This year, San Diego’s art scene was defined by exhibitions that challenged perceptions, sparked conversations and inspired new ways of thinking. From celebrating hip-hop culture to reimagining beauty and delving into the intersections of health and disability, these exhibits offered a profound mix of local and global perspectives that left an indelible mark on the city’s cultural landscape.

‘Beyond the Elements’

The “Beyond the Elements” exhibition at the New Americans Museum was incredible to experience. Seeing hip-hop culture featured in this way was powerful. Beyond the four elements of deejaying, emceeing, breaking and graffiti, the telling of San Diego history grounded me in hip-hop’s fifth and most crucial element: knowledge of self. It was also a great precursor to the Rap Diego podcast that KPBS dropped earlier this year! — Daniel Cardenas, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

‘From Big Dots to the Digital Universe: The Evolution of Comic Book Color’

The “From Big Dots to the Digital Universe” exhibit at the Comic-Con Museum offered a fascinating perspective. Museums are for discoveries, and I love learning about an aspect of comics that I really knew very little about — comic book coloring. I got some introduction to this through Comic-Con@Home 2020 panels during the pandemic, but seeing the art of Steve Oliff and being able to speak with him at the opening was a treat. In his decades as an artist, he has seen seismic shifts in how comics are made and the exhibit he oversaw provided great insight into his craft and its history. Also, kudos to Comic-Con Museum for the heavy hands-on animation exhibit and for highlighting comic book creator/artist John Jennings. — Beth Accomando, Arts Reporter

‘Đẹp: Reimagining Beauty in the Vietnamese Diaspora’

Linh Nguyen’s “Đẹp,” hosted by Viet Voices, at the Mingei International Museum really hit me on a personal level. Nguyen’s portraits celebrate the beauty in features I, too, grew up feeling self-conscious about — darker skin, monolids and anything that didn’t fit the beauty standards I was taught to admire. It felt like she was speaking to my own journey of self-love and breaking free from those limiting cultural beliefs. This exhibit made me think, and it started some really important conversations. It’s a powerful reminder that beauty isn’t one-size-fits-all. — Chrissy Nguyen, Arts Editor

‘Picturing Health’

“Picturing Health” at Best Practice is a powerful and thoughtful group show featuring local artists who are making work about disability, illness and caretaking — things that most humans will have to contend with in some way or another. It’s kind of a sister show to the big survey exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, “For Dear Life,” but notably focuses on actual local artists. Some of my favorite pieces in the show are by impactful local artists I’ve been following for a while, like Bhavna Mehta’s embroidered X-rays, Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio’s conceptual charcoal clouds and Philip Brun Del Re’s “surrender flag.” — Julia Dixon Evans, Arts Reporter