Museum of Us

The Museums new name represents a public commitment to equity, access, and our decolonizing/anti-racism work a journey that has been ongoing since our shift of mission and will continue into the future. For us this change means holding ourselves accountable to our colonial past and present, so that we can transform into a more equitable organization. We know we must do better for our community and future generations. Our organizational practices, policies, and culture are changing to reflect the requests and needs of our internal and external communities. These shifts result from the guidance of our partners: elders, artists, community members, ambassadors, and scholars within Black, Indigenous, and communities of color.Exhibits-The Museums new strategy is front and center in its latest exhibit offerings, including Living With Animals, a colorful and fun exploration of the human-animal bond, PostSecret, a fascinating exploration of how secrets are the currency of human intimacy, and Cannibals: Myth and Reality a thought provoking exploration of cultural othering.Community Engagement-Signature offerings include student and adult tours and 90 minute workshops complementing the Race: Are We So Different? exhibit. While these in-person programs have been on hold due to COVID, we are pivoting to digital offerings on the Google Arts and Culture platform, including ones on anti-racism. During 2020/2021 we also launched a webinar series entitled, CONVERSATIONS which explored how community wellness is rooted in our connections to land, tradition, and art.Cultural Resources-The Department of Cultural Resources is tasked with caring for more than 150,000 documented ethnographic materials, more than 500,000 archaeological cultural resources, and over 100,000 photographic images; and, for stewarding them within a decolonized paradigm. To that end, the Museum passed policies in 2017 and 2018 that require documented consent from descendant communities to hold human remains or any Indigenous belongings at the Museum. These policies commit the Museum to repatriating any Indigenous item for which the Museum does not have such consent. Since 2017 weve been working with our Kumeyaay partners at meaningful ways to incorporate community voice in broad-based decisions about cultural resources, exhibits, and programs. This work has received critical financial support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), starting in 2017 and again in 2020. We typically welcome approximately 200K visitors annually though COVID-19 and the seismic retrofit of our historic California Tower (February 2019-February 2020) have caused a temporary reduction in attendance. Approximately 71% of this audience is composed of first time visitors, they identify as follows: (1) Average age 35.5, (2) Female 51%, (3) White/Caucasian 46%, (4) African American 6%, (5) Hispanic/Latino 29%, (6) Asian 11%, and (7) Other 8%. Geographic distribution: (1) San Diego County - 39%, (2) Rest of California 14%, (3) Rest of the United Sates 31%, and (4) International 16%.The Museum holds accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. On January 25, 2018, the Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego awarded the Museum its Kaleidoscope Award for good governance. Charity Navigator rates the Museum at four out of four stars, and has done so for six consecutive years.