Here not There

Here not There
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
June 6 through September 19, 2010
Here not There, an exhibition of visual artists of San Diego County, will be on view June 6 through September 19, 2010 at MCASD in La Jolla. The exhibition will focus on the variety, strength, and vitality of individual contemporary art practices in this region.

San Diego’s visual arts have developed a critical mass of local talent. A number of factors have contributed to this: professional artists, often educated at the graduate programs offered by the University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, have made this city their home. In addition, there is a lively alternative art scene that spans a range of areas from painting to furniture design, coupled with increased critical discourse. Here not There will examine the broad range of media and approaches engaged by San Diego visual artists.

The exhibition will not adhere to thematic or media-specific categorization, and is developing in response to studio and gallery visits, and dialogue with local art practitioners. This includes investigation into the social networks through which individual artists coalesce — such as educational institutions like universities or colleges, commercial and alternative gallery spaces, and collectives and artists’ groups. With Here not There, MCASD does not aim to reach definitive conclusions about the nature of artistic production in San Diego County; nor does the Museum expect to draw a single narrative illustrating notions of identity or regionalism. Rather, MCASD’s primary task is to chart as straight a trajectory as possible: from the artist’s studio to the exhibition space.

The process of research for the exhibition is underway. For more information about artist submissions for consideration for Here not There, please visit MCASD’s Web site at www.mcasd.org/about/proposals.php. Artists must have established residency in San Diego County for consideration. Current art students at any level will not be considered. The deadline for submissions is January 1, 2010.

In the past 40 years, MCASD has organized a number of survey exhibitions of San Diego artists — notable among them are A San Diego Exhibition: Forty-Two Emerging Artists (1985), which surveyed visual arts, as well as theater, performance art, and fashion design, and Off Broadway: New Art from Downtown San Diego (2000); for a selected exhibition history, see below. San Diego artists have participated in numerous group exhibitions organized by MCASD, including the international group exhibitions Weighing and Wanting: Selections from the Collection (2008); Soundwaves: The Art of Sampling (2007); and From Baja to Vancouver (2004). Additionally, MCASD has given solo Cerca Series exhibitions to San Diego artists throughout the program’s six-year history, and artists from the region are an integral part of the Museum’s collection.

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego