'Darkest Nights, Brightest Stars': 15th Annual Juried Youth Exhibition

NOTE: This exhibition has been extended through April 10, 2022.

How to visit
MOPA is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is donation-based and pay-what-you-can.

From '5 Works Of Art To See In San Diego In September' (KPBS): Youth Of San Diego: 'Darkest Nights, Brightest Stars' On view at MOPA through Feb. 6, 2022 There are plenty of standout works of photography in MOPA's current annual juried youth exhibition, but what struck me the most was the enormity of what modern youth are currently going through, and how profoundly well they were able to capture it in their art. Students in grades K-12 in San Diego and Tijuana submitted their work to the contest on the themes of "growing up" and "space." The themes somehow work in harmony in the selections, mostly photography and collage but there are a few video pieces. The overall effect is almost transportive, seeing dozens upon dozens of works that zoom in on the darkness of isolation, or a society in upheaval, or of growing up — or somehow all of it at the same time. I felt a mixture of tangible nostalgia, pride for their talent but also sorrow for what they're enduring. Well done/sorry, youth. Details: On view Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. through 4 p.m. 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. Donation-based. --Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS

From the museum: MOPA’s 15th Annual Juried Youth Exhibition uniquely combines imaginative artworks responding to two separate thematic calls for submissions: Growing Up and Space. Youth artists in K-12 throughout San Diego and Tijuana were invited to share their unique interpretations of these seemingly disparate themes through photography and video. Through their lenses, powerful voices and common threads emerged. The young artists rose above these unprecedented times to share compelling stories and perspectives about ambition, transformation, self identity, the earthly, and the ethereal. Finding solace and strength in art, their visions shine brightly into the future and remind us to see beyond what is present and known.

"Darkest Nights, Brightest Stars" is made possible by the generous financial support provided by:

The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation, Farrell Family Foundation, Capdevilla Gillespie Foundation, California Arts Council, City of San Diego, Gardner Bilingual Fund

The Exhibition Support Council is sustained by community leaders like: Alan and Brigit Pitcairn, Barbara Mandel, Bob and Marilyn Mackie, Diane Brockman, Elizabeth Taft, Gail and Mel Mackler, Julie Lorene Smith, Karen Kinney, Marie Tartar and Steve Eilenberg, Marion and David Knowles, Peggy Ann Wallace, The Elaine Galinson & Herbert Solomon Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation, and Todd and Julie Wagner