![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PBM-L-Hummler-2.jpg\")
In a photo titled \u201cDie Krippe\u201d that is part of photographer Francesca Hummler\u2019s series \u201cOur Dollhouse,\u201d the foot of her sister Masantu can be seen entering the dollhouse\u2019s nursery. (Francesca Hummler)<\/p>\nA photography exhibit that focuses on family and incorporates a dollhouse that has been passed down through four generations can be seen at the Pacific Beach\/Taylor Library through Aug. 15.<\/p>\n
Francesca Hummler\u2019s \u201cDomesticities\u201d has been on display in the library\u2019s community room since mid-June. It is viewable for free during library hours and made possible through San Diego Public Library\u2019s OnView program.<\/p>\n
Library patrons will have an opportunity to meet Hummler during a free artist\u2019s reception set for 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8 in the library, 4275 Cass St.<\/p>\n
The German-American visual artist and researcher earned bachelor\u2019s degrees in media arts and biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego.<\/p>\n
\u201cDomesticities\u201d explores the meaning of home through constructed photographs engaging with family and generational memory, according to its description.<\/p>\n
It features two of Hummler\u2019s photographic series: \u201cOur Dollhouse\u201d (or \u201cUnsere Puppenstube \u201d in German) and \u201cthe Cuckoo\u2019s Egg\u201d (\u201cDas Kuckucksei\u201d in German). Both invite viewers \u201cto reflect on the spaces, objects and relationships that shape their sense of belonging,\u201d according to the exhibit\u2019s description.<\/p>\n
They also draw from Hummler\u2019s family biography, including her parents\u2019 immigration from Germany to New York in 1994, the family\u2019s move to San Diego when she was 17 and the adoption of her youngest sister, Masantu, from Ethiopia at age 3\u00bd.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth of these series kind of take my family as a starting point,\u201d Hummler said.<\/p>\n
The dollhouse shown in the photo exhibit, passed down through four generations of her family, traveling from Stuttgart, Germany and across the U.S. before reaching San Diego.<\/p>\n
In a photo titled \u201cDie Krippe\u201d that is part of photographer Francesca Hummler\u2019s series \u201cOur Dollhouse,\u201d the foot of her sister Masantu can be seen entering the dollhouse\u2019s nursery. (Francesca Hummler)<\/p>\n
Images show her sister Masantu interacting with the dollhouse on Del Mar beaches, wearing Hummler\u2019s childhood communion dress for her own first communion in Rancho Pe\u00f1asquitos and holding an American flag amid dollhouse furniture rubble \u2014 symbolizing how individuals with multiple heritages can choose elements of their identity to engage within the USA, she said.<\/p>\n
According to Hummler, San Diego and UC San Diego profoundly shaped her path, she said.<\/p>\n
She created \u201cOur Dollhouse\u201d in 2021 while working at a biotech firm remotely, pursuing her master\u2019s degree at London\u2019s Royal College of Art and writing her dissertation on therapeutic self-portraiture.<\/p>\n
UC San Diego\u2019s conceptual visual arts program, with alumni like Carrie Mae Weems, grounded her early\u00a0 photojournalism where she worked as photo editor of the school newspaper The Guardian and learned photojournalism, Hummer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe art scene in San Diego, rightfully so, is very focused on cultural dynamics, but not cultural dynamics that my family takes part in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Yet the city \u2014 its beaches, communities and edge-of-the-world feel \u2014 became central.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel most connected to San Diego of anywhere that I\u2019ve lived in the U.S.,\u201d Hummler said.<\/p>\n
She added that she wants the exhibit to show that artists can thrive by wearing multiple hats.<\/p>\n
In addition to her artwork, she curates (including for the German Embassy), writes, teaches (including community photography and an upcoming role as a professor at the University of South Dakota) and does portfolio reviews.<\/p>\n
![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PBM-L-Hummler-3.jpg\")
In the photo \u201cMasantu With Our Urgro\u00dfmutter,\u201d photographer Francesca Hummler had her sister, Masantu, hold a photo of their great-grandmother. (Francesca Hummler)<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s where the industry is headed,\u201d she said. \u201cI see it all as part of my practice. And it frees me to make images that I find conceptual and academically rigorous \u2026 rather than having to adhere to a client\u2019s wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hummler said she hopes visitors expand their view of photography. Her staged, gesture-rich images blend irony, humor, color and deeper themes of interracial families, gender, cultural inheritance and phototherapy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping that people enjoy the colors and the composition, but then also maybe think about some of the more serious underlying themes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
San Diego Public Library\u2019s OnView program gives local artists like Hummler accessible display opportunities at library branches citywide. Applications are reviewed with priority for San Diego-based creators who haven\u2019t exhibited recently in the system, according to officials.<\/p>\n
Hummler said she discovered it while working remotely one day at the county\u2019s Poway Library and saw it as a way to reach broader audiences beyond white-cube galleries.<\/p>\n
After shows in Europe and Oceanside\u2019s Techne Gallery earlier this year \u2014 a \u201ccoming home\u201d moment for her family \u2014 the Pacific Beach Library exhibit continues that dialogue in the community where much of the work was made.<\/p>\n
To learn more about Hummler, visit her website at francescahummler.com or her Instagram account @fransangle.<\/p>\n
Want to go?<\/p>\n
\u201cDomesticities\u201d exhibit by Francesca Hummler<\/p>\n
When: now through Aug. 15<\/p>\n
Where: Pacific Beach\/Taylor Library\u2019s community room, 4275 Cass St.<\/p>\n
Artist\u2019s reception: 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8 in the PB Library.<\/p>\n
Cost: Free.<\/p>\n
Library hours: call 858-581-9934 or visit sandiego.gov\/public-library.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A photography exhibit that focuses on family and incorporates a dollhouse that has been passed down through four…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[124884,168111,124882,168110,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-420853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-art-exhibits-in-san-diego","tag-free-art-exhibits-san-diego","tag-pacific-beach-library","tag-photographer-francesca-hummler","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}