Natalie and James Thompson Gallery

The Art Galleries at San José State University provide opportunities to discover how art and design impact daily lives. We foster discovery and critical thinking through scholarly research and public programming, challenging the status quo. We promote diversity and a wide range of process-oriented and object-based genres. This variety in the work we show encourages a dialogue between art-making and studying. In addition to student exhibitions, six professional exhibits are produced in the Natalie and James Thompson Gallery each year. These exhibitions often address larger issues in art and design, among other themes, and have exhibited some of the University’s cultural diversity. The work displayed in this gallery serves as a curricular bridge, linking the Department of Art and Art History and the College of Humanities and the Arts. The creativity presented in exhibitions enhances the understanding of culture and the Arts for university students and faculty and the broader public in the San José State University community. The Thompson Gallery produces its exhibitions based on conversations between the Gallery Director and faculty in the Department of Art and Art History. This collaborative approach ensures that we produce curated projects related to and complementing academic curricula. Professors in the department have vast expertise and knowledge of the discipline and industry contacts for the art world. The experience of collaborating with them has been rewarding and productive, yielding exhibitions featuring cutting-edge work from up-and-coming artists using cutting-edge technology and retrospectives of America's influential artists.