Art and Culture Exhibitions

The Visual Arts Program provides access and connection to the arts and culture landscape in San Diego, offering unique opportunities to local and regional artists. Featured exhibitions can be viewed at Central Library’s Judith Harris Art Gallery. Rotating exhibitions by local artists and creative groups are hosted at several library locations throughout the year. The Visual Arts Program demonstrates the library’s role as a cultural institution embracing a broad range of disciplines while assisting San Diego artists to achieve wider local, regional and national attention.

For more information about library exhibitions, email us at OnView@sandiego.gov.

Judith Harris Art Gallery

Becoming Heirlooms: A Craft Desert exhibition curated by Kerianne Quick and Adam John Manley in conjunction with Handwork 2026, a Craft in America initiative.

Onview August 24, 2026 - November 7, 2026

Opening Reception: Friday, September 11, 2026 | 4 p.m. - 6 p.m., with a LIVE vinyl set and refreshments, sponsored by the Friends of the Central Library.

Becoming Heirlooms examines the extrafunctional power of craft and art objects, not merely as artifacts, but as tools for gathering, witnessing, and remembrance. Expanding the notion of “family” beyond bloodline or inheritance, the exhibition embraces broader forms of collectivity—chosen families, cultural lineages, ideological kinships, and experiences—that serve as touchstones for our shared existence.

At its core, Becoming Heirlooms considers the moment when a crafted object transcends authorship and utility to become a site of collective feeling—when an artist’s intention resonates beyond the individual viewer and ignites a shared emotional consciousness. These works become gathering points for empathy, reflection, and recognition, binding communities through the realities of the world they inhabit together. Featuring new works by: Diana Benavidez, Matt Hebert, Michael Hernandez, Soyeon Kim, Christine Lee, Anna Mayer, Kaiya Rainbolt, Phil Rowland, India Thompson, and Georgina Treviño

OnView - Local Arts

Central-Popular Library (1st floor)
Outside the Lens - Student Exhibition
May16 to June 28, 2026

Central- Featured Artist (2nd floor)
Larry Thomas
July 1 - August 31, 2026

La Jolla/Riford
Feminist Image Group (FIG)
July 10 – September 30, 2026

Linda Vista
MONSTRAS: Female Legends of Latin America
May 28 - July 15, 2026

Mission Valley
Heejung Kwon
June 1 – August 31, 2026

Pacific Beach
Francesca Hummler
June 15 – August 17, 2026

Rancho Bernardo
Aditi Bhatia
July 1 – September 30, 2026

Rancho Peñasquitos
Joann Art Studio
July – August 31, 2026

Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa
Darkroomers Photographic Club
June 3 – August 28, 2026

Explore past exhibitions at the Central Library Art Gallery, including behind-the-scenes content and virtual tours.