The Museum at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido is an inviting 9,000-square-foot exhibition space that boasts three galleries, a sculpture court, and a museum store.

In the CCAE Museum, patrons can experience original and inspiring exhibitions in one of the premier visual arts venues in San Diego County. Since its inception, the Museum's mission has focused on presenting and collecting the work of American and Mexican artists, especially those living or working in or near Southern California. The Museum's nationally recognized program of original and traveling exhibitions provides a dynamic range of visual arts experiences for patrons. The Museum is committed to making its holdings, exhibitions, and programs accessible and meaningful to its increasingly diverse public. In addition, the Museum offers special interpretive and educational programs and events for adults and children in conjunction with its exhibitions. Thousands of school children tour exhibitions annually and programs are designed for adult, youth, and family audiences, often in partnership with local and regional groups. Over the past ten years more than 200,000 patrons have visited the Museum.

The Museum store also offers a wide selection of gifts for all ages including art related games, jewelry, purses, house wares, a large selection of books, and hand made greeting cards. Store visitors will also find affordable and original works of art created by local artists Lea de Witt, Levi Cassias, Trish Vernazza, and Leah Papike. By making a purchase at the Museum Store, you are supporting future exhibitions and programs at the Museum.

With a mission of bringing people together to discover, create and celebrate both the visual and performing arts, the California Center for the Arts, Escondido is the cultural center of North San Diego County.

The creation of the Center was sparked by a civic vision - one that recognized how vital arts and arts education is in a community. In June 1985, the voters of Escondido approved the building of a $73-million arts center that would bring music, dance, theater, education and the visual arts together on one dynamic campus as part of an overall redevelopment project.

Since 1994, The Center Museum has organized more than seventy-five exhibitions and published thirteen catalogues. These group and thematic exhibitions have included the work of modern and contemporary artists such as Ansel Adams, Therman Statom, Salomón Huerta, Ernest Silva, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Lowe, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman, David Avalos, Judit Hersko, Eloy Tarcisio and Wayne Thiebaud. Additionally, the Museum hosts traveling exhibitions from other organizations, most recently from The New York Times Photo Archives; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, Los Angeles; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; The American Federation of Arts in New York; and Independent Curators, International in New York.