The W. Keith & Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery was built by the John L. and Helen Kellogg Foundation with support from W. Keith and Janet “Jean” Kellogg in 1988. This gift was in the spirit of W. Keith’s grandfather, cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg, who donated his land to the State of California for use by Cal Poly in 1949.
Our exhibition space is approximately 4,000 sq. ft. with an entry courtyard featuring The Gates and Black Marble Columns with Lintel by Italian architect and designer, Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007). Kellogg Gallery utilizes its close proximity to Los Angeles as a resource in presenting timely and engaging exhibitions of Contemporary Art in a variety of contexts. In 2011, we presented our first international show, Persian Visions, a traveling exhibition of recent Iranian photography. In the last year (2018-19), Gallery Curator Michele Cairella Fillmore featured solo exhibitions of: tech-based, video-installation art and photographer Sasha vom Dorp from Taos, New Mexico; kinetic-engineering-based Korean artist David Jang; and a sweeping 40-year retrospective of Jim Morphesis' painting, drawings and assemblage. Somewhere in Between, co-curated with guest artist-curator Bia Gayotto, opened on Election Day during the 2018 midterms, and showcased twenty-four LA-based artists of various international origins, ethnicities and cultures. These artists addressed relevant concepts of transnationalism, cultural identity, appropriation, hybridization, and a sense of place and history. Annually exhibited since 1971, Ink & Clay has become a widely recognized, national, juried exhibition held with support from the James H. Jones Estate and the Office of Cal Poly Pomona President, Dr. Soraya M. Coley. We also proudly present triennial exhibitions of work by faculty, and annual exhibitions of student work from the Department of Art.
The Kellogg Gallery is located in Building 35A on the North end of the Bronco Student Center and is part of the College of Environmental Design, which houses the departments of Art, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, and the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies.
Special Events & Community Engagement
Through utilizing the resources of seven to ten curated and juried exhibitions per year at both venues, our exhibitions and related events not only serve our campus community, but the greater community at large. Visitors from local area colleges and universities, art guilds and creative-based organizations, senior centers and retirement groups (such as The Pacesetters), middle school and high school tour groups all engage with the galleries' programming through its provocative exhibitions and timely events.
Special Events programming including artist lectures and talks, curator-lead talks and tours, panel discussions, Performance Art events, poetry and prose reading-based events, video and visual presentations, are all a regular part of both galleries' event planning that supplement the exhibit programming and engage both the on-campus and outside community. Faculty- and departmentally-lead events not only are geared directly to student coursework, but are also widely promoted and open to the public. The galleries and Kellogg Sculpture Garden Courtyard are also often requested and utilized for campus-wide social events such as Homecoming Alumni Mixers, Faculty Group Advisement Lunches, IGE's "Annual Evening at the Gallery", Convocation Week Breakfasts and Meetings, Commencement Family Weekend, and more.
Visitors come from all areas and regions including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and of course, the Inland Empire. Both galleries engage with the larger arts, gallery and museum industry through partnerships and participation with local, industry-wide arts organizations promoting the visual arts such as the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825, the annual LA Art Show, Artillery, Carla, ArtScene, Visual Art Source and Fabrik. In order to allow for the utmost in community engagement, attendance and participation, admission to both the Kellogg and Huntley Galleries is free.
Visitor attendance varies from show to show and event to event, but on average, attendance consists of 1000-1600 visitors per exhibition at the Kellogg Gallery, and 300-800 visitors at the Huntley Gallery. This results in serving as many as 8,000-10,000 visitors per year.