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Past Exhibits

2023
Building a New Future: Art and Activism in the Central Valley -- Photographs by George Ballis
March 22, 2023 - July 28, 2023
Kolligian Library, Second Floor
Building a New Future: Art and Activism in the Central ValleyPhotographs by George BallisMarch 22, 2023 - June 28, 2023Kolligian Library, Second Floor The industrial scale agriculture that dominates the Central Valley of California has historically relied on groups of seasonal, mostly migrant farmworkers. Foreign nationals from Asia, Mexico, and the Middle East, black Americans from the rural South, and members of other marginalized groups have been attracted to the world’s most productive...
2022
The Poetic Creation Process of the Oralitor Fredy Chikangana: To Feel, Think and Write in Quechua
November 7 – May 31, 2023
First Floor - Elevator Lobby
The poetic creation process of the Oralitor Fredy Chikangana: To Feel, Think and Write in Quechua. - Mabel Orjuela Bowser November 7, 2022 - May 31, 2023 UC Merced Library, First Floor – Elevator Lobby The exhibit features original copies of Quechua poems written by Fredy Chikangana. The indigenous poet and "oralitor" Fredy Chikangana writes in Quechua Runa Shimi, the ancestral language of his community, because his poetry, although cosmopolitan and transnational, is rooted in his Yanakuna...
McLean Collection: Miwok Baskets
August 14 - May 31 2023
Third Floor
McLean Collection – Miwok Baskets On view August 14th – May 31, 2023 UC Merced Library, Third Floor The UC Merced Library is proud to present the Miwok Baskets from the Walter Doyle McLean Collection. Passed on from Southern Miwok born Dulcie Beal, the Miwok baskets are currently on long-term loan to the Library. They are also available for viewing on Calisphere, our online digital repository. For more descriptive information about each basket and the McLean collection, please visit the McLean...
A Century of Impact in California’s Counties: Highlights from the University of California Cooperative Extension Archive
September 22, 2022 - May 13, 2023
Fourth Floor
A Century of Impact in California’s Counties: Highlights from the University of California Cooperative Extension Archive On display September 22, 2022 – May 13, 2023UC Merced Library, Fourth Floor A new photography exhibit has opened on the 4th floor of the UC Merced Library. A Century of Impact in California's Counties: Highlights from the University of California Cooperative archive features photographs from the California Agricultural Resources Archive (CARA), showcasing the University of...
Selected Works (2022): Graduate Student Research @ UC Merced
April 1 - May 13, 2022
Third Floor
Selected Works: Graduate Student Research @ UC Merced is an annual exhibit that recognizes the exciting research being conducted by graduate students at UC Merced. Amanda Caterina Leong Amanda Caterina Leong is a Ph.D. candidate whose research seeks to build a genealogy of 'multimedia' representations of female javānmardī (chivalry) to provide new understandings regarding intersections of race, class, and gender from a premodern Persianate perspective. Her research has recently won the Middle...
Two Years of Heat and COVID in the San Joaquin Valley
October 1 – February 10, 2023
Kolligian Library, 2nd Floor
Two Years of Heat and COVID in the San Joaquin ValleyPhotographs by David Bacon October 1 – February 10, 2023 Kolligian Library, 2nd Floor   In the San Joaquin Valley, the most productive agricultural area in the world, rural poverty is endemic. That poverty produced COVID infection rates far exceeding, per capita, any urban area in California. Rural communities enduring the pressure of low wages and bad housing became coronavirus hotspots. This exhibition presents this complex reality through...
2021
Central Valley Portraits
November 1, 2021 -- May 1, 2022
UC Merced Library, Third Floor
The UC Merced Library is pleased to announce the opening of the multimedia exhibit "Central Valley Portraits," by Yehuda Sharim. The photographs and short films in this exhibit  document the poetic and quotidian in the Central Valley, as lived by the Valley's landscapes, fauna, and people. This exhibit reflects our collective search during such times of compounded calamities for "communal oxygen".  Sharim is a filmmaker, poet, and an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies in the Global Arts...
2019
2019 Bobcat Art Show
April 8 - May 3, 2019
UC Merced Gallery, KL355, KL Elevator Lobby
April 8 - May 3, 2019 UC Merced Art Gallery, UC Merced Library Elevator Lobby & KL 355 The Bobcat Art Show has been a UC Merced tradition since the campus first opened. Works by undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff members are on display from from April 8 - May 3, 2019 at the UC Merced Art Gallery, Kolligian Library Elevator Lobby & KL 355.  Please join us for light refreshments and community at the exhibit reception on Wednesday April 24th from 5:00 - 7:00pm at...
Ernest Lowe: Black Migrants to the Central Valley, 1960-1964
January 22 - April 5, 2019
Kolligian Library, 280, 355, 480
Ernest Lowe: Black Migrants to the Central Valley, 1960-1964 On view January 22 - April 5, 2019 KL280, KL355, KL480 Immediately following World War II, more than 30,000 Black sharecroppers migrated to California's Central Valley. Coming from places like Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, these migrants looked to escape the oppression of new-slavery tenant farming and the Jim Crow south. These migrants established their communities in the shadows of the giant farms of the Central Valley...
