Open Inquiry: UC Arts brings together a new generation of artists emerging from the renowned art practice programs at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Davis. The art departments at these universities have long been recognized as seminal hubs of artistic experimentation and critical thought, consistently incubating artists who leverage academic investigation with artistic rigor. This exhibition features current students and graduates from the last two decades, whose innovative practices carry forward the artistic legacy of the UC arts.
Grounded in the idea that research is not limited to laboratories or archives, Open Inquiry frames artistic practice as a vital mode of inquiry. Through multi-disciplined, critically engaged studio practices, the exhibiting artists question, test, analyze, and interpret—performing acts of research with their making processes. The art studio becomes a site for creative problem solving, where painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and digital media operate as tools of critical inquiry.
While support for arts funding and academic research faces mounting challenges, Open Inquiry underscores the essential role of public arts education. Across the UC system, art departments cultivate spaces for alternative learning rooted in material experimentation, social justice work, and personal exploration. Within these spaces, artists embrace the creative process as a methodology for challenging dominant narratives or making visible that which is obscured or dismissed.
Open Inquiry asserts that now, more than ever, the graduates of the UC arts programs are creating essential work for an uncertain world. Their practices embody the values of intellectual and creative freedom, reminding us of the crucial role of the arts within the broader landscape of higher education. The exhibition aims to center artists as researchers who challenge our expectations, generate debate, and lead us to vital discoveries.