A few days ago a hummingbird flew into the gallery. Jenny Armer, our gallery coordinator didn't stop until she rescued. It took over an hour. We tried turning off the lights, holding up a bright broom and playing mating calls to no avail. The little bird kept flying back and forth in the highest rafters up on the ceiling. Jenny noticed it was trying to peck the red fire alarms so she put on orange plastic gloves, got a bright red thermos lid filled with sugar water, got up on the high ladder and stood with hand aloft like the Statue of Liberty. Finally the hummingbird perched on her hand and she very carefully stepped off. It fluttered away a few times and finally she was able to bring it out into the open where it flew away to the distant tree. I admire her persistence to save the tiny creature. When we posted on Instagram she eveb got commended by the San Diego Bird Society!
Dreamscape: Beyond the Veil.
Dreamscape: Beyond the Veil. 54 artists on view until December 12. Curated by Museum Studies class. We'll open this Saturday, December 7, 12-4 pm. Testing out weekend hours.
The Beatles/ I Saw the Photograph
Installation weeks are my favorite. This is when I feel like I come to work to play! The Beatles exhibit was a fun challenge, creating s chronology and a context with lyrics, colors, objects all in one week!The Vincent Vigil collection on display through October 24. Enjoy this video of the process.@sdmesacollege_gallery
The reception for “The Beatles / I saw the Photograph” images from the Vincent Vigil Collection has officially begun. Hope to see you here. To check out the show and to listen to some beautiful renditions of The Beatles music preformed by @fredbenedetti1
Last week to see Hugo Crosthwaite exhibit!
We'll have an artist/curator talk on Monday, September 9, at 6 pm. With a reception 5-7 pm.
Gallery hours: M-Th 12-
Exhibit on view through September 12.
We would love to see you this Thursday for Margaret Noble's multimedia exhibition "Dark Loops." Mesa College Art Gallery. Rain or shine. February 8, 4-7 pm.
In the immersive exhibition Dark Loops artist Margaret Noble utilizes technology and artifice to explore the intricate connections between living and non-living entities in both our natural and man-made environments. Through a mix of sculptures, live-streaming videos, preserved insects, and technological components, the exhibition creates artificial ecosystems—miniature dioramas—within the gallery space. These installations blur the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds, encouraging contemplation on the complexities of our surroundings. Presented by the Mesa College Art Gallery, this exhibition is on view from February 5 - 29.
Click on event in comments for full description.
We'll be waiting for you tonight Thursday, August 31, 4-7 pm. Mesa College Art Gallery
A captivating multimedia exhibition by Francisco Eme. Meet the artist, light refreshments. Free and open to all.
Crisscrossed by canyons, the urban area of San Diego is unique; nature resists as homes and developments encroach on the native ecology. When Francisco Eme and his wife Monica moved to a new house in the suburbs, the wild area behind their home looked like a barren steep slope with little potential. During the pandemic, artist Francisco turned his attention to this canyon. He removed the invasive plants and nurtured the growth of indigenous species; he observed the flora and the fauna, listened to the call of coyotes, birds, and recorded their comings and goings. The work in this exhibit is inspired by this act of eco-resistance. In the past five years, Francisco has taken hundreds of photographs, videos and audio recordings of the canyon. He has collected objects, organic and manmade, and created others. These documents and artifacts, are the foundational materials for the artworks in the exhibition.
"The Resistance of Echo & La Eco-Resistencia" turned into a contemplative multimedia art project, an urban ecology study focusing on the biological dynamics of a canyon situated in a suburb of San Diego. This project connects us with the activity in the canyon as it resists “guerrilla style” against the monstrosity of urbanization, against human intervention. The artistic process also highlights the spiritual connection between a human, and a small oasis of wildlife. We worked to include this exhibit in the 7th SUR:biennial which takes place during the fall of 2023 with exhibitions at sixteen different locations throughout Southern California.