2018
2018 Bobcat Art Show
April 1 - April 30, 2018
Kolligian Library, Elevator Lobby & 280
The 2018 Bobcat Art Show is inspired by the 2017 song lyric “a wall is a wall” (Downtown Boys, “A Wall,” Cost of Living (Sub Pop, 2017); we invited participants to respond to, engage, or reflect on this theme. A physical wall may define space while a psychological wall might present a barrier or obstacle—something to break through. Walls are used as tools of oppression, for defense, or to hold back pressure. An empty wall in a gallery, city, or library offers up a place of possibility for the...
Singing California
Oct 26 2018 - Jan 18, 2019
Kolligian Library, 280
Singing California showcases 55 framed vintage sheet music covers from songs devoted to the Golden State released during the early to mid 1900's. This exhibits captures the often romanticized sentiments surrounding California, and offers a window into the culture and politics of the time.   Singing California is an original exhibit created by the Merced County Courthouse Museum. Please contact Sarah Lim, Museum Director, Archivist, with questions at mercedmuseum@sbcglobal.net.
Waterscapes & Wet Bodies through the Colonial Eye: West Africa, Hawai'i, and India
February 7 - May 7, 2018
Kolligian Library, 380
Water and wet bodies have been viewed in a variety of ways in different historical periods and geographies. This exhibit illustrates how people in West Africa, Hawai'i, and India have, historically understood water: incorporated it into designed landscapes, places of worship, and residence; grappled with its scarcity; and practiced sensual immersive cultural practices such as swimming, bathing, surfing, and ritualized blood sports with marine creatures. These traditions provided lives with...
2017
Be Aware: Elevate Your News Evaluation
March 1 - August 15
Kolligian Library, 2nd floor
The UC Merced Library’s Be Aware: Elevate Your News Evaluation exhibit is on display early March through mid April 2017. Visit the Library’s 2nd floor for to view the exhibit's physical and digital components. Librarians were inspired to create an exhibit after viewing a graphic on social media that placed news sources on a graph to show their quality and bias. The exhibit highlights news sources, notes the challenges of our current news environment, and suggests strategies for news evaluation...
Hydraulic Landscapes: Water History and Industrial Photography in California
April 7 - November 1, 2017
Kolligian Library, 355
Curated by Rina Faletti, UC Merced Center for the Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow, Hydraulic Landscapes: Water History and Industrial Photography in California explores California's grand-scale water conveyance projects of the mid-20th century. From construction of local Merced canals and Lake Yosemite near campus, to massive concrete works of the Central Valley Project's Delta-Mendota Canal, this exhibit shows how mid-20th century water engineering created a world-famous hydraulic landscape in...
Refugee Currents: Bodies at Sea
April 14 - August 14, 2017
Kolligian Library, 380
Refugee Currents: Bodies at Sea includes six original mixed art pieces inspired by major themes in Critical Refugee Studies research that honor the agency and resiliency of refugees and heighten public awareness and education of this global issue to cultivate coalitional consciousness and solidarity with the struggles of peoples around the world who are forced to migrate. As a technique of moving energy, each art piece is accompanied by poetry, meditation, or hip hop lyrics. Through an...
Transitions: Portraits of a Decade Long Journey
October 9, 2017 - February 28, 2018
Kolligian Library, 280
Through a series of black and white photographic portraits taken 10 years apart, photographer Roger J. Wyan’s Transitions project explores the journey of growth and change during the seminal years from teenager to twenty-something adult of UC Merced’s first students. 220 students, mostly freshmen, were photographed in 2005-06. Ten years later, Wyan rephotographed and interviewed 38 of these original alumni to find out where life has taken them.   While the before and after images depict the...
2016
Selected Works: Graduate Student Research @ UC Merced
March – June 2016
Kolligian Library, 480
Selected Works: Graduate Student Research @ UC Merced is an annual exhibit that recognizes the exciting research being conducted by graduate students at UC Merced. This spring, the Selected Works exhibit features the research and accomplishments of Violet Barton and Mehdi Baharmi.  Violet Barton is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Humanities program at the University of California, Merced. As a Critical Race and Ethnic Studies scholar working with Dr. Ma Vang, her research interests in...
2016 Annual Bobcat Art Show
April 4 - May 3, 2016
Kolligian Library, 380 & UCM Art Gallery SSM, 106
The UC Merced Library, UCM Art Gallery and Arts UC Merced Presents are pleased to present the 2016 Annual Bobcat Art Show. In its 11th year, the Bobcat Art Show features works by UCM students, staff and faculty across a variety of mediums such as sculpture, digital art, painting and photography. The show is on display in the UCM Art Gallery and the 2nd floor of the Library through May 3, 2016. For more information, please email Tonya Lopez-Craig,  tlopez-craig@ucmerced.edu.
Delta Grandeur: The Bucolic Splendor of California’s Inland Estuary
October 2 - November 27, 2016
KL280
The Delta Grandeur: The Bucolic Splendor of California’s Inland Estuary exhibit celebrates the beauty and diversity of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Developed in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the exhibit explores the complex relationship humans and wildlife have forged with the Delta through 36 vibrant photographs by Rich Turner, a fine arts, commercial and aerial photographer based in Stockton. Delta Grandeur is supported in part by the Port of Stockton, River...
Victory Over Violence
March 28 - April 1, 2016
Kolligian Library, 355
The Victory Over Violence exhibit is a series of 12 panels containing images and text designed to stimulate a conversation about peace and nonviolence, among people across all boundaries such as race, religion and culture.This exhibit inspires people to put into action ways to win over violence by counteracting the root causes of violence internally, within their homes and in their communities. Victory Over Violence is sponsored by the UC Merced Office of Campus Climate, the Soka Gakkai...
