![\"Over](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775764028_602_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nOrange County\u2019s bright and vibrant art scene is sometimes overshadowed by L.A.\u2019s art industry. In the past, Fullerton Museum Center exhibited a show called \u201cFullerton: Art Town,\u201d which offered a look at the history and future of art in the city. This year, the Center has launched a new show in an effort to close the gap in representation and give more O.C. artists their due.<\/p>\n
\u201cOC Made\u201d is a new biennial juried exhibition, on view now through Aug. 1, that\u2019s dedicated exclusively to artists living and working in Orange County.<\/p>\n
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Over 130 pieces are on display as part of OC Made at the Fullerton Museum Center through Aug. 1.<\/p>\n
(Eric Licas)<\/p>\n
It is also the only exhibition of its kind in the region.<\/p>\n
Museum curator Georgette Collard said the concept was inspired by popular shows that focus on art created in Los Angeles like the Hammer Museum\u2019s acclaimed biennial \u201cMade in L.A.\u201d and other annual \u201cMade in California\u201d shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are amazing exhibits, and I was thinking why isn\u2019t there something like this for Orange County?\u201d Collard said. \u201cThere is a big opportunity that is being missed. We have amazing artists in Orange County and we have amazing art hubs in O.C.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collard points to Animation Career Review<\/a> naming Cal State Fullerton among the top 10 California schools for graphic design in 2025, and major art hubs in the county like the Laguna Beach artist community<\/a> as examples of O.C.\u2019s thriving art scene.<\/p>\n Light reflects off of Si\u00e2n Poeschi\u2019s glass sculpture, \u201cSetting Sun,\u201d which won the President\u2019s Choice Award as part of OC Made, which is on exhibit at the Fullerton Museum Center through Aug. 1<\/p>\n (Eric Licas)<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a bit over 260 submissions and over a 1000 artworks,\u201d said Collard. \u201cSo it took a few days to really go through the first round. And we went through multiple rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n After much deliberation, \u201cOC Made\u201d features more than 100 local artists and displays upward of 130 artworks in a variety of mediums. The show is curated by Collard and Jasmine McNeal, curator of the Fullerton College Art Gallery, and juried by leaders in the O.C. art community.<\/p>\n Multidisciplinary artist Abel Alejandre, Grand Central Art Center director and chief curator John D. Spiak and California Locos collective co-founder and multidisciplinary artist Dave Tourj\u00e9 all served as jurors, selecting the show\u2019s top three winners.<\/p>\n First place was awarded to Ram\u00f3n Vargas\u2019s work \u201cWolf,\u201d a mixed media piece on a wood panel depicting a long-haired, mustached man with yellow orchids decorating his braids, a juxtaposition of the masculine and feminine. Second place went to Jaime \u201cGerms\u201d Zacarias for \u201cViva La Lucha,\u201d a three-paneled work full of detailed and humorous imagery in neon colors. The Chicano artist known for his lowbrow surrealists work is not a stranger to Fullerton Museum.<\/p>\n \u201cViva La Lucha\u201d by Jaime Zacarias was awarded second place in OC Made.<\/p>\n (Eric Licas)<\/p>\n \u201cWe have done work with him in the past, and I love how he always incorporates little pictures within pictures,\u