Originally published OMA, Surf Museum Host Dual Exhibition to Drive Local Tourism on by https://www.sdbj.com/tourism/museums/oma-surf-museum-host-dual-exhibition-to-drive-local-tourism/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oma-surf-museum-host-dual-exhibition-to-drive-local-tourism at San Diego Business Journal
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OCEANSIDE – For the first time, this summer, the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) and the California Surf Museum (CSM) will host a dual-venue exhibition entitled “Surf Art: Exploring California’s Coastal Culture.” The collaboration sets out to diversify each institution’s audience and ride the waves of Oceanside’s revitalization as a tourism destination.
“It seems like it’s a great time, as surprising as that may sound, for the cultural arts, particularly in San Diego,” CSM Executive Director Jim Kempton said. “Oceanside has benefited from a real effort that San Diego has always put into arts and culture…We’ve really seen growth in our area, at the museum, in just about every category you could think of in the museum world.”
The dual exhibit will be hosted at both venues and have a staggered opening. OMA’s exhibit will open on Aug. 23, and CSM’s will open on Sept. 13.
“It’s such a complementary partnership,” OMA Executive Director Maria Mingalone said.
“We have the art background, but we don’t have the deep history with surf culture—and vice versa. We bring together a really strong team and a fun collaborative voice.”
Fueling Oceanside’s Tourism Industry
In 2022, a study called “Arts & Economic Prosperity 6” conducted by American For the Arts revealed that San Diego’s nonprofit arts and culture sector is a $1.3 billion industry, supporting 19,771 jobs and generating $320,693,871 in local, state and federal government revenue.
Furthermore, the study showed that Oceanside’s Cultural District alone generated over $45.6 million in economic activity in FY 2022, supporting 700 local jobs and contributing nearly $1.5 million in local tax revenue. OMA’s impact on the local economy is $5.5. million.
“OMA was established in the mid-90s by a group of intrepid volunteers, citizens of Oceanside. The mayor at that time challenged this handful of folks to create a cultural destination for the city,” Mingalone said. “At the time, Oceanside was in a development phase, transitioning from its earlier roots as a military town.
“It was really a labor of love to create destination status for the city and to elevate the city’s reputation…which was described as a cultural desert in the media in years prior,” she continued.
OMA and CSM hope the new exhibit will continue to showcase Oceanside’s culture while bolstering local tourism.
At its annual tourism summit, Visit Oceanside reported an increase in visitor spending despite an overall industry slowdown. The organization is wrapping up its first year of implementing its 10-year Sustainable Tourism Master Plan and has noted a rise in group travel and eco-tourism.
Visit Oceanside’s budget for 2025 is $3.4 million starting July 1.
“Both of these museums have been a boon to the mission of the city itself,” Kempton said. “Visit Oceanside, the Chamber of Commerce, the city government—they all understand how much value the two entities bring to Oceanside.”
Diversifying Consumer Base
To execute the exhibition, OMA plans to invest about $25,000 and CSM plans to invest about $10,000. Along with the main installation, OMA will also host a themes popup in its gift store.
The project itself has been in development for about a year. Both organizations, however, knew that they wanted to collaborate for a while. The dual exhibition presents both entities with a way to diversify their audiences.
CSM sees about 30,000 visitors per year, who are primarily out-of-state and international guests. Conversely, OMA’s visitors are 60% San Diego locals. By co-hosting the surf art exhibition, both museums gain exposure.
“This has been a long-term plan for the two museums,” Kempton said. “We both saw the mutual advantage of bringing double the audience—two very different audiences.”
While preparing for the exhibition’s opening, OMA and CSM are focused on garnering sponsorships, although, given current economic conditions, it has been challenging, said Mingalone.
OMA is currently planning on expanding to include the nearby historic fire station, growing the museum’s campus to a full city block.
“Each exhibition adds to the lexicon of history as it’s actually being made,” Mingalone said. “It’s not static. We are really excited about doing this—drawing from the legacy of artists of the region.”
California Surf Museum
FOUNDED: 1986
CEO: Jim Kempton
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Tourism
EMPLOYEES: 5
REVENUE: Over 1,200,000 visitors to the museum since its founding
WEBSITE: surfmuseum.org
CONTACT: [email protected] or (760) 721-6876
SOCIAL IMPACT: Visitors have traveled from all 50 states and 41 nations.
NOTABLE: Voted #2 best sports museum by USA Today.
Oceanside Museum of Art
FOUNDED: 1995
CEO: Maria Mingalone
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Tourism
EMPLOYEES: 19
REVENUE: $2 million
WEBSITE: oma-online.org
CONTACT: [email protected]
SOCIAL IMPACT: As a cornerstone of the Oceanside California Cultural District. (OCCD), Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) plays a vital role in both the economic vitality and the social health and well-being of North County.
NOTABLE: Most of the artists OMA works with are exhibiting in a museum for the first time. For more established artists, it takes pride in being the place where they had their first solo show—often before gaining broader recognition.
Born and raised in San Diego, Madison takes great pride in local storytelling. Her coverage at the San Diego Business Journal includes tourism, hospitality, nonprofits, education and retail. An alumna of San Diego State University’s journalism program, she has written for publications including The San Diego Union-Tribune and The San Diego Sun. At the 2024 San Diego Press Club awards, Madison was recognized for her exemplary profile writing. She was also a speaker for the 2023 TEDx Conference at Bonita Vista High School. When she’s not working on her next story, Madison can be found performing music at a local restaurant or on one of San Diego’s many hiking trails.
Originally published San Diego Business Journal