Beginnings
October 2015 – May 2016
Kolligian Library, 380
2015 marks the 10th anniversary of University of California, Merced. This exhibit looks back to the University’s conception and early years, from when Merced was first selected as the location for the 10th UC campus, through the first full class graduation in 2009. Items on display are from the University Archives. Academic regalia and 2005 promotional materials are on loan from Ross Anastos, ’09.  
2015
Hmongstory 40 Satellite Exhibit
November 17, 2015 - February 5, 2016
Kolligian Library, 1st Floor Elevator Lobby
Hmongstory 40 is a cultural and historical preservation project that documents and celebrates the Hmong journey and experience through photographs, stories, fine arts and artifacts. The UC Merced Library is honored to offer a preview of works by Hmongstory 40 artists, before the full-scale exhibit comes to Merced in summer 2016. The artworks on display are presented alongside the Hmongstory40 UC Merced Gallery art exhibit. The UC Merced Gallery exhibit runs through February 11, 2016. For more...
兔兒爺 Tu’er Ye: Old Beijing’s Rabbit God
September 10, 2015 – January 25, 2016
Kolligian Library, 280
In celebration of China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, taking place this year on Sunday, September 27, we have on display over 35 statuettes of the Old Beijing Rabbit God, Tu’er Ye.  Tu’er Ye is the predominant icon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, held annually on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. The Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates the bounty of the harvest and the moon, as it appears especially full and bright during this time of year. Tu’er Ye is symbol of the autumn season; historically used in...
San Joaquin River Kiosk
August 12 – October 15, 2015
Kolligian Library, 255
The San Joaquin River Kiosk is an interactive exhibit that encourages users to explore the connections between water usage and climate change in the San Joaquin Valley. With 5 display monitors controlled by a centralized touch screen, the SJR Kiosk provides information on water sustainability as it relates to life in the San Joaquin River, focusing on agriculture, flood control, hydropower generation and providing a suitable habitat for salmon and other species. The Kiosk was created by a team...
O Vast Rondure: Paintings by Darick Ritter
August 17, 2015 - January 12, 2016
Kolligian Library, 280 & 355
Darick Ritter has dedicated his career to making paintings, drawings, and comics for over 10 years, since graduating in 2005 from the Kansas City Art Institute with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, emphasis in painting. Darick currently lives in Merced, CA with his wife Emily Ritter, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC Merced, and their 2 year old son. In his words: My work aims to use the disparate attractions I have to things like religiosity, comics, personal history, biology, and...
Enlightened Perspectives: Interdisciplinary Art — A Mixed Media Show
May 1- June 12
Kolligian Library, 3rd Floor
Interdisciplinary Art — A Mixed Media Show presents artwork developed through collaborative efforts between local artists and UC Merced researchers. This project paired 22 local artists with 22 UC Merced researchers, who worked together to create the artwork on display. After UC Merced students and faculty informally presented their research using notebooks, figures, pictures, videos and other visual aids, each researcher and local artist pair worked closely to develop a piece of art that...
10th Annual Bobcat Art Show
April 6 - May 5
UCM Art Gallery, SSM 106
The UC Merced Library, UCM Art Gallery, and Arts UC Merced Presents are pleased to present the 10th Annual Bobcat Art Show. On display in Kolligian Library, 2nd floor, and the UCM Art Gallery, the Bobcat Art Show celebrates the creativity and expression of UCM students, faculty, and staff members across a wide spectrum of mediums such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture and mixed media.
The Americas Underground: Where our Past and Present Meet in the Dark
March 23 – April 30
Kolligian Library, 3rd Floor (KL380)
Running from March 23 – April 30, 2015, The Americas Underground explores the various ways in which caves, rockshelters, mines, and other uses of the ‘underground’ have been perceived across the Americas. The exhibit addresses the theme of continuity and change in underground practices through time with the hopes of shedding light on these 'dark and scary' places. The exhibit demonstrates how caves have provided spaces for ritual and social practices throughout history, while practices such as...
Ann Johnston, Quilt Artist
February 9 - March 20, 2015
Kolligian Library, 3rd Floor, (KL 380)
In conjunction with the UC Merced Art Gallery's exhibit The Contact: Quilts of the Sierra Nevada, the Kolligian Library is pleased to present an assortment of drawings, process notes, books, quilts, and other ephemera by artist Ann Johnston.
Project Protect Concept Art
December 8, 2014- March 10, 2015
Kolligian Library, 2nd Floor, (KL280)
Currently on display in the 2nd Floor Reading Room are over 40 pieces of art advancing the mission of Project Protect, a student run organization with close ties to Professor Miriam Barlow's lab at UC Merced. Project Protect was started in fall 2013 to raise awareness about antibiotic resistance within the Merced community. Since its creation, the club has engaged students through various outlets fulfilling its three goals of educating, researching, and making an impact on the community. The...
Selected Works: Graduate Student Research @ UC Merced
February - May
Kolligian Library, 4th Floor, (KL 480)
Selected Works: Graduate Student Research @ UC Merced is a snapshot of some of the exciting research being conducted by graduate students to recognize their contributions and to raise awareness to the breadth of inquiry being conducted at UC Merced. In this first installment, three selected graduate student research projects are highlighted.   Alisa Keyser PhD Candidate, Environmental Systems Alisa Keyser’s research focuses on understanding the factors that determine wild fire severity in the...
