Operated by Cal State Fullerton, the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana uses several connected gallery spaces – and even its elevator – to spotlight contemporary art and visual culture within the city’s Artists Village. Grand Central hosts up to four small exhibitions at once exploring themes such as popular manifestations of racial and cultural identities, music and media, the role of communities in defining spaces, and pandemic-era emotions, often in thought-provoking forms.
Admission to Grand Central is free, and requires around 30 minutes to explore fully, while a gift shop offers a gallery-quality display of handmade pottery, glassware, and other merchandise. The non-profit Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, which preceded Grand Central’s opening in Santa Ana by roughly 15 years, relocated directly across the street and makes for a great second stop.
