UC San Diego’s Mandeville Art Gallery Receives Grant from New York-Based Teiger Foundation (2024)

Story by:

• Erika Johnson - erjohnson@ucsd.edu

Topics covered:

• Mandeville Art Gallery
• Department of Visual Arts
• Public art

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Since 1966, UC San Diego’s Mandeville Art Gallery has presented highly experimental contemporary art within the context of a major research university and the greater region.The gallery also serves as a laboratory for learning about curatorial practice, with programs for students to gain hands-on skills in museum studies.

In recognition of Director and Chief Curator Ceci Moss’s compelling vision, the gallery has been awarded a three-year, $150,000 grant by the New York-based Teiger Foundation. The grant is designed to advance innovative curatorial practice in contemporary art, with freedom to support a range of projects, from exhibitions to public programs and new commissions.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Director Ceci Moss’s vision for the gallery,” said Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities Cristina Della Coletta. “Support from Teiger Foundation will enable Moss to advance innovative programming for the Mandeville Art Gallery, and the institution's success will be a crucial driver for ArtsConnect—the Chancellor’s Arts Initiative that activates the entire university as a lively location to learn about and experience art.”

The gallery has thrived under Moss’s leadership, whose position was strategically established by the university as part of the Mandeville Art Gallery’s reopening in March 2023 following a multi-million-dollar (and award-winning) building renovation. And with the launch of ArtsConnect, UC San Diego is poised to become one of the leading destinations for arts and culture in our binational region.

“We are thrilled to receive funding from Teiger Foundation to bring our ambitious projects to life and support the gallery’s interdisciplinary research and educational instruction,” said Moss. “Our vision is to function as a teaching gallery and experimental laboratory powered by the work of the most important artists of our time.”

Exciting exhibitions on the horizon

Each year, Mandeville Art Gallery presents up to four solo or group exhibitions that feature prominent local, national and international artists. Looking ahead, there are many exciting shows on the horizon that explore climate change, borderlands, artificial intelligence and more.

In fall 2024, as part of the Getty Foundation’s "PST ART: Art and Science Collide," the exhibition "Helen and Newton Harrison: California Work" will provide a retrospective of the pioneering ecological artists and founding members of UC San Diego’s Visual Arts Department, Helen Mayer and Newton Harrison. Soon after, the group exhibition "Border Craft" (spring 2025) will feature contemporary artists employing craft practices to address the geopolitical reality of borderland regions, including work by the upcoming Longenecker-Roth Artist in Residence in the Department of Visual Arts, Tanya Aguiñiga.

In summer 2025, the gallery will present the program "Text Messages" on the building’s massive exterior LED screen that will feature site-specific works displaying text manipulated and hijacked using programming and code. Later in fall 2025, the group exhibition "Omni Intelligent" will examine the intertwined relationships between non-human and human entities as artificial intelligence is integrated into contemporary life. Other programming will include the annual MFA in Visual Arts group exhibition, which offers a preview of the graduating cohort’s final solo shows under the advisorship of Southern California-based curators.

In 2026, Mandeville Art Gallery will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a year-long suite of programs to mark the significant milestone. Moss is exploring the possibility of hosting "Harold Cohen: AARON" (curated by Christiane Paul, curator of digital art at the Whitney Museum of American Art) in spring 2026. Cohen was a faculty member of UC San Diego’s Department of Visual Arts from 1968 until his retirement in 1994.

A creative laboratory for aspiring arts leaders

In addition to exhibiting transformative contemporary art, Mandeville Art Gallery is an active learning environment. In her dual role as gallery director and professor of practice, Moss teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in museum and curatorial studies that tie directly to the gallery’s activities. She also created and launched the Undergraduate Professional Development Program that offers students hands-on skills in exhibition production and design, event management, public relations and museum education through part-time employment.

Several other initiatives at the gallery foster experiential learning—from the many activities led by the gallery’s student organization, the Mandeville Art Collective, to guided tours. Further, all of the exhibitions actively nurture partnerships and connections across the campus community, including students, faculty and alumni.

For instance, the current LaJuné McMillian commission for the exterior video façade of the gallery, “The Portal’s Keeper,” was created through a workshop with UC San Diego students, co-sponsored by the Black Studies Project (BSP). And the upcoming exhibition “Helen and Newton Harrison: California Work” was curated by alumna Tatiana Sizonenko, Ph.D. ’13.

Additionally, students are connected to professional opportunities beyond UC San Diego. These have included internships with museums in Balboa Park and mixers with the San Diego Emerging Museum Professionals Group.

“Training the next generation of arts leaders is an important part of our mission,” said Moss. “The students who engage with the gallery carry on its highly innovative, experimental and socially conscious approach in their own career trajectories. This is one of the most fulfilling parts of my work.”

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