First Look: New Acquisitions at Bowers Museum

First Look: New Acquisitions at Bowers Museum celebrates the Museum’s ongoing commitment to collecting and sharing the world’s arts and cultures. Featuring an annually rotating selection of objects acquired over the past decade from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania, this dynamic exhibition showcases the rich diversity of the Museum’s growing permanent collection. With the vast majority of new acquisitions to Bowers coming in as donations, the gallery further pays homage to the wonderful generosity of the more than 80 donors who have helped contribute to the acquisition of approximately 3,290 objects in the past ten years alone.

Visitors will encounter a diverse array of artworks and cultural objects, from ceremonial masks and textiles to contemporary sculpture and fine art. Thousands more objects from Bowers Museum’s permanent collection are accessible in the gallery at an interactive kiosk that lets visitors browse the Bowers Digital Collection.

Each object in this gallery tells a story—of daily life, ritual, identity, or artistic innovation—and many are on display for the first time. Through this exhibition, Bowers Museum reaffirms its mission to enrich lives through the celebration of global heritage and to reflect the cultural diversity of its Santa Ana community and beyond.

“When deciding where to donate my father's artwork, Bowers Museum was my first choice. The Museum’s permanent and rotating exhibitions continually deepen my love and appreciation of the art and culture of the world.”

—Larry Duncan, Son of artist Hugh Duncan