Join us this Thursday to meet the artist! Or come see exhibit during gallery hours.
I'm loving every beautiful bit of this installation by Francisco Eme at our college gallery. It's only up through September 14. Come and check it out during our gallery hours M-Th 12 - 5 pm or join us for the reception, Thursday, August 31, 4-7 pm.
Artist talk and concert on last day, September 14, 5-7 pm.
Crisscrossed by canyons, the urban area of San Diego is unique; nature resists as homes and developments encroach on the native ecology. When Francisco Eme and his wife Monica moved to a new house in the suburbs, the wild area behind their home looked like a barren steep slope with little potential. During the pandemic, artist Francisco turned his attention to this canyon. He removed the invasive plants and nurtured the growth of indigenous species; he observed the flora and the fauna, listened to the call of coyotes, birds, and recorded their comings and goings. The work in this exhibit is inspired by this act of eco-resistance. In the past five years, Francisco has taken hundreds of photographs, videos and audio recordings of the canyon. He has collected objects, organic and manmade, and created others. These documents and artifacts, are the foundational materials for the artworks in the exhibition.
"The Resistance of Echo & La Eco-Resistencia" turned into a contemplative multimedia art project, an urban ecology study focusing on the biological dynamics of a canyon situated in a suburb of San Diego. This project connects us with the activity in the canyon as it resists “guerrilla style” against the monstrosity of urbanization, against human intervention. The artistic process also highlights the spiritual connection between a human, and a small oasis of wildlife. We worked to include this exhibit in the 7th SUR:biennial which takes place during the fall of 2023 with exhibitions at sixteen different locations throughout Southern California.
Final touches on Francisco Eme's multimedia exhibition at the gallery.
Ceramic animal whistles fashioned out of clay from the canyon.
Very excited to invite you to the first exhibition of the 2023-24 school year. "The resistance of the Echo & La Eco-Resistencia." This contemplative installation connects the viewer with nature, it's the story of a canyon in the middle of the city, and how its fauna and flora resist urbanization. Part of the SUR-biennial 2023 happening in LA and SD.
Mesa College Art Gallery. @sdmesacollege_gallery Aug 21-Sept 14.
Reception August 31. San Diego and Tijuana friends, we hope you will join us.
If you can't come to the reception consider visiting during our regular gallery hours. M-Th 12-5 pm or by appointment.
@surbiennial
#ecoresitencia #theresistanceoftheecho
Come check out Pride and Protest exhibition. On view through November 17. Gallery hours; M-Th 12 - 5 pm.
Many of the drawings and the dresses by Maria de LosAngeles deal with the experience of being undocumented. I connected with this work, and many of our Dreamers did too. Sharing this video of the dress “Guadalupe” with a poem by Xuanito de la Puente.
Our exhibition In Lak’ech featuring Maria and Ryan Bonilla’s work ends this Thursday, October 13 at Mesa College Art Gallery.
Xuanito de la Puente Jan 2018
Siempreviva
It is not my story to tell:
Languishing dreams in the midst of barbed wire fences,
Fearless laughter,
We add lemon, chile powder and salt to this border.
They carry these stories,
Heavy as a sack filled with indignities,
Weighty, like your grandmother’s advice,
Cumbersome, like this daily mental displacement.
I have not bought big things as of lately,
In my mind I plan my exits,
I constantly check my relocation fund,
“What if” is a constant in my lexicon.
I often break in tears at the sound of an immigrant story,
My emotions become gallons of water:
broken and splashed by the boots of immigration officers,
Little do they know, we are cacti:
Tough and our seeds also flourish post mortem.
I want to sing an immigrant song:
Less like butterflies who migrate,
But more like dislocated nations,
Collateral flesh, caught up in steel thorns.
Rest assured we will survive,
Like leaves of siempreviva,
Even after torn away from our stem,
We will grow our own roots:
Defiant, resilient, and with a stubborn willingness to belong.
We are you.
(Video by Jennifer Vargas)
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