Mingei is a special word increasingly used throughout the world to designate “arts of the people.” It was coined by the revered scholar, Dr. Soetsu Yanagi, who combined the Japanese words for all people (min) and art (gei). Joined by potters Shoji Hamada and Kaniro Kawai, Yanagi formed the Mingei Association of Japan, which was responsible for the foundation of the first international crafts museum in Tokyo. Martha Longenecker, a professor at San Diego State University, encountered the members of the Mingei Association and, inspired by their vision, in 1978 established Mingei International as a place where the finest examples of arts from all cultures of the world could speak for themselves. The museum was first located in a small space in a shopping center. Over the years it grew dramatically, and in 1996 it moved to its present space in Balboa Park. In 2003, it opened a satellite space in Escondido.
The museum has a rapidly expanding collection of art objects from one hundred countries. It emphasizes Asian artworks but features approximately 15,000 tribal objects. Among these is an important collection of embroidery and silver jewelry from the many non-Han cultures of Guizhou, China. Ethiopian and Yoruba objects, an Indonesian collection rich in Dayak objects, and a collection of artworks from Ladakh, India, are also prominent in the museum’s holdings. Navaho and Tibetan pieces are also included.
The museum’s pre-Columbian collection represents a variety of cultures from Mexico. It also spans Central and South America. A gift in 2000 from an anonymous foundation made possible the acquisition of the Greaves Collection of pre-Columbian Marine Animals. This unique assemblage of more than 250 objects in ceramic, stone, metal, and textile focuses on representations of marine fauna and marine-associated mythological themes as found in the pre-Columbian art of the Americas.
Approximately five percent of the collection is on display at any one time, but the exhibitions are constantly changing, so a great deal of the collection cycles through the installations over time. In its first twenty-five years, the museum organized and presented 109 major exhibitions, some of which have continued to reach a nationwide audience as they travel to other museums.