SAN DIEGO, CA.- Traveling from the Centre Pompidou art museum in Paris, France, an interactive, all-ages art exhibition titled Journey Through the City: Beneath the Moon II made its United States debut at The San Diego Museum of Art on December 15, 2012.

This free exhibition is the first in a new, permanent welcome center at the Museum, which will rotate art and activities throughout the year. This center will be devoted to providing visitors with alternate ways of engaging with and interpreting art, with an emphasis on the Museum’s own permanent collection.

The exhibition realizes a major achievement for The San Diego Museum of Art –the start of an important collaborative relationship with the Centre Pompidou. Through this relationship, the Museum anticipates developing many, major long-term projects.

“It is with much joy we welcome this special exhibition to not only our institution, but our city and country,” said Roxana Velásquez, Executive Director of The San Diego Museum of Art. “Our international relationships are key in expanding the variety of art here in San Diego, and offering this interactive experience free to the public provides invaluable access for all.”

Spanish sculptor and living artist Miquel Navarro re-purposed his sculpture Beneath the Moon II as an opportunity for all to learn the fundamental concepts of a city. Spread out across the gallery floor, the installation consists of a sculpture that has been deconstructed into 1,000-pieces in order to resemble a city seen from above. Only seven of these thousand pieces are secured to the ground, allowing visitors to develop their own city by rearranging features, landscapes, and structures.

Workshops will be held in the space on Saturdays and Sundays for the public, and during the week by appointment for school groups. On February 13, the Museum will host a panel discussion on the topic of urbanism, which will feature Paris-based architect Leo Orellana and San Diego architects Michael Stepner and Eric Naslund.

Journey Through the City: Beneath the Moon II was commissioned by the Centre Pompidou in 1994 and developed by artist Miquel Navarro with the curator Boris Tissot in conjunction with the exhibition The City: Art and Architecture in Europe. Since its inception, the exhibition has traveled to 25 cities in France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, China, and Mexico. This is its first stop in the United States.