free!

We had a really nice guide that changed the way I look at art! I wish i could remember his name! He was very informative on the different pieces we observed and he taught me the fundamentals. Very happy to have come here and will definitely be coming back to learn more!

One of the hidden gems of the downtown area. If youre in the mood for some different and exciting art from local artists then stop in for a visit. The prices are very inexpensive and they rotate the art every few months so you can always expect a fresh exhibit.

I always take my Clients to the Museum for their monthly events. They always have some kind of art and hands on experiences. This is one of the reasons my clients like to buy homes downtown San Diego. Museum is fun.

Interesting place reinvented building from the early 1900s

Beautiful gallery featuring four different amazing artists! Creative genius mixed media artist, must see.

A modestly sized space but they frequently have traveling exhibitions that are very good. I strongly suggest going to their downtown at sundown program on Thursday nights, where they have openings, with music, and sometimes tours or interesting talks.

Beautiful space, welcoming staff, would visit frequently if I lived in the area. A+

He prices are very inexpensive and they rotate the art every few months so you can always expect a fresh exhibit.

Very interesting. I expected it to be a larger museum.

Museum thats just the right size to pop into while at Santa Fe Depot or the Embarcadero. The security guards are very friendly and will explain the art to you. Make sure to check in backpacks at the front desk, and anyone under 25 is free.

Nice staff, interesting collection.

Very small, not much to it. The exhibits were not impressive at all. Worst art museum Ive been to.

This location is very small. Will take less than an hour to see the exhibits.

The museum is not very big so itll take you less than an hour, but it does have interesting social, racial and cultural commentary that will hopefully enlighten your eyes. The staff is always so kind and helpful too

The staff are helpful and friendly, but dam I should have went four years ago. They change their art every year, so its not the same! They also give free entry every third week of the month, bring your student ID if you dont wanna pay a lot of mula.

Very unique and unusual art.

You should go right now they have some exhibit at the moment with some weird costume theater that is super interesting

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The Museum of Contemporary Art always has meaningingful exhibits with events. This place is an asset to San Diego.

Good museum with alot of heart, they tackle big social issues. Some shows are hits and other misses.

Great museum with interesting pieces of work. Staff was super friendly as well, would highly recommend.

Just an ok place, struggled to really understand the art here

The museum is not very big so itll take you less than an hour, but it does have interesting social, racial and cultural commentary that will hopefully enlighten your eyes. The staff is always so kind and helpful too

I REALLY LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Its small however, the art there is incredible and has many views on emotion, culture, and racial topics. Go check it out, ages 25 and under go free

Fun n a little spooky

This is one of downtowns most enjoyable museums. The work displayed there is always thought provoking and displayed in an entertaining way. They host a fair amount of after hours events but could stand to have more evening hours in general. their location makes for a great stop before getting dinner in little Italy!

I thought the exhibit was rather small. If there were more things to look at, i would give a higher rating. It looked like more online.

Some of the art is interactive. Dont be afraid to ask about the exhibits.

Loved what there was of it

Great little museum, its really quite small but still ok.

Feels great.

The Dimensions of Black Art exhibit was beautiful but if you are Black do not come here, you will be uncomfortable. Security followed my friends and I (3 Black women) the entire time we were at the exhibit (an entire hour) even though there were other parrons present viewing art work. We confronted the front desk and the manager just defended security and told my friends and I we were being irrational and taking things out of context. The manager said he was just making rounds but the security guard stood across from us and watched us talk to the manager about our experience so we were confused on how he was making rounds if he stood there watching us with other patrons in the exhibit freely admiring art. The security guard was clearly racial profiling us and the manager sucks at customer service because he didnt even acknowledge that we were uncomfortable he just said fill out a comment card and blew us off. We will not be returning.

Love coming here every time I visit SD! Always friendly staff with inspiring exhibits and historic location.

Not a lot of art.

This is a great museum that offers diverse exhibits.

Have you - this excellent museum - every considered what your Gala Invitation does to those underprivileged ones for whom becoming a member of you wonderful museum is already a luxury and a sacrifice? I want you to IMAGINE!

Great place great people best camp love it

Not a welcoming space for black visitors. My two black friends and I were followed the entire time and completely dismissed by the management. The guard lurked over us in every corner of the museum and even made eye contact several times without saying a word. The customer service is poor and the manager was very inappropriate in how he handled the situation. I will not be returning or recommending to anyone else.

Free admission for Downtown at Sundown once a month. Lovely way to spend a few hours.

Everything about this place is discourteous, from the location to the people that work there. I live across the street and have been in a few times, but its just too arrogant and conceited. They try to be really artsy, just to be artsy. Instead of being approachable and unassuming theyre aloof and pretentious. ESPECIALLY that welcome to the red light district sign out front.I understand that its supposed to be art, but do you have to keep that stupid red sign flashing 24hrs a day? Its just light pollution! Youd think in an age of fiscal and environmental awareness, youd be willing to turn it off for just a few hours every night. And youve blatantly ignored requests by the people that live here to turn off the lights after 11 on weekdays. You refuse, and call us ignorant. Id rather be ignorant and nice than cultured and mean. Your building gives art a bad name and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Youre actions are selfish and forceful, not artistic or expressive. The terrible trick is that you arent forced to stare at it all night. You get to go home. And dont tell me its unobtrusive, I see your office shades pulled even on sunny days! Thanks for being so very inconsiderate. Your mothers would be ashamed.

Took students on a field trip. Loved the exhibits and what they represent. Also appreciate its central location.

The guard followed us the ENTIRE time. He said not one word to us but went to every area in every room we were in. There were other guests in the museum but he continued to follow us around. The manager did absolutely nothing but expressed how we are overreacting and made uninterested/disrespectful facial expressions the entire time we expressed our concerns.

Very cool and there is awesome people there

The downtown facilities of the San Diego museum of contemporary art. They had the teen age arts program here

Smaller than La Jollas one, but having lots of art pieces:)

Superb, beautiful building. Gives a feel for social history as much as art

Tiny, but very interesting exhibits. Will only take 1-2 hours to visit

So-so exhibit, very intrusive security personnel. Probably ok to check it out for free each 3rd Thursday of the month.

Small but so cool!

An excellent location and they always have cool new displays

Ok..

Always something new and interesting here

I like modern art museums. I didnt like this one. Small and boring.

Wish it was bigger and more to look at

What a cool place with cool installations

Awesome!!

Very small collection

One of the exhibits was literally and empty room I kid you not

So cool

Fab

Not my kind of art.

Art

Very small

LIke the art

Too small, worth it for me on free days

Amazing space.

A bit small.

Ticket is good for 1 week

Place is a joke. Even for free there isnt much to see.

Great selection of artists

Small but good

Friendly small museum.

TINY museum and a BIG waste of money . Balboa Park is so much better