2014
Seeking the silver screen in the Golden State: Rose Maddox and Wilma McDaniel
October 8, 2014 - February 6, 2015
Kolligian Library, 3rd Floor (KL380)
The lure of the “West” and California (“The Golden State”), enticed Wilma McDaniel’s and Rose Maddox’s families from Oklahoma and Alabama, respectively, to the Central Valley. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, California represented the possibility of not only jobs, but also glamour. Wilma’s poignant poetry and creative accouterments reveal how she dreamed of Hollywood while picking peaches and grapes near Merced. Living in the Modesto area, Rose and her brothers became integral to the...
Our Custodians
February 20 - April 1
Kolligian Library (2nd floor)
Our custodians. Their work is easy to take for granted - it often takes place behind closed door and after hours. We see them passing in the hall, but their work remains shrouded in mystery. They are, in many ways, unsung allies in UC Merced’s ongoing endeavor to present a radiant image to the rest of the world. Since the inception of UC Merced, our custodians have been an integral and essential group. Their tireless efforts to create gleaming surfaces and sparkling facades have undoubtedly...
DLM Lab Tour: SpARC exhibit
February 18 - May 19
Kolligian Library (3rd floor)
Come check out the latest exhibit featured in UC Merced Library’s DLM Lab Tour Series – “DLM Lab Tour: SpARC”. SpARC stands for Spatial Analysis Research Center, a brand new resource center that aims to become the hub for spatial science research, analysis, education, visualization, spatial data archiving, and access to spatial science software and equipment for UC Merced and its partners. SpARC was established in 2013 by three UC Merced faculty members - Dr. Ruth Mostern (School of the Social...
9th Annual Bobcat Art Show
April 7 - May 7
SSM Room106 & KL 2nd Floor
The show is being held simultaneously in the UCM Art Gallery and the second floor of the UCM Library. Now in its ninth year, the art exhibit includes different mediums such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and mixed media. Students from Professor ShiPu Wang's curatorial studies course are assisting in the show's installation, judging and marketing. Students participating in the art show have a chance to compete for the "Best Student Artist" award in five categories.
A World Turned Upside-Down: Tiananmen 89@25
June - December
Kolligian Library, 4th Floor
This exhibit commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of China’s 1989 Pro-Democracy Movement in Beijing with objects selected to reflect the concepts of Events, Experiences, Materials, Myths, and Memories found in the practice of historiography. These topics are used to understand a critical period in recent Chinese history, one that explores the research theme for 2013-2015 at UC Merced’s Center for the Humanities: A World Turned Upside Down. Curated by Edward Lanfranco, UCM graduate student...
Forgotten Landscapes of California
October 17 - December 19
Kolligian East, 3rd Floor (KL355)
The Library welcomes new works by naturalist Laura Cunningham. Trained in paleontology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Cunningham’s current exhibit features sketches and oil paintings that build upon her 20 years of experience researching the wildlife and landscapes of the Central Valley. To learn more about Laura Cunningham, visit: http://www.a-state-of-change.com/Bio.html
2013
Prison Nations
January 19 - March 9, 2013
Kolligian East, Floor 2 (KL 260)
The library is pleased to host a new exhibit, Prison Nation: Posters on the Prison Industrial Complex, an exhibition from the archives of Center for the Study of Political Graphics. Prison Nation was produced from vintage posters in CSPG’s archive and posters collected from throughout the US and internationally. The oldest posters date back to the 1960s and 1970s, and include posters from the Viet Nam War and Attica prison uprising. CSPG is continually updating its exhibitions so the most...
Laura Cunningham Drawings
June, 2012 - August, 2013
Kolligian East, Floor 3 (KL 355)
The library is pleased to host a collection of original drawings and field sketches by artist and naturalist Laura Cunningham, author of the 2012-2013 UC Merced Common Read book A State of Change. For more information on Laura Cunningham, visit:http://www.a-state-of-change.com/Bio.html For more information on the Common Read program, check out the Project Overview:http://commonread.ucmerced.edu/projectoverview.html
Bobcat Art Show 2013
April 1, 2013 - May 2, 2013
Kolligian East, Floor 2 (KL 280)
In conjunction with Arts UC Merced, the Library is pleased to feature art from the 8th annual Bobcat Art Show. This exhibit becomes increasingly popular with each passing year and features the art of UC Merced students, faculty, and staff. The art featured in this years show represents a variety of mediums including drawings, sculptures, paintings, and photography. Stop by the Library to see the art for yourself. The exhibit will be displayed in the library in KL 280 (2nd floor) from April 1 -...
David Masumoto (UCM Commencement 2013 Speaker, SSHA) Book Display
June 3-June 28, 2013
Kolligian East (4th Floor)
"Good work, important work, necessary work, is not always measurable by profits." -David Masumoto in Wisdom of the Last Farmer David Masumoto is a third generation farmer who grows organic peaches, nectarines and grapes for raisins on an 80-acre farm in Del Rey, California. Masumoto is a columnist for the Fresno Bee and has earned the Julia Child Cookbook Award in the literary food writing category, the Critics' Choice Award from the San Francisco Review of Books, and a Commonwealth Club of...
