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The film industry is in full awards season frenzy. Here are some films to watch that deserve attention.

Join Museum educators in a paper folding activity using repurposed book jackets. Using folding methods, create a beautiful paper fortune teller from repurposed children’s book jackets. This workshop is inspired and led by artist Cat Chiu whose artwork "Booked," is featured in the "Conversations in Art: Dignity" exhibition on view in the Dammeyer Gallery at MOPA@SDMA through January 4, 2026. No reservation is required. All materials are provided Great for artists of all ages. Community Art Workshops invite artists to enjoy hands-on art making experiences inspired by the thinking and creating processes of artists on view at the Museum. Artists under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop. Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art on Instagram

Speaker: Meher McArthur, Curator, East Asian Art at Pacific Asia Museum; Creative Director, Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden Meher McArthur was born in India to a Scottish father and Persian mother and grew up in Scotland, Canada, and England feeling very out of place. Hoping to go into international business, she studied Japanese at college and lived in Japan for two years but fell in love with Japanese art and took a new direction. She became a Japanese art historian and has been passionately curating Japanese art exhibitions in museums and galleries and for national tour for over 25 years. This lecture is a sneak preview of her new memoir (October 2025) and will highlight some of the most significant art works in her life and career and show how Japanese art helped her find her place in the world. Speaker bio: Meher McArthur is an Asian art historian specializing in Japanese art. She worked as a curator of East Asian Art at Pacific Asia Museum and Creative Director for the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden, both in Pasadena and was Academic Curator for Scripps College in Claremont and Art and Cultural Director for Japan House, Los Angeles. She curates traveling exhibitions for International Arts & Artists (IA&A), currently "Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper" and upcoming "KIMONO: Garment, Canvas, and Artistic Muse." Her publications include "Gods and Goblins: Folk Paintings from Otsu" (PAM, 1999), "Reading Buddhist Art" (Thames & Hudson, 2002), "The Arts of Asia" (Thames & Hudson, 2005), "An ABC of What Art Can Be" (Getty Museum, 2010), "New Expressions in Origami Art" (Tuttle, 2017), and "Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper" (IA&A, 2021). She lives in Pasadena, California. Please note, this session will be conducted virtually via Zoom. Save your spot by clicking on this link. All participants will be sent the Zoom link via confirmation email with instructions once you secure your place. The San Diego Museum of Art on Facebook / Instagram

"Disrupted Pathology" Joshua Almond Aug. 27 – Oct. 10, 2025 Through his wooden sculptures, studio furniture, and drawings, Joshua Almond examines cellular processes where normal patterns break down, exploring the visual poetry found in these moments of biological disruption. These profound transformations reveal tensions between order and chaos, growth and decay. Each piece investigates how dysfunction possesses its own beauty and logic, transforming microscopic phenomena into human-scaled encounters. The inclusion of functional furniture alongside sculptural works creates a further dialogue between utility and organic inspiration. Rather than clinical illustration, the works in this exhibition provoke a re-examination of the multitude of cells collectively responsible for our own unique shape, and the moments of crisis when life’s programming encounters beautiful errors and necessary failures. Joshua Almond on Bluesky

Ekphrastic poets find their inspiration in the visual. Their poems imagine, describe, or expand upon the “story” of an image or work of art. Every ekphrastic poem is its own work of art, separate but related to the visual inspiration. In this workshop, you will learn about well-known and not-so-well-known ekphrastic poems, and you will learn a methodology so that you can confidently approach this exciting cross-genre space. You will work in the Inspirations Gallery and create one or more unique poems. You will have the option to share your work aloud, as well as past poems, in a book in the gallery. Sharing is NOT required but an option for anyone who’d like to do it. San Diego Writers, Ink on Facebook / Instagram

Thousands of men in California are neither working nor in school. Gov. Gavin Newsom has called it a “crisis,” both for the labor market and for men’s mental health.

Open Studio at the Athenaeum Art Center invites local printmakers and artists to utilize the equipment and space in the printmaking studio. Prior knowledge in printmaking and equipment familiarity is required as open studio time is not for learning a new printmaking process or one on one lessons. The Athenaeum Art Center offers printmaking courses throughout the year for those wanting to learn a new craft or wanting to enhance their art practice. Open Studio is free for everyone. Athenaeum Music & Arts Library on Facebook / Instagram

Gather for a lively storytime in the MOPA@SDMA Dammeyer Gallery, surrounded by the vibrant artwork of Cat Chiu. Families are invited to enjoy engaging storytelling, songs, and readings of beloved children’s books in a space where art and literature meet. Listen to stories at 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. alongside Cat Chiu’s quilt-inspired installations made from children’s book jackets. This imaginative setting celebrates creativity, memory, and play. No reservation required. Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art on Instagram

This weekend in the arts in San Diego: Halloween punk, "Rent," printmaking, wearable art, a Día de Muertos procession and more.