San Diego Museum of Art marks 100 years with centennial exhibitions, free admission, and expansion plans

A centennial milestone in Balboa Park

The San Diego Museum of Art will mark 100 years since it first opened to the public on February 28, 1926, when the institution debuted as the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego in Balboa Park. The museum’s centennial year is being structured around a series of exhibitions, public programs and a day-long birthday celebration that includes free general admission.

Planning for the anniversary also arrives as the museum continues to outline long-range renovation and expansion concepts for its west wing, aimed at increasing gallery capacity and improving visitor circulation and community access.

What visitors can see during the centennial year

The core historical exhibition, SDMA 100 Years, opens January 24, 2026 and is scheduled to run through February 7, 2027. The presentation is designed as a retrospective of the institution’s evolution, drawing on archival photographs, film and memorabilia, and also incorporates public-submitted community memories as part of an in-gallery component.

Running concurrently from January 24 through July 26, 2026, Local Visions: Reimagining the Façade focuses on contemporary responses to the museum’s Spanish Colonial Revival exterior. The project was built from an open call to local artists, with selected works reflecting multiple interpretations of the building’s façade and its role as a civic landmark.

Two additional 2026 exhibitions highlight collection strengths and recent growth. Cafés and Cabarets: The Spectacular Art of Toulouse-Lautrec is scheduled from April 4 through September 20, 2026, featuring approximately 35 light-sensitive works from the permanent collection that are rarely displayed. Forging a Legacy: 15 Years of Landmark Acquisitions runs May 16 through September 7, 2026, surveying significant acquisitions and promised gifts that expanded the museum’s holdings across multiple regions and media, including photography and contemporary commissions.

• SDMA 100 Years: January 24, 2026 – February 7, 2027
• Local Visions: Reimagining the Façade: January 24 – July 26, 2026
• Cafés and Cabarets: The Spectacular Art of Toulouse-Lautrec: April 4 – September 20, 2026
• Forging a Legacy: 15 Years of Landmark Acquisitions: May 16 – September 7, 2026

February 28: free admission and a public birthday program

The museum’s centennial date—Saturday, February 28, 2026—will be marked with free admission from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and a two-part celebration that includes a ticketed “Cake Party” and an outdoor “On the Steps” program in the late afternoon and evening featuring performance and participatory activities.

The birthday programming is planned as both a commemorative event and a broad public access day, centered on free museum entry and on-site community activities.

Institutional changes and what comes next

In recent years, the museum’s footprint and collections have grown, including a 2023 merger that added The Museum of Photographic Arts collection and expanded the organization’s overall holdings. The centennial year also overlaps with continuing public-facing planning for a future west wing renovation concept, including a new community engagement pavilion and expanded exhibition and storage capacity. A gallery presentation titled A New Vision for the Next Century remains on view as part of that longer-term planning effort.