Mesa College Art Gallery

Mesa College Art Gallery Exhibiting outstanding work by established and emerging artists and offering San Diego's only hands-on program in Museum Studies and Gallery Management.

The Mesa College Art Gallery is an educational forum to present the work of professional artists in a range of media and dealing with diverse issues. The gallery also showcases outstanding artwork created by students in the Art Department. It is our mission to enrich and engage our student community through art. The gallery exhibits are complemented with artist lectures, workshops, and guided tour

s. The works on display reflect a variety of topics in order to engage students from other disciplines and departments. We have created exhibits in collaboration with Chicano Studies, Women Studies and the Black Studies department. The gallery serves as a laboratory for the Art Department's Museum Studies Program. The college is the only San Diego institution to offer an AA and a Certificate of Performance in Museum Studies/Gallery Exhibition Skills. During the academic year four exhibits features art by emerging and established contemporary artists. A student exhibition is held at the end of every semester. Besides exhibits in our main space, D101, the Art Gallery program and the Museum Studies classes also curate exhibits in locations around San Diego. Past exhibits have been curated as Space4Art, San Diego Art Department, Mission Valley Library, Claire de Lune, Voz Alta and San Diego Contemporary Art Fair 2013 and 2014. Check out our Museum Studies page on FB: San Diego Mesa College Museum Studies.

The gallery is closed for summer break! Check out our website for links to images from our Spring 26 exhibitions and to ...
06/02/2026

The gallery is closed for summer break! Check out our website for links to images from our Spring 26 exhibitions and to see what we have planned for the Fall 26 semester. We hope everyone has a good break and we are excited to see you all in the fall. 😎

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2026 Student Show! We were blown away by all the amazing work our students...
05/27/2026

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2026 Student Show! We were blown away by all the amazing work our students created over the last two semesters.

The gallery is now closed for the remained of the school year. Good luck on your finals and have a great summer!☀️

See you in the fall!🍂

A quick recap of our final reception for the Spring ‘26 semester!We had a great turn out of almost 250 patrons on May 13...
05/22/2026

A quick recap of our final reception for the Spring ‘26 semester!

We had a great turn out of almost 250 patrons on May 13th where we celebrated all the wonderful art (and artists!) coming out of art classes!

Congrats to all the student whose work was accepted into the show and to those who took home special awards for their pieces👏🏼

Join us tonight, Wednesday, May 13, 4pm - 7pm for our final reception of the school year!We are ending the year with the...
05/13/2026

Join us tonight, Wednesday, May 13, 4pm - 7pm for our final reception of the school year!

We are ending the year with the San Diego Mesa College Spring 2026 Student Exhibit. Come and see the works, enjoy refreshments, there will also be large inflatable sculptures in the patio. A fun end-of-the-year celebration.

Stop by May 11 - 22 to view amazing artwork created by students in our studio art classes. Some artworks are for sale. Come and support emerging artists!

Free parking is available in Lot 1, staff spaces on reception night only.

Card design by Museum Studies student Lindsey Presley.

04/23/2026

Join us Saturday, April 25, 4-7 pm for closing of "Cartographies of Loss."
Artist talk 6 pm.

See you tonight Wednesday at Mesa College Art Gallery"Cartographies of Loss: Parallel Cities"/ Featuring Monica Arreola ...
03/25/2026

See you tonight Wednesday at Mesa College Art Gallery
"Cartographies of Loss: Parallel Cities"/ Featuring Monica Arreola and Jackie Castillo.

Thanks to Erika Hirugami for including us in the Southern California photography collective project FotoSoCal.

Exhibit on view March 23 – April 25, 2026.

Join us for the reception on Wednesday, March 25, 4 – 7 PM

San Diego Mesa College, FA-103
7250 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Free Parking during receptions in Lot # 1. Park in STAFF spaces ONLY

The photo-based works in the exhibition "Cartographies of Loss: Parallel Cities," examine the history of urban development in Southern California. Working in Los Angeles, Jackie Castillo investigates the relationships between city infrastructure, collective memory and the isolation and anxiety felt by the working class. She documents architectural remnants thar reveal the ways that place, labor, memories and identify become fractured over time.

Monica Arreola approaches similar concerns from the perspective of her hometown, Tijuana. Trained as an architect, she photographs urban developments abandoned mid-construction, revealing the effects of the 2008 United States housing market crash and the financial crisis that reverberated across the border.

We invite you to view this exhibition and join us for a reception on Wednesday, March 25, 4 – 7 pm. Meet the artists and enjoy refreshments. There will be an artist talk with Jackie Castillo on Saturday, April 25 at 4:30 pm.

Gallery Hours: Monday through Thursday, 12 – 5 pm, or by appointment.
Closed Fridays and weekends. Closed for Spring Break March 30 – April 3.

Image credit: Monica Arreola artworks detail.