Jose Hernandez (School of Engineering & School of Natural Sciences 2013 Commencement Speaker) Book Display
June 3-June 28, 2013
Kolligian East (4th Floor)
"Meteoric” may be the best way to describe Jose Hernández’s life trajectory. He was raised in Stockton, California by a family of migrant workers from the Mexican state of Michoacan and did not learn to speak English until he was 12 years old. He spent summers helping his family harvest crops in the hot, dusty fields of the California’s Central Valley. Yet despite his humble beginnings, Hernández went own to earn a Master's of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the...
DLM Lab Tour: Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory
July 15 - September 20, 2013
Kolligian Library (3rd floor)
“Bright minds discovering where we can get water for our fields and faucets without hurting the environment, and using it effectively —keeping the air clean and the biodiversity of the national parks intact. Everyone contributes.”-K Chico on the CZO in UC Merced’s Water Research, Downtown Life Magazine (May 2013). Downtown Life Magazine published its first issue in October of 2009. It’s a monthly print and web publication with a focus on arts, music and culture that distributes 5,000 print...
SNAMP: Learning to Implement Adaptive Management in the Sierra Nevada
July 15 - September 20, 2013
Kolligian Library (2nd floor)
“The clearest way to the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” -John Muir   SNAMP (Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project) is a joint effort by the University of California, state and federal agencies, and the public to study fuels management of public forest lands in the Sierra Nevada. The overall goal of this eight-year project is to provide the Forest Service and resource agencies with quality information derived from deliberate experimentation that can be used to improve future...
Honoring Our Faculty: Robin DeLugan
September 23 - December 20
Kolligian Library (2nd floor)
“I’ve always loved learning and discovery and the world of ideas and the classroom.” -Robin DeLugan Professor Robin DeLugan has been a member of the faculty at UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts (SSHA) since 2006. Dr. DeLugan’s research centers on issues involving social justice, community building, social memory, and collective identity. In addition to her teaching, publication, and research activities, Dr. DeLugan is significant force in the realm of social justice...
DLM Lab Tour: MESA
October 1 - December 20
Kolligian Library (3rd floor)
"The (MESA) researchers hope to become a huge asset to the Central Valley agricultural community. Their work can save farmers and ranchers money - from building small planes that can distribute pesticides without a human pilot to surveying landstock, and even providing real-time checks for erosion or other land changes." -K Chico on the CZO in Unmanned Wonders, Downtown Life Magazine (July 2013). UC Merced Library and Downtown Life Magazine (DLM) have partnered to produce an ongoing exhibit...
Simplicity/Complexity: Digital Works by Ryan Hoover
October 10 - December 20
Digital signage monitors throughout the library
The UC Merced Library is pleased to present our first exclusively digital exhibit – “Simplicity/Complexity: Digital Works by Ryan Hoover.” In partnership with SSHA faculty member Kenichi Yoshida (Global Arts Studies Program), this exhibit features the work of video artist Ryan Hoover. Hoover's  "Simplicity/Complexity" series is largely inspired by the motion studies of 19th century photographer Eadwaerd Muybridge. "Hoover discovers within Muybridge's visual field a blind passage that lead to...
2012
Creative Research Exhibition: An Exhibition of Art and Science
May 28 - September 9
Kolligian East, Floor 2 (KL 280)
In conjunction with UC Merced's Research Week, the Creative Research Exhibition (CRE) showcases the creative side of graduate student research and aspires to draw scholars together to share research, explore creativity and facilitate knowledge. The artworks highlight the varied breadth of graduate research occurring on campus. Among the works on display are a series of photographs exploring San Francisco's Mayan culture, a duo of Op Art canvases of the US President and First Lady, a series of...
Art & Language: A Collaboration of Poets & Artists
July 2 - October 15
Kolligian East, Floor 2 (KL 280)
Art & Language: A Collaboration of Poets & Artists In the spring of 2012, students in Writing 125: Poetry in Creative Writing, taught by Vanesha Pravin, collaborated with students in Arts 23: Multimedia, taught by Tonya Lopez-Craig, to create mutually inspired art and poetry. In order to minimize contextual interference during the creative process, students responded only to language or artwork, and knew their partners only by number. At the end, they were given an opportunity to meet...
Creating Awareness: UC Merced Students Environmental Mural
Kolligian East Floor 3
Students enrolled in the spring semester 2008 Arts 71 class taught by Karen LeCocq collaborated to create a mural that addresses concerns over the natural environment. In a truly collective project, the students were encouraged to share their ideas through brain storming sessions and research. The resulting mural, measuring 6 x 18 ft.,follows the degradation of the environment from pollution and over development. A hopeful message is conveyed through the representation of UC Merced's own Roland...
2011
Exploring Marine Biodiversity and Environments
April 15th - July 30th
Kolligian East Floor 3
The focus of the exhibit is to elucidate the process of biological and physical scientific research, both in the field and back at the lab. Michael Dawson, colleagues and students in his lab travel across the world, hike in gear through remote areas, and spend countless hours in the water with jellyfish and other marine life, collecting specimens and compiling data before the lab work even begins. Dawson’s research of seawater lakes includes topics of biodiversity, molecular evolution and...
Enacting Change : UC Merced Arts 71 Student Mural
Kolligian East Floor 2
When asked what they would like to change, the students in Karen LeCocq's intermediate painting class responded: breaking stereotypes, proper education for every child, attitudes toward race, class and gender, equal opportunity, diversity, coming together, more understanding, and less hate. Among the things the students were against: segregation, prejudice, hate, war, destruction, poverty, ignoring social problems, denial, public apathy, capitalizing on the weak and war and violence as a means...
