Save Art and Democracy
MCASB Launches Future Fund
in 50th-Anniversary Campaign
Art and free speech are essential to a healthy democracy—Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) calls on our communities across Santa Barbara and the Central Coast to help safeguard the region’s only dedicated, free contemporary art museum. Once again communities are in crisis—and this time, artists and art institutions are on the front line standing up against authoritarianism. Join us!
Greetings colleague, friend, neighbor, supporter,
As we look towards our 50th year in 2026 as a forum for art and ideas, the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) is calling on our communities to help safeguard its future. Today, the museum launches the MCASB Future Fund, a membership and year-end campaign inviting sustaining gifts to protect free exhibitions and public programs — and to uphold artists’ voices at a moment of heightened threats to free speech, democracy, and community well-being.
“This is not just about a few wealthy donors — it’s about all of us,” said Dalia Garcia, MCASB’s Executive Director. “$5 or $50 a month keeps admission free, allows us to bring contemporary art to more of Santa Barbara’s communities, including north Santa Barbara County, and opens the doors to people who too often have been left out of museums. At a time when immigrants, communities of color, and free speech itself are under attack, MCASB must remain a space where care, creativity, and radical imagination for our shared future can thrive. As we celebrate 50 years, your support will carry this work forward for the next generation.”
An example of MCASB’s mission in action include the current exhibition at the main museum space in Paseo Nuevo, San Milano Drive (On view through April 26, 2026), the debut solo museum show by Santa Barbara–based Filipino-American artist DJ Javier. This ambitious installation brings together paintings, murals, sculptures, and interactive works that celebrate Filipino heritage, surf culture, and the Central Coast community. Javier describes the exhibition as “a love letter to all the things that influenced and raised me,” while also imagining new futures for representation and belonging.
How to Give:
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara is a tax-exempt organization as defined by IRS Section 501(c)(3), Tax ID: 95-03384859.
Make a sustaining gift to the MCASB Future Fund:
$50/month or $50/year (as little as $5/month) celebrating MCASB’s 50th anniversary, and honoring it’s past, present, and future. Monthly gifts provide the most stability – choose your frequency!
Visit our online mercadito (small shop) – purchase a book, limited edition, t-shirt, or a Supper Club ticket
Why Your Support Matters:
Free Admission: MCASB is one of the only museums in the region with free admission for all, ensuring access regardless of income.
Community Engagement: From Santa Barbara to Santa Maria, MCASB partners with schools, community organizations, and artists to expand cultural access.
Uplift Artists’ Voices: MCASB amplifies the creativity of local, national, and international artists who challenge us to think differently and imagine better futures.
Nurture The Next Generation of Arts Leaders: MCASB’s Roots & Branches Arts Fellowship amplifies and nurtures Black, Latinx/e, LGTBQ+, and Indigenous artists who are caring for and leading their communities. Gifts up to $250 to the Roots & Branches Arts Fellowship will be matched by an anonymous donor until December 31, 2025.
Democracy & Care: In times of political and cultural division, the museum remains a space for dialogue, reflection, and care.
“I know what it feels like to be on the outside of cultural spaces,” Garcia said. “At MCASB, we are opening the doors wide — making sure Indigenous, immigrant, and undocumented communities see themselves represented, valued, and heard. This is what it means to build a museum for everyone.”
Garcia’s leadership has redefined the museum as a space of belonging and cultural visibility. Board President Frederick Janka underscores the urgency of this work, noting that the future of MCASB is directly tied to the defense of free expression. “Art and artists are essential to democracy. Supporting MCASB means safeguarding free expression and resisting authoritarianism,” Janka said. “By investing in the Future Fund, you’re not just supporting art — you’re uplifting under-resourced communities and protecting the only free space for contemporary art, ideas, and healing on the California Central Coast.”
