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Public Library

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

 Large art book installation for the exhibit Civil Liberties: Language of Silencing. The art is displayed in the lobby of San Diego Central  Library.

Central Library-Lobby
Language of Silencing
The AjA Project
April 12 – June 27, 2025

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

Cut out photo of an open mouth on a white background. Words Voice Out on pink word bubble. The words, a youth media arts exhibition are emitting from word bubble.

Central Library- 2nd Floor
Voice Out 2025
May 12 - July 27, 2025

RUTH-Remember Us the Holocaust logo

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

Construction worker standing on a wood platform.
 

Mission Valley
Photography by Elliott Linwood
May 2  – July 30, 2025

Otay Mesa-Nestor
James Hubbell: Architecture of Jubilation-
Lado A Lado

Painting abstract colors, shapes, and patterns by artist Nona Perrin.

Pacific Beach/Taylor
Let's Get Wild
Nona Perrin
April 2 - June 10, 2025

Colored pencil drawing of a green iguana laying among yellow rocks. Artwork by Darcy Lohmann.

Pacific Beach/Taylor
Colored Pencil Society
June 14 - August 9, 2025
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, July 12 at 1-3pm. 

Painting of a colorful beach landscape by artist Tom Baldauf.

Point Loma/Hervey
Tom Baldauf
April 1 - June 30, 2025

Blue, green, and white painting of a breaking ocean wave. Art by Tony Jeffreys.

Pacific Beach/Taylor
Paintings by Tony Jeffreys
July 1, 2025 – August 31, 2025

Painting of three people lounging on a beach towel in the sand by artist Joan Bonetti.

Rancho Bernardo
Personal Connections
Joan Bonetti
April 2 - June 30, 2025


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