10 free visual art exhibits to see in San Diego right now

An exhibition exploring the use of textile art in storytelling, activism and resistance is on view at the Museum of History and Culture La Jolla (formerly the La Jolla Historical Society), in collaboration with Visions Museum of Textile Art. Artists include six incredible local fiber artists: Charlotte Bird, Patricia Kelly, Michelle Montjoy, Christine Lee, Maryam Bayat and Claudia Rodríguez-Biezunski. Works from the Barona Cultural Center & Museum are also featured, along with pieces from Visions Museum's permanent collection.

Noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; through Sept. 6
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Photographer and UC San Diego faculty member Paul Mpagi Sepuya curated this year's Juried Exhibition at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, selecting 42 border region artists from a whopping 1,000 works submitted. Selected artists include Stefanie Bales, Jill Marie Holslin, Maya Grace Misra, Phuc Ha Nguyen, Helena Westra and more. The exhibit opens with a reception Friday.

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday; through Oct. 9
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If you've ever seen a Thao Huynh French mural, you can appreciate how flowers play a major role in her art. Her work is also informed by her heritage and experience as a Vietnamese refugee. In a new, debut solo exhibition at the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery, French has woven these ideas together, building on two murals she worked on this summer on campus.

One part of the exhibit features massive, colorful paintings on canvas, with vivid florals representing her family history and resilience. In another part of the exhibit, French has created a personal and historical archive to explore the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, with found objects, clothing, photographs, documents and a memory-mapped timeline — supported by the Critical Refugee Studies Collective. A reception will take place from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Mesa College parking is $1 per hour, and a small number of free, short-term visitor spots are available in Lot 1, which is right next to the gallery. During the Sept. 2 reception, parking in staff parking spots in Lot 1 is free.

Gallery hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or by appointment; through Sept. 17
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This new exhibit is a project of Space 4 Art at Art Produce in North Park, curated by MCASD's Jill Dawsey. Dawsey said the idea for the exhibit was inspired by San Diego artists who frequently explore nature, including Andrea Chung, Jeanne Dunn, Melanie Taylor, Jennifer Ann Bennett, Sien Collective (a collaboration that includes the late Siobhán Arnold), scott b. davis and Ruth Wallen. The exhibit was also inspired by the Shel Silverstein children's book of the same name, often seen as a parable of maternal, unconditional love — but for Dawsey and many of the artists, it's an "anti-tribute."

"There is a boy who visits a tree. His first action, when I went back to read it, I was just so struck by the fact that his first action is to gather her leaves into a crown and become king. And over time he visits her. He gets older, and there is no limit on the demands he makes of her. It is a static relationship that does not change over time, and she revels in her self-sacrifice," Dawsey said. She also said this book, published just two years after Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," can also be seen as a parable of our relationship with the natural world. "It reinforces this idea that the natural world — and women's bodies, for that matter — are just there for the taking."

By appointment; Aug. 29 through Sept. 26
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Local conceptual artist Margaret Noble constantly amazes with her thoughtful, inventive and experimental approach to understanding and translating creativity and technology into an astonishing variety of formats. Her latest work, a large-scale installation involving a mural, animation and a lesson in art history, is the culmination of her recent residency at the Timken. It's inspired by a painting in the next room, François Boucher's 1758 masterpiece, "Lovers in a Park."

Noble's "Drift" uses source material from the painting itself, transformed into animation projected onto a 38-foot painted mural and accompanied by a sound art installation. The video animates zoomed-in details of the painting, as inky black paint appears to scrawl new images on a glass overlay. The work invites viewers to think differently about the Boucher painting when they pass it again on the way out. The Timken is always free.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; through Sept. 6
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A new exhibit at Gallery 201 features the work of two of the Arts District's Emerging Artists in Residence, Audrey Gingras and Ana Saad. The exhibit showcases the work created during the residency period, exploring different materials and processes, and is curated by the Front Arte y Cultura director Francisco Eme.

Gallery 201 is an open loft space on the second floor of building 201 in Liberty Station, and is open every day, with some of the most accessible gallery hours I've ever witnessed.

8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
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Baja-based textile artist Nereida Dursten's work is unique, narrative and gorgeous. The pieces in this exhibition are informed by the materials and lines used in homes and other buildings, and each piece is constructed from recycled materials and found photos.

From afar, the textiles are unassuming: Small works of embroidery or collage depict folding chairs, buildings and more. Some have lines of thread running between pieces, while others have strings of thread dangling from the stitched or collaged items — evoking Dusten's fascination with the lines, limits and boundaries of home.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; through Sept. 5
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Also still on view at Visions Museum is an exhibit of textile sculptures by Portuguese artist Marita Setas Ferro. Ferro uses textiles, crochet and knitting to create otherworldly, ocean-inspired sculptures. Her work is informed by sustainability and slow, human processes, using time- and labor-intensive methods and reclaimed materials to create her tufted marine objects, clusters of thread-like coral and crocheted shells, all vividly hued. The sculptures are also designed to be touched, creating an approachable space to deepen the physical connection between the viewer and the art.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; through Sept. 5
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This striking and thoughtful exhibit just opened in the Judith Harris Art Gallery, the free, public gallery on the downtown library's iconic top floor. It's curated by Craft Desert's Kerianne Quick and Adam John Manley, and is part of Craft in America's Handwork 2026.

The works explore the significance, hope and even the burden of the concept of heirlooms and inheritance, with a range of conceptual pieces and sculptures by artists Diana Benavídez, Matt Hebert, Michael Hernandez, Soyeon Kim (and her children), Christine Lee, Anna Mayer, Kaiya Rainbolt, Phil Rowland, India Thompson and Georgina Treviño. Thompson's basketwoven, cardboard-style boxes and china tea sets imply a potentially unwanted inheritance. Benavídez's "Relax, Hold Your Breath, Don't Move" is a series of three paper breasts smooshed between bricks, suggesting a mammogram and the way breast cancer can also be passed down.

1-7 p.m. Tuesday; noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; through Nov. 7
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Barrio Logan coffee shop and gallery Por Vida is currently showing a new exhibition featuring surreal, almost sci-fi-feeling paintings by artist Salvador González. The solo show includes new and older paintings, and I particularly love González's portraiture — faces that are somehow both alluring and unsettling. The gallery is free and open daily, so plan to pair one of your coffee runs with some incredible art.

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; through Sept. 7
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