UCLA resident artists Tanya Aguiñiga and Porfirio Gutiérrez will be featured in a new Fowler Museum exhibition, “Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal.” (photo courtesy of UCLA)

UCLA is the single largest granted institution in this year’s PST Art: Art & Science Collide, a Getty initiative, with nearly $2 million in research and exhibition support. The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture and the UCLA Film and Television Archive have a prominent, expansive presence with seven programs and exhibitions spanning July 20-May 25, 2025. The Fowler Museum at UCLA will kick off this initiative with the exhibition “Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal,” opening to the public on July 21.

PST Art is the largest art event in the United States. This year’s iteration will engage audiences throughout Southern California with the theme of Art and Science Collide. With the support of nearly $20 million in grants from Getty, dozens of cultural, scientific and community organizations will present more than 60 exhibitions and an extraordinary spectrum of public programs.

Included among the presenting institutions are UCLA Arts’ two world-renowned museums – the Hammer and the Fowler, two innovative research centers – UCLA Art Sci Center and UCLA Arts Conditional Studio, and its performing arts program – UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance.

The UCLA Film and Television Archive, renowned for its pioneering efforts to preserve and showcase moving image media, will present a 12-night film series in partnership with UCLA Cinema and Media Studies in the School of Theater, Film and Television.

“PST Art is filled with diverse exhibitions and programs that explore our relationship with technology and the natural world and is an invaluable opportunity to deepen the connection between the incredible talent and creativity of our students, staff and faculty with the wider Los Angeles community,” UCLA Arts interim dean Lionel Popkin said. “UCLA’s presence in this important iteration of PST Art is a testament to the school’s commitment to fostering a thriving artistic community while pushing the boundaries of what is possible when the worlds of art and science come together.”

The works presented at UCLA stem from multifaceted research practices deeply engaged with the community, covering topics such as climate change, indigenous knowledge, the burgeoning field of eco-acoustic art and beyond.

The UCLA Film and Television Archive and the UCLA Cinema & Media Studies Program shine a spotlight on underappreciated voices from colliding worlds with its series, “Science Fiction Against the Margins.”

“So much of our understanding of ourselves and our local and global communities is rooted in the stories we create, share and preserve,” said May Hong HaDuong, associate university librarian and director of the archive. “Much of this creativity as it relates to moving image media is in peril of being lost, and so many perspectives are often obscured or misrepresented. Our offering in PST Art: Art and Science Collide will highlight voices from the margins in ways the science fiction genre is uniquely suited to hold, beyond the gleam of big-budget Hollywood.”

For information, visit ucla.edu or pst.art.