M[y]erced Photography Exhibit
April 11th - May 4th
Kolligian East Floor 2
A first-ever exhibition curated by UC Merced students, M[y]erced showcases photographs created by their fellow students in the course, GASP 141/ARTS 141/HIST 114 History & Practice of Photography. Student photographers set out to represent what this town, and this school, means to them through pictures. The result is an impressive selection of works that evidences UC Merced students’ artistic talent, distinct perspectives, and creative potentials. These pictures also illustrate amply the...
UCM Bobcat Family Art Show 2011
February 22nd - May 6th
Kolligian 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Floors
It’s that time of year when the entire campus and its family members are invited to share their creative talents. This year’s exhibit features art throughout every floor of the library, and the variety of submissions includes life-size sculpture, mixed media, traditional painting and drawing, along with digital submissions that can be viewed via the first floor elevator lobby or third floor video wall.
Banned and Recovered
January 10 - February 27
Kolligian 2nd Floor East
The idea for this exhibit, as envisioned by curator Hanna Regev, is rooted in the changed world of post 9-11, the “Patriot Act” and its effects on libraries and librarians. It also comes from a quote penned by Judy Blume, a children’s author: “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.”  
Remembering 9-11
August 22 - December 16
Kolligian East, Floor 2
Curator's Statement: 10 years have passed since September 11, 2001. Each of us has our own feelings and memories of that day. We all can recall with crystal clarity exactly what we were doing when we saw or heard the news. It is another “freeze frame” moment in our lives, something that will always be remembered, right up till the day we die. When it happened, I felt so profoundly saddened that I needed to do something with my grief. This show was born out of my desire to give myself and a...
Jan Wurm - Paintings and Drawings
August 25 - December 16
Kolligian East, Floors 2 & 3
The paintings and drawings gathered here partake of images as diverse as the activities in which individuals engage. Reading the images, seeing the thematic arc, and finding unifying elements place this work in much the same vein as the contemporary novel from which social values and norms may be parsed. The very nature of power and control becomes a vehicle for layered images of narrative in “Judgment of Paris,” “Gertrude,” and “Lear.” Choices are made, judgments are imposed, and social norms...
International Education Week 2011
November 7 - December 16
Kolligian East, Floor 4
Celebrating UC Merced's 5th Annual International Education Week, this multimedia exhibit features objects and photographs highlighting the international heritage of participating UCM students, faculty & staff. Countries represented include Laos, Romania, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. What is International Education Week? International Education Week (IEW) is celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide and is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education...
2010
3-D Archaeology at Catalhoyuk
November 15 - December 17
Kolligian 2nd & 3rd Floors East
The exhibition shows the preliminary results of the 2010 fieldwork accomplished by UC Merced students under the direction of Prof. Maurizio Forte at the site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Virtual models, 3D stereo pictures, digital videos, multimedia data and 3D prints of artifacts make it possible to explore the complexity of the fascinating world of archaeology and the hidden features of the site. In addition, the multidisciplinary use of advanced technologies will be able to demonstrate that even a...
My Family Through Clothing
October 25 - December 17
Kolligian 4th Floor East
“My Family through Clothing” is an assignment created to provide students enrolled in Arts 101, 102 (History of Clothing, Costume and Fashion) and Arts 103 (History of Ethnic Clothing) with tools to understand their own heritage through the study of clothing, costumes and fashion. The assignment is structured to teach students to appreciate the fact that every aspect of life, even something apparently as mundane as clothing, has the potential to illuminate important academic fields of study...
Honoring Our Faculty Exhibit: Michael A. Hoyt and Jared Stanley
February 1- May 31
Kolligian 2nd Floor East (display cases)
The Honoring Our Faculty Exhibit highlights the research interests and public works of selected faculty members at UC Merced with an informal interview and visual display located on the second floor of the Kolligian Library. "My training and background is in clinical psychology. Thus, my clinical experience with patients who are facing a chronic illness, injury, or health related adversity are a tremendous inspiration to my work. Individuals face a variety of emotional and physical challenges...
Oedipus Rex
July 7- October 30
Kolligian 3rd Floor East (display cases)
The designs illustrate the diverse sources of inspiration that are the attribute of contemporary stage design. The exhibit includes costumes from the production's premiere at Los Angeles Philharmonic in April 2009 and at the Sydney Festival in January 2010 as well as original costume renderings and production photographs.
Dipu Gupta Set Design
July 15 - October 30
Kolligian 2nd Floor East
This exhibit features photographs of live productions and set models from Dipu Gupta’s prolific career as a set designer. He has designed scenery for opera and theater companies throughout the country including for the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Pacific, Berkshire Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, GEVA Theater Company, the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, San Jose Rep, the Julliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the Gotham Chamber Opera, and two productions for Opera Africa...
Seeds of Change
April 19 - April 29
Kolligian 2nd Floor, East
Seeds of Change Commemorates Earth Week, providing an introduction to sustainable development, human rights, the role of education and the Earth Charter as a set of values and principles for sustainable living. The exhibit consists of 16 colorful and evocative panels on the 2nd floor of the Library.
UCM Bobcat Family Art Show 2010
February 12 - April 30
Kolligian 2nd, 3rd and 4th Floors, East
This annual exhibit is in its fifth year and becomes increasingly popular with each passing year. Over 60 works are featured; participants include students, faculty, staff and their immediate families. See the work of artists from elementary school age to parents of parents. Art can be found on every floor of the Kolligian Library. Pick up a program at the library services desk on the second floor and enjoy the show.
