"Changing Terrain" Exhibition Blends Past and Present Perspectives on the Southern California Landscape Oceanside Museum of Art and San Diego History Center present "Changing Terrain," a sequel to their 2013 "Nature Improved" show. This new exhibit features 74 artists and explores how the regional art scene and environmental awareness have evolved over the past decade, with a mix of established artists and those discovered through an open call. In 2013, the Oceanside Museum of Art and San Diego History Center embarked on a historic partnership that led to "Nature Improved," an exhibit that centered on the themes of the environment and landscape. Thirteen years later, the two institutions have once again come together for a sequel of sorts, a new exhibition titled "Changing Terrain: Regional Artists Interpret Our Landscape," featuring 74 artists. Oceanside Museum of Art is showcasing 69 artworks by 59 artists, while San Diego History Center has 54 artworks by 48 artists. At OMA's satellite gallery at The Seabird Resort in downtown Oceanside, another 13 pieces by 13 artists are featured.Katie Dolgov and Gabriel Boils Discuss ExhibitionKatie Dolgov, director of exhibitions and collections at OMA, and visual artist Gabriel Boils talk about the joint exhibition and their role in shaping "Changing Terrain." "A Winter Day" (2023, acrylic) by Brad Maxey is part of "Changing Terrain," a joint exhibition between Oceanside Museum of Art and San Diego History Center. (OMA & SDHC)The genesis of "Changing Terrain" originated from "Nature Improved," a 2013 exhibition that marked the first partnership between Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) and San Diego History Center (SDHC) around shared themes of landscape and the environment.As the concept of building on that exhibition developed, we realized how dramatically the region's art scene had grown over the past 13 years. This presented an exciting opportunity not only to renew our partnership and honor that history, but also to consider what a contemporary regional landscape exhibition could look like today.Contemporary artistic expression has evolved, OMA has evolved, and our relationship to the land has become increasingly complex through a deeper understanding of its history, politics, development and climate change. Rather than recreate "Nature Improved," we decided to use it as a starting point, honoring the history of the partnership with SDHC while asking what a contemporary regional landscape exhibition could look like now.Exhibition Departs From Original 2013 Format"Parking Lot at Night" (2025, acrylic on canvas) by Lynette K. Henderson is part of "Changing Terrain," a joint exhibition between Oceanside Museum of Art and San Diego History Center. (OMA & SDHC) Q: You can say this is a sequel to a 2013 joint exhibition between SDHC and OMA. What led to this iteration? The exhibition could be considered a sequel in some respects, but with dramatic departures from the original.Developed by an entirely new curatorial team, it brings together artists from "Nature Improved" whose practices continue to feel timely and relevant, alongside exceptional artists from across the region known to members of the curatorial advisory committee. Perhaps the biggest departure was the addition of artists identified through a regional open call. This brought dozens of artists into the conversation with whom we had never worked before, opening the exhibition to a much wider range of perspectives and practices.This became an opportunity to reflect the remarkable growth and evolution of the region's art community since 2013, and to make sure the exhibition reflects those expanded voices."Aerial Gunnery Range" (2024, mixed media) by Jennifer Steffey is part of "Changing Terrain," a joint exhibition between Oceanside Museum of Art and San Diego History Center. (OMA & SDHC)Dolgov: We approached it from a few different directions.Curators Selected From Over 1100 Art SubmissionsWe worked with experts in the field to identify some of the strongest landscape artists working in the region, invited a number of artists from "Nature Improved," and then spread the word about the open call as widely as possible to bring in artists we hadn't worked with before. That resulted in 1,109 entries by 192 artists.We first looked for the most well-executed work in terms of concept, novelty and technical execution, individually scoring the submissions and narrowing them down to roughly 280 works. But that was really the easy part. The harder part was making those final, painful eliminations from a group that was thoroughly excellent and powerful. We had to prioritize thinking about the exhibition as a cohesive unit while still representing the incredible diversity of ways artists are thinking about landscape.Selected Works Highlight Indigenous Voices and ClimateWe wanted to select works that spoke to each other, created visual and conceptual conversations, and collectively told a larger story about a region in flux. We also wanted to represent as many perspectives on landscape as possible, including Indigenous voices, memory, history, climate, development, culture, community, and the ways people physically and psychologically experience a place.