Martha Longenecker, Founder of Mingei International Museum

The Shumei Arts Council in Pasadena will present lecture "My Mingei Legacy" by Dr. Martha Longenecker, Founder and Director Emeritus of the Mingei International Museum in San Diego on Sunday, February 13, at 2:00 pm at Shumei Hall, 2430 East Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107. Free admission. For more information, call (626) 584-8841. www.shumeiarts.org

Mingei or Folk Art was coined by Soetsu Yanagi in 1920s in Japan. Yanagi rescued lowly pot used by common people in the Edo and Meiji period that were disappearing in rapidly urbanizing Japan. The Japan Folk Craft Museum was established by Yanagi in Tokyo in 1936. 

Inspired by the vision of mingei and the movement's founder Yanagi, Dr. Longenecker guided the direction of the Mingei International Museum in San Diego for over 37 years.

Her goal was to bring art of the people to the people of the San Diego region and beyond.

Martha W. Longenecker's career in art is multi-faceted; she is an artist, craftsman, and educator.

She studied painting with famed California artist Millard Sheets at Claremont Graduate School, were she received an Art Education Credential and a Master of Fine Arts Degree.

Establishing her own ceramics studio in Claremont, California, she made wheel-thrown stoneware forms that were exhibited nationally through Dalzell Hatfield Galleries from 1944 to 1964.

She is a Professor of Art Emeritus of San Diego State University.

In 2003, Dr. Longenecker received the Order of the Rising Sun With Gold Rays and Rosettes from the Emperor of Japan.

Her lecture at Shumei Hall will present an overview of the Mingei Museum and show how objects in its collection transcend time, place, and culture.