Arts 159, Intermediate Painting, Student Art Show
December 16 - February 9
Kolligian 2nd Floor
The paintings shown here were created by the students enrolled in ARTS 159, Intermediate Painting, Fall 2009. The class covered the basic concepts of acrylic painting as an art form, including materials and methods of painting in still life, figure, landscape and non-objective subject matter. Experimentation with technique and different avenues of expression were encouraged in order to give the student a sense of where preferences and potentials lie. The painting process involved the...
Souvenirs: an exhibit in celebration of International Education Week
November 16 - January 29
Kolligian East Floors 1, 2 & 3
In celebration of International Education Week the library is hosting the exhibit "Souvenirs",objects from UC Merced students, faculty, and staff travels abroad. The exhibit contrasts the very specific and personal experience of traveling abroad with that of the often ephemeral and mass produced items that become treasure articles of those experiences. Each object has a special story to "tell", ultimately highlighting how rich the experience of studying, traveling, and living abroad can be.
2009
The Okie Poet Laureate: Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel
September 1 - December 19
Kolligian East Floor 3
The UC Merced Library presents a new exhibit, "The Okie Poet Laureate: Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel," featuring items from the archive. Curated by Class of 2009 alumna Kacy Marume, the exhibit presents an overview of the poet's life and documents influences on her work, including her family, her Okie experience, religion, and her residence in California's Central Valley. A special reception featuring Central Valley writer Gerald Haslam will be held September 16 at 7 PM in KL355.
Hobos to Street People
August 31 - November 8
Kolligian East Floor 32
This timely exhibit features the works of 30 artists working over the last 75 years to document the tragedy of homelessness and the government's role in the crisis. Through painting, printmaking, photography, and mixed media, Depression-era and contemporary artists offer glimpses of life on the street and show many similarities between the eras. Featured are works by New Deal era artists such as Dorthea Lange, Rockwell Kent, and Giacomo Patri along with contemporary artists such as Sandow Birk...
The Splendor of Islamic Art, works by Hajra Meeks
May 14 - July 31
Kolligian East Floor 4
The informative descriptions and facsimilies accompanying The Splendor of Islamic Art provide the historical context for this uniquely modern exhibit. Original works include mixed-media collage, figurative and abstract watercolors, and calligraphy. According to the artist, "every culture has invaluable depth, beauty, and history to share with other peoples. My work for this exhibit consists of modern expressions of the classic forms and techniques that made Islamic art magnificent during its...
From the Archives: The Golden Shovel
May 16 - December 18
Kolligian East Floor 4
The Golden Shovel has witnessed the groundbreaking of nearly every building on campus beginning with the initial inauguration and groundbreaking on October 25, 2002, the Kolligian Library and the Classroom and Office Building in 2003, the Science and Engineering building and the Gallo Recreation Center in 2005 and, most recently, the Social Science and Management building in 2008. Making a rare appearace from the archives, the Golden Shovel is on view with several photographs from various...
The Fairy Shrimp Chronicles
May 16 - December 18
Kolligian East Floor 4
Researched and written by eleven members of UC Merced's founding class, The Fairy Shrimp Chronicles documents the history of the founding of the newest UC campus. The project's advisor, founding faculty member Gregg Herken, drew inspiration from Solomon's House, a volume about the founding of UC Santa Cruz he helped produce as one of UCSC's founding students. The exhibit includes both volumes, planning documents, maps and photographs from both campuses and a brief timeline of the development of...
Do You Remember?
April 18 - July 31
Kolligian East Floor 1
Do You Remember is an exhibit showcasing the legacy that the Pioneer Class at UC Merced has left since the students arrived in early September 2005. The pieces are organized like a time-capsule to show how much the students have grown in their four years at the university. Emphasis has been placed on the very first Housing Move-In Day and the Opening Convocation, events in which the entire Pioneer Class participated. As these students look toward Commencement, such milestone events have been...
Transitions: Portraits of UC Merced's Founding Students by Roger Wyan
March 19 - June 18
Kolligian East Floor 2
An intimate portrait of a formative time in young peoples' lives, Transitions explores, through a series of black and white photographs and interviews, the journey to adulthood during the seminal years of college. An historical, documentary project by professional photographer Roger J. Wyan, 200 portraits were made of the founding students during the UC Merced's inaugural year in 2005. Now Wyan has returned to re-photograph these same students most of whom are now in their senior year. By...
Head Games: Ceramic Sculpture by Pancho Jimenez
April 18 - May 16
Kolligian East Floors 1 & 3 (Digital Monitors)
Francisco "Pancho" Jiménez was born in New York City and raised in Santa Clara, California. Working in clay, his compelling sculptures range from intimate pieces to those of an architectural scale. Pancho's love of clay began as a child and has remained his primary medium throughout his artistic explorations. He is drawn to the physical aspect of the material - a malleable and versatile medium - and the historical aspect of clay - a material that has been used for hundreds of thousands of years...
Bobcat Family Art Show 2009
April 18 - May 8
Kolligian East Floors 1, 3 & 4
This annual exhibit is in its fourth year and becomes increasingly popular with each passing year. Over ninety artists are participating, including students, faculty, staff and their immediate families. See the work of artists from elementary school age to parents of parents. Art can be found on every floor of the Kolligian Library. Pick up a program at the services desk on the second floor and enjoy the show.
