Emeryville’s annual art exhibition turns 40, runs till Oct. 25
on October 9, 2026
For the last 40 years, M. Louise Stanley has submitted her work to the Emeryville Art Exhibition. She’s hung a painting in every single one.
Now attendees tell her they came looking for her work. “I could walk around my studio,” she said, “every single painting in my studio has been in one of those annuals.”
This year’s exhibition opened last weekend at the former Urban Outfitters space in the Public Market. It will run until Oct. 25. Admission is free.
Artists must either live in Emeryville or work for a business in the city to submit. A jury of people with professional curatorial experience then reviews the submissions before deciding which work will be included in the show.
John J. Bauters, former Emeryville mayor, has volunteered with the exhibition for more than a decade and is serving as the events director for the first time this year, taking the helm from Sharon Wilchar, a longtime artist and community organizer who helped launch the exhibition.
Bauters said the show’s longevity is largely due to Wilchar’s “tenacity and persistence” in making sure Emeryville lives up to its values around accessible and affordable community-based art.
Emeryville Art Exhibition
When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, until Oct. 25.
Where: Emeryville Public Market, 5959 Shellmound Street.
Admission: Free
(Painting on left: “End Time”by M. Louise Stanley.)
Despite Emeryville’s small size of only 2.2 square miles, the exhibition received just under 550 submissions this year, and will feature 142. On display is Stanley’s “End Time,” a diptych she began in 1999 and returned to this year. The exhibition also features a $15,000 photograph donated by photographer Richard Misrach, which will be raffled to help cover entry fees for artists in next year’s show.
Stanley describes herself as a narrative painter whose work focuses on politics and the human condition. She lives at the 45th Street Artists Cooperative, where many of her neighbors also show work in the annual exhibition.
When we have this show, it’s just like a big get-together,” she said.
For Sindhu Paramasivam, this year’s exhibition will be her first. Paramasivam has been making art for about three years and primarily paints nature and landscapes.
“It’s been incredible to know how many artists live and work here in Emeryville. I just could not fathom, like, hundreds of them are around ,” she said.
The exhibition is funded through a grant from the city, along with private sponsors, community partners, and individual donors.
The city also supports the event through its annual Purchase Award. Each year, on the recommendation of the Emeryville Public Art Committe, the city purchases a piece from the exhibition for display in a public building. Taryn Walker, committee chair, said that the exhibition gives residents a chance to see and buy work made by people who live around them, without feeling intimidated as in some galleries.
“It makes me really proud of my community,” Walker said.
According to the city website, in the 1970s, artists moved into former industrial spaces and later formed the 45th Street Artists Cooperative with help from the city’s redevelopment agency, giving artists space to both live and work in the city. Some of those artists founded the exhibition in 1987.
Payal Desai, a pediatric hospitalist, uses art to relieve everyday stress. Desai began taking watercolor classes during her medical residency.
“For me, art is kind of a refuge,” Desai said. “I feel like I use art to process some of the challenging things that I witness and experience.”
Although she has lived in Emeryville for around three years, Desai said she did not realize how large the city’s arts community was before becoming involved with the exhibition. Her first time attending it also will be her first time participating in it.
For both experienced and newer artists, the exhibition’s value goes beyond just showing their work. Paramasivam described it as a shared space in a tech-centric world, and Desai said having a place devoted to human creativity feels especially meaningful in the Bay Area today.
“Our lives are hard,” Walker said, “and art gives us a lovely vacation.”
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What a wonderful, well written story. The featured work is beautiful.
I enjoyed talking to you Pilar. Thanks for your comments and for highlighting Emeryville’s special yearly event featuring so many of our fabulous artists… the breathing underbelly of this amazing little town!