Coming up soon: "Cartographies of Loss: Parallel Cities"/ Featuring Monica Arreola and Jackie CastilloExhibit on view Ma...
03/09/2026

Coming up soon:
"Cartographies of Loss: Parallel Cities"/ Featuring Monica Arreola and Jackie Castillo

Exhibit on view March 23 – April 25, 2026.

Join us for the reception on Wednesday, March 25, 4 – 7 PM

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Free Parking during receptions in Lot # 1. Park in STAFF spaces ONLY

The photo-based works in the exhibition "Cartographies of Loss: Parallel Cities," examine the history of urban development in Southern California. Working in Los Angeles, Jackie Castillo investigates the relationships between city infrastructure, collective memory and the isolation and anxiety felt by the working class. She documents architectural remnants thar reveal the ways that place, labor, memories and identify become fractured over time.

Monica Arreola approaches similar concerns from the perspective of her hometown, Tijuana. Trained as an architect, she photographs urban developments abandoned mid-construction, revealing the effects of the 2008 United States housing market crash and the financial crisis that reverberated across the border.

We invite you to view this exhibition and join us for a reception on Wednesday, March 25, 4 – 7 pm. Meet the artists and enjoy refreshments. There will be an artist talk with Jackie Castillo on Saturday, April 25 at 4:30 pm.

Gallery Hours: Monday through Thursday, 12 – 5 pm, or by appointment.
Closed Fridays and weekends. Closed for Spring Break March 30 – April 3.

Image credit: Monica Arreola, From the series "San Pedro Valley," 2018, digital photography, dimensions vary. Jackie Castillo, "Turning No. 3," 2023, concrete, electrophotographic prints, polyvinyl acetate adhesive, 5' x 7', heights vary.

Thankful for this full page in Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune! Join is for an artist panel discussion on Saturday, Feb...
02/22/2026

Thankful for this full page in Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune!

Join is for an artist panel discussion on Saturday, February 28, 4-7 pm. Artists from LA and San Diego will be present. Panel starts at 4:30 pm. Free full color catalogs for the first 50 guests. Free and open to the public.

Photo: Katie Rulz's "Sasha" (2025, oil on canvas with yarn pompoms and ribbons) is part of the Mesa College Art Gallery exhibit
"The Politics of Portraval: Three Generations of Chicana Portraiture in Los Angeles."

IN THE CURATOR'S WORDS
"At Mesa College, bold strokes of Chicana portraiture." By Michael James Rocha.

Traveling exhibition features different approaches to portraiture with an emphasis on exploring identity, honoring activism and celebrating the contributions of women.

When Alessandra Moctezuma was offered an opportunity to host a traveling exhibit on Chicano art-specifically Chicana portraiture - she didn'teven have to think twice about it.

She was "immediately interested," and that interest led to a new exhibition at the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery, where Moctezuma is the director.

Moctezuma, who also teaches Museum Studies at the college as a professor of fine art, joined Sybil Venegas to take us behind the scenes of the exhibition, titled "The Politics of Portrayal: Three Generations of Chicana Portraiture in Los Angeles in Conversation with San Diego Artists," which is on view through March 5.

Q: This exhibition in San Diego grew out of an exhibition previously held in Los Angeles at Avenue 50 Studio. How did it land in San Diego?

Sybil Venegas: The Avenue
50 Studio received a generous grant from the California State Natural Resource Board for this exhibition. The grant included funding for both a catalog and the opportunity to travel the exhibit to another California location outside of Los Ange-les. San Diego Mesa College
Art Gallery agreed to host the traveling exhibit for this project.

Alessandra Moctezuma: I was immediately interested when Sybil approached me. For nearly two decades, I have been teaching Chicano Art, and college students learn about these artists in class, especially the first generation, Barbara Carrasco and Yreina D. Cervantez, who were involved in the Chicano movement and produced silk-screen prints at Self-Help Graphics. We were
very lucky that we were chosen to showcase this outstanding exhibit.

Q: Tell us about the exhibit itself, and what it hopes to
did you connect with the
accomplish?

Venegas: In 2023, the Avenue
50 Studio opened "The
cased in the exhibit?
Politics of Portrayal: Three
Generations of Chicana
Portraiture in Los Angeles."
I curated the exhibit, and it
features over five decades
of artwork by six Chicana
artists. The exhibit explores the
the political manifestations
of portraiture as it evolved
within the Chicana art
genre from the 1970s to the
present time. The project is
supported by a catalog featuring over 40 artworks and a curatorial essay.

Moctezuma: The exhibit
features different approaches
to portraiture with an
emphasis on exploring identity, honoring activism and celebrating the contributions of women. The imagery can be symbolic or realistic; some artists are inspired by the Latin-American tradition of magical realism, by their dreams, by folk art or Mesoamerican culture. Personal narratives come through but also a commitment to social justice.

Thank you for the mention Vanguard Culture! 🥰🥰
02/10/2026

Thank you for the mention Vanguard Culture! 🥰🥰

Address

7250 Mesa College Drive, FA 103
San Diego, CA
92111

Opening Hours

Monday 12pm - 5pm
Tuesday 12pm - 5pm
Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16193882829

Website

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