We were very surprised when we read our eagerly awaited "San Diego Arts" section of the Feb. 22 edition of the Los Angeles Times. We simply could not account for the fact that despite the title of the section, "The Arts in San Diego, The Search for Excellence," which sounded all-inclusive to us, there was not even a mention of the Museum of Photographic Arts.
This despite the fact that the Museum of Photographic Arts is a real success story. Let us mention but a few of the facts that we find really remarkable about the Museum of Photographic Arts:
- The museum opened its doors to the public less than four years ago--and without an endowment. Yet, it has not only sustained itself, but grown in membership, budget, programming, staff and recognition (while you point out that the San Diego Art Center, started at the same time, has "folded with more than $650,000 in debts").
- The Museum of Photographic Arts has a major exhibition (Arnold Newman: Five Decades) traveling to prominent and prestigious museums all across the country for the next three years (including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Minneapolis Art Institute, the International Center for Photography in New York, etc.).