The Effecting Eye: Signs of Our Time
April 18 - May 16
Kolligian East Floors 1 & 3 (Digital Monitors)
This exhibition draws from the portfolios of students in History and Practice of Photography, an upper-division course, taught by Professor ShiPu Wang , now housed under the Global Arts Studies Program (GASP 141 for Spring 2009). Students were asked to incorporate their knowledge of photography history and photographically interpret their chosen topics that fall under the larger theme, “Signs of Our Time.” Here is only a small sample of their work. To see individual portfolios and other...
Writing 1: Environments of Merced
Spring
Kolligian East Floor 3
Writing 1 is the first sequence in the Writing general education requirement at UCM. In this academic writing course, students engage topics surrounding language, culture and society. This fall’s class of 17 first-year students all came from different hometowns and shared the experience of being “new” to Merced. Their curiosity of the culture and landscapes of UCM and the Central Valley led them on anthropological investigations of these new places and experiences.
2008
The Valley Experience: Works by the Contemporary Humanitarian Artist Association
Fall
Kolligian East, Floor 2
The Contemporary Humanitarian Artist Association (CHAA) is a group of artists who believe that every human being has an effect on our world. From the tiniest to biggest of ways, one's decisions and behaviors either advance society or contribute to its decline. The luxury of being "neutral" is non-existent. CHAA's art is created to provide others a small escape from their world and to give them permission to glimpse into the soul of another human being, if only for a fleeting moment. This show...
An Exhibit of Fine Art Photography: "The Best of" the Merced Camera Club
Spring
Kolligian East, Floor 2
The Merced Camera Club was founded in 1958 and currently has over 40 members.The club meets the first Tuesday of every month from September through May, and holds competitive judging of members' photographs. Selected "best pictures" were featured in this exhibit.
liberARTE
December 2007 - March
Kolligian East, Floor 2
Professor Robin DeLugan, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, and the Kolligian Library proudly present "liberARTE," featuring recent artwork by Chicano artist and poet Xico González. The politically charged serigraphies on exhibit were produced while González was an MFA candidate at the University of California, Davis (2005-2007). González currently teaches in the Chicana/o Studies Program at Sacramento State University. On February 2nd, 2008, González will be facilitating a...
The Cold War
Spring
Kolligian East, Floor 3
The Cold War is a multimedia exhibit featuring items from both the personal collection of UC Merced Founding Faculty member Gregg Herken and Castle Air Museum. Of special note are a gunner and ejection seat from a B-52 Bomber, along with what were once classified as top secret documents from the CIA. Highlighting the past military rivalry between the United States and Russia, the exhibit contrasts Cold War era uniform articles and emblems from the Strategic Air Command with those of the Soviet...
2007
Living Under Trees
Fall
Featuring photographs by David Bacon, this photography and oral history project documents Mexican indigenous farm worker communities in rural California and scattered on the edges of cities from San Diego to Santa Rosa. Viewers learn more about the lives of indigenous people from Oaxaca who work in our fields and call California home. Despite often harsh working and living conditions, their dignity, determination, and rich culture is apparent in these photographs. Portrayed are the difficult...
Antarctica
Spring
This international award-winning book of photography encompasses landscapes, seascapes, ice, snow, wildlife, "the hand of man, " abstracts and realism. All told, the Keoughs spent 24 months exploring and photographing the Antarctic from the windswept polar plateau of the interior to the majestic, mountainous coast, and from the multitude of off-lying islands to the icy seas and surrounding stormy Southern Ocean. Antarctica is a work of craftsmanship as much as a dedication to a cause: all net...
Artful Produce: Label Art of California's Growers
Spring
Kolligian East Floor 2
UC Merced Library's newest exhibit opens on April 4th. The exhibit presents fruit and vegetable crate labels from the turn of the century through the 1960s, and is part of the personal collection of UC Merced's own Steve Garz. Originally from Santa Clara County, Steve formed an interest in collecting fruit crate labels while working in orchards when he was in high school. This interest has resulted in a varied and rare collection of evocative images that help document the development of...
Frank Cameron: Metal as Art
November 2006 - February, 2007
Kolligian East Floors 1, 2 & 3
Frank Cameron has been creating and exhibiting metal art for over 30 years. A self-taught artist, Mr. Cameron began experimenting with used welding equipment in his garage, and has since created hundreds of custom and pre-designed sculptures. "I try to take advantage of the natural colors of different metals. Applying heat to the metal brings out the various colors present in the artwork. Another method of creating color is to apply acid patinas. Texture is accomplished through sanding,...
Daruma seven and eleven
July - November, 2006
Kolligian East Floors 2, 3
"Ghostly." "Monolithic." "Waiting to hatch." These are a few of the reactions that Nathan Suter's sculptural pieces have evoked in passersby. According to Suter, "I think of Daruma seven and eleven as game pieces that are larger than we—the players—are. Their size and texture resist our grasp. They obstruct our vision and our movement, dampen sound, and are difficult to move singlehandedly. Similar to the mathematics I used to design these pieces, they are man-made attempts to describe what is...
David Johnson Photography: Images Past & Present
May 8 - August 31, 2006
Kolligian East Floor 2
The photography of David Johnson spans half a century and captures the lives of prominent African American musicians, artists, and leaders; the Civil Rights Movement; the black church; as well as life on the street. A student in Ansel Adams's first photography class, Johnson continues to document change in his environment as a local resident of Atwater, CA. The last portion of the exhibit depicts new development in the Central Valley.