soft power: on color, time, and resistance
The 2026 San Diego Art Prize
September 5, 2026–January, 2027
Curated by Lara Bullock, Presented by San Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN)
“Oceanside Museum of Art is pleased to present the 2026 annual exhibition of the San Diego Art Prize featuring the work of this year’s esteemed recipients, Danielle Dean, Ingrid Hernández, and Tatiana Ortiz Rubio.
Soft Power brings together three artists whose work invites viewers to look more closely at forces that shape our daily lives. Through distinct yet resonant practices, the exhibition considers how identity, environment, and belief systems are constructed and experienced. At times these are visible, but often they are more subtle, blurred, or obscured. “Soft power” points to the quiet power in images, materials, and systems that shape how we understand identity, place, and value. Rather than offering fixed conclusions, the work in the exhibition opens space for reflection, encouraging viewers to consider how personal and collective narratives take form, and how they might be reconsidered.
Danielle Dean’s work White explores the dairy farming industry and its messaging, which draws connections between pastoral imagery, ideas of health, and the construction of “whiteness” as an ideal. Ingrid Hernández’s Sedimentations series features aesthetically rich, minimalist photographic study of Tijuana’s asentamientos, or squatter settlements, which are constructed primarily with repurposed material from maquiladoras (local factories), discarded objects, and goods from trans-border economies. The photographs foreground the inter-dependent, transactional relationship between the US and Mexico, while delicately documenting a way of life. Tatiana Ortiz Rubio’s mixed-media installations create contemplative moments for viewers to ponder ableist experience, inviting reflection on how concepts such as productivity and ability are defined and valued.
Together, these works encourage a deeper engagement with the everyday, prompting viewers to notice what often goes unseen and to encounter familiar narratives from new and unexpected perspectives.”
Curator & Author Lara Bullock, Ph.D.
About The San Diego Visual Arts Network & San Diego Art Prize
Founded in 2006 by Patricia Frischer, the San Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN) strives to improve the clarity, accuracy, and sophistication of discourse about San Diego’s artistic and cultural life. SDVAN is the only organization dedicated exclusively to the visual arts in the San Diego region, serving artists, institutions, educators, collectors, and the public.
Through its resource-rich website listing more than 2,600 visual arts resources, SDVAN facilitates opportunities for inspiration, collaboration, and visibility across the region. Operated as a 100% volunteer, nonprofit organization, SDVAN is dedicated to reinforcing the idea that visual arts are a necessary and vital part of the cultural health of our city.
The San Diego Art Prize was created by SDVAN to celebrate excellence in visual art and to increase the visibility of artists working in the San Diego region. Founded by Patricia Frischer after spending 30 years in London and witnessing the profound influence of the Tate Prize on the UK arts landscape, the Art Prize was envisioned as a catalyst for recognition, dialogue, and sustained connection within San Diego’s visual arts community.
Each year, artists are nominated by the San Diego Art Prize Committee and an independent local panel of arts professionals, including museum leaders, curators, journalists, educators, and previous San Diego Art Prize recipients. Nominees are recognized for excellence in creativity, professional achievement, and contributions to the region’s arts ecosystem.
Over 20 years, SDVAN and the San Diego Art Prize have recognized more than 75 artists whose practices reflect depth, commitment, and evolution over time. The Art Prize is not something an artist “wins,” but a recognition awarded after a sustained career—ideally when an artist is at the height of their practice. In 2022, a changing committee of international art professionals became the selectors for the prize as we spread the word about our local talent to the rest of the world. They focus on work completed within the past three years, and the long-term goal is to eventually honor all deserving artists in the San Diego visual arts community.
Institutional partnerships have been central to fulfilling this mission. The Art Prize began with the support of the Percent for Art program, with early exhibitions at the Omni Hotel gallery space. Over the years, exhibitions and programs have been hosted by leading cultural institutions, including the Athenaeum in La Jolla (with generous support from Erika Torri), Bread & Salt, the Downtown San Diego Library, and the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. In addition, SDVAN’s New Contemporary exhibitions, which highlighted emerging artists for 10 years, had expanded the Art Prize’s reach through yearly rotating venues, steadily growing audiences and strengthening connections across San Diego’s diverse visual arts landscape.
EXHIBITION CELEBRATION
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 5:00-7:00pm
Register Here (Members free, Visitors $15)