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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.

 

Featured Exhibitions

squiggly cutouts over yellow and blue artwork with the words Uncharted Elsewhere below

 

Uncharted Elsewhere is a mixed-media exhibition exploring the surreal complexities of contemporary life! Through sculpture, textile, painting and works on paper, artists reimagine landscape and form as sites of entanglement.

Featuring works by Gabrielle Berens, Kaori Fukuyama, Yena Kim, John Oliver Lewis, Leslie Shershow, Eva Struble, Delilah Strukel, Akiko Surai, and Kelly Witmer. Curated by Bonnie Domingos

Together, this presentation reminds us that the surreal isn’t just about escape—it’s about seeing the familiar in unfamiliar ways and finding meaning in the in-between.

Join us for the opening night:
📍 Judith Harris Art Gallery – San Diego Central Library
📅 Saturday, August 2, 2025
🕖 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
 

OnView - Local Arts

Black obelisk covered with censored words. A black and red loudspeaker sits on top. Artwork by Cindy Zimmerman. Title-Monument.

Central Library- Popular Library
In the Land of...
June 21 – October 15, 2025

Detail of a painting with green, pink, blue rectangles containing eyeballs looking at the viewer.

Central Library- 2nd Floor
Mike McCarley
October 6 – December 31

Artwork by Jim Houliston

Carmel Valley
Jim Houliston
July 30, 2025-October 1, 2025

RUTH-Remember Us the Holocaust logo

La Jolla/Riford
Remember Us The Holocaust (RUTH)
Jan. 12, 2025 – Dec. 14, 2025

Painting of a mission style house white stucco walls and a red-tile roof by the sea

La Jolla/Riford
Timeless Architecture: An Artist Tribute to La Jolla
October 1 – October 29
 

Photograph of a Giant Panda eating bamboo at the San Diego Zoo

Mission Hills
Wildlife Photography by Kseniya Us
September 1 – October 31

Black rooster standing on a bundle of branches

Mission Valley
Silviu Nica
August 9 - October 31, 2025

Photos of a young girl wearing a bright yellow apron painting in an art studio

Mission Valley
The Power of One: About One Person with Down Syndrome
October 1 – November 1

Black and white photograph of children playing on a seesaw.

Pacific Beach/Taylor
Reflecting/Revisiting-Photography by Major Morris
August 16 - October 23, 2025

Two iridescent blue, green, and purple angular glass perfume bottles

Point Loma/Hervey
4 Artists 4 ART
October 1 – December 31

Details of two paintings, an ocean wave and a cloudy sunset

Rancho Bernardo Library
Doris Bertch, Jo-Lind Eckstein: Beyond Our Doors
October 2 – December 31, 2025

A poster of an erupting geyser with the text "Yellowstone National Park" below

Serra Mesa Library
Chris Witnik: Posters of the National Parks
September 8 – December 31


Previously OnView Exhibitions

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

 
  • Drawings of hands with text The Drawing Show

    25 Years of the Drawing Show | February 22, 2025 - June 15, 2025

  • Helen and Newton Harrison: California WorkHelen and Newton Harrison: California Work | September 21, 2024 - January 19, 2025
  • James Hubbell: Architecture of JubilationJames Hubbell: Architecture of Jubilation | March 9, 2024 - Aug. 4, 2024
  • San Diego Art Prize 2023San Diego Art Prize | Oct. 28, 2023 - Jan. 14, 2024
  • Waiting Room: Health & Wellness Explored through Contemporary CraftWaiting Room | Aug. 11, 2023 - Oct. 15, 2023
  • Good Natured: Art & the EnvironmentGood Natured: Art & the Environment | May 13, 2023 - July 29, 2023
  • Lost in Translation: A Game of TelephoneLost in Translation: A Game of Telephone | Feb.  6, 2023 - April 15, 2023
  • SD Art PrizeSD Art Prize | Sept.  17, 2022 - Jan. 7, 2023
  • Echoes of AfricaEchoes of Africa | June 4, 2022 - Aug. 20, 2022
  • Clara BreedCall to Serve: Clara E. Breed and the Japanese American Incarceration | Sept.  18, 2021 - Jan. 30, 2022
  • Occupy Third SpaceOccupy Thirdspace II: Plástica y palabra en TJ/SD | Ocupa Tercer Espacio II: Plástica y palabra en TJ/SD | Feb. 19 - May 7, 2022
  • Julius ShulmanJulius Shulman: Modern San Diego | Sept.  28 – Jan. 19, 2020
  • Fear No ArtFear No Art: Civic Engagement, Histories, Currencies | Feb.  15 – May 17, 2020