The Center Museum presents two winter exhibitions: Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams and Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066.

The first presents an intimate look through the lens of celebrated photographer Ansel Adams at daily life in Manzanar, one of ten Japanese-American incarceration camps in the U.S. during World War II. Adams’ work in Manzanar is a departure from his signature style of landscape photography, providing a glimpse into one of the darkest moments in U.S. history.

Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066 analyzes the internment camps with a contemporary eye. As a Japanese-American artist, Maruyama explores family history and identity through her sculptural work. Her exhibition involves a series of wall-mounted cabinets referencing themes from the internment camps. Also featured are sculptures from Maruyama’s The Tag Project, consisting of nearly 120,000 replicas of the paper identification tags that internees were forced to wear.

Objects and information from the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego will also be on view. Please contact the Center Museum for timing.

From the age of 18 months, Isabella Thorn showed artistic talent. Her grandmother, internationally collected artist Gloria Lee, began teaching Isabella (Bella) how to mix paint and use brushes on a traditional upright artist easel. In 2009, with Valentine’s Day approaching, Isabella’s mother and Exclusive Collections Gallery owner Ruth-Ann Thorn needed a heart display for the gallery window. Lee worked with Bella to create the backgrounds for heart paintings. Intended merely for display, once the hearts were hung, collectors wanted to buy them, and Isabella’s art career began forming.

Now at age 11, Isabella has sold more than 600 Bella Hearts to collectors from around the globe.

The San Diego Opera Lover’s Ball is an elegant affair that will honor the charitable contributions to the community by Lee and Frank Goldberg. Amid a color palette inspired by the artwork of Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso, gala guests will enjoy signature cocktails, stimulating conversation, delectable tray passed hors d’oeuvres, dinner, dancing and entertainment, and a silent auction to benefit the company’s programming and community engagement efforts.

Recommended attire: Black tie with a little bit of Spanish flair

The event features a Champagne welcome reception, the fashion show, three-course luncheon, and boutique shopping. Tickets are $125 per person; seating is limited