Recent News
JOSUÉ MEJÍA
Oct 28, 2026
DE FLORES Y BUENAS INTENCIONES
Please Join us Thursday Nov. 5 from 5-7pm in the University Art Gallery for the opening reception of Josué Mejía's Of Flowers and Good Intentions.
The exhibition will remain open Nov. 5 - Dec. 11 during the Galleries normal business hours of Tues. - Sat. 11-4.
In Of Flowers and Good Intentions, Josué Mejía examines how cultural diplomacy, exhibitions, and collecting practices have mediated the relations between Mexico and the United States, using the flower as an allegory of welcoming cordiality. Drawing on research in historical and museum archives, as well as the history of collecting pre-Hispanic objects, handcrafts, and modern art, this exhibition invites us to reflect on how objects and images associated with the notion of “Mexicanness” have been marketed, donated, exhibited, and reinterpreted across the border. Drawings, frescoes, and installations reactivate works now held in U.S. collections—among them Diego Rivera’s Flower Day, part of LACMA’s collection— making Cal Poly’s Art Gallery a new meeting point for these histories in California.
En De Flores y Buenas Intenciones, Josué Mejía examina cómo la diplomacia cultural, exposiciones y el coleccionismo han mediado en las relaciones entre México y Estados Unidos, tomando la flor como alegoría de cordialidad y bienvenida. A partir de investigaciones en archivos históricos y museísticos, así como de la historia del coleccionismo de objetos prehispánicos, artesanías y arte moderno, esta exposición invita a reflexionar sobre la manera en que objetos e imágenes asociados a una idea de “lo mexicano” han sido comercializados, donados, exhibidos y reinterpretados al otro lado de la frontera. Dibujos, frescos e instalaciones reactivan obras que hoy forman parte de colecciones estadounidenses, entre ellas Día de Flores de Diego Rivera, parte de la colección del LACMA, y hacen de la Galería de Arte de Cal Poly un nuevo punto de encuentro para estas historias en California.
HOW TO PLAY
Aug 20, 2026
HOW TO PLAY:
Sep 10-Oct 18
University Art Gallery
Presented by the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Department of Art & Design
HOW TO PLAY: is an exhibition that explores game play as a form of creativity and making — making spaces, making community, and making new worlds. Games can happen spontaneously, with few rules and little equipment — such as childhood games that evolve from found materials (rocks, sticks, rope) and imagination. Or they can be formally constructed, radical explorations of storytelling that allow players to leave with physical traces of the world they build — such as A Mending by Shing Yin Khor. Artists' books extend this playful spirit, using ludic formats and modes of interaction to reveal the exploratory character of artistic practice. HOW TO PLAY: seeks to interject the everyday with a different kind of learning and joy, showing how playing can build empathy and support curiosity and changing perspectives.
A Playful Worldbuilding and Game Design Workshop
Led by Shing Yin Khor
Fri, Oct 16
Exhibiting artist Shing Yin Khor leads a hands-on workshop about collaborative worldbuilding, design, games, and physical artifacts. Drawing from playful models of creation, such as TTRPGs, LARP and board game design, participants will create small games, engage in quick writing exercises, and construct props within a collaborative universe in order to develop a shared community lineage and history.
Photo and Video BFA Show
Jun 2, 2026
Things We Notice Now, the 2026 Photo and Video BFA Show, will have an opening reception on June 5th from 5-7pm. The show will be on view from June 5 through June 14.
Contributing Artists include: Tyler Deal, Asher Dolinger, Taz Fruhauf, Colin Pope, Lucas Vergara, Itzel Camarillo Gonzalez.
Gallery hours are Tues. - Sat. 11-4pm
Graphic Design BFA Show
May 20, 2026
The University Art Gallery at Cal Poly presents INDEX, the BFA Graphic Design Art Exhibition 2026, featuring works by graduating students from the Cal Poly Department of Art & Design. The exhibition will be on view May 22 through May 28 at the University Art Gallery.
An opening reception will be held Friday, May 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the University Art Gallery. The Galleries hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Featured students include:
Hailey Bae
Maky Bautista
Natalia Celebrini
Jolina W. Chen
Joe Cheng
Emmett Dodge
Shrishti Dutta
Tess Ferral
Jordan Forer
Frank Graham Cooke
Maren Gunderson
Kiley Gustin
Samantha Heintz
Halina Herc
Corrie Holman-Evans
Emily A. Hill
Vinmeen Jayakumar
Amanda Keith
Aviv Kesar
Mena Kim
Teia Kornienko
Revaa Kotia
Amber Lee
Kiana Lee
Valerie Legates
Emily MacFarlane
Linnaea Marks
Theo Milner-Hansen
Maxine Nomura
Jillian Noël
Riley Price
Kennedy Ray
Elena Vaughan
Michaela Velleno
Alexa Winter
Emily Winters
Studio Art BFA Show
May 4, 2026
The University Art Gallery at Cal Poly presents 127 Twenty-Four Seven, the BFA Studio Art Exhibition 2026, featuring works by graduating students from the Cal Poly Department of Art & Design. The exhibition will be on view May 8 through May 14 at the University Art Gallery.
"127 Twenty Four Seven is the culmination of work from Cal Poly’s Studio Art Class of 2026. Fourteen graduating artists have spent the majority of their year in Dexter Building’s Room 127, the twenty-four hour access senior studio space. This room has been home to late nights and early mornings spent working on projects, sharing feedback, laughing, crying, and more. The students’ dedicated time to developing both strong bodies of work and relationships with one another has paid off, resulting in a kaleidoscopic exhibition filled with individuality, experimentation, and camaraderie. Please enjoy 127 Twenty Four Seven as this past year of artwork emerges from the studio space and onto the gallery walls."
The exhibition features work by Maya Benham, Claire Chaussee, Hallie Ellis, Abigail Gan, Sarai Hernández-Barajas, Owen Isachsen, Savannah Knight, Alexa Lopez, Liliana Monge, Cailin Nicolich, Olivia Pye, Tilman Stoppler, Sarah Tarquin, and Lillie Turinsky.
An opening reception will be held Friday, May 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the University Art Gallery. The exhibition will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Permission Structures | Kerri Conlon
Oct 27, 2025
Gibson + Recoder | Object Lessons in Obsolescence (2005–2025)
Sep 22, 2025
Act Natural | Studio Art BFA Exhibition
Jun 1, 2025
Join us for the Studio Art BFA show, Act Natural. An opening reception will be held at the University Art Gallery on June 6 from 5 – 7 p.m. The show will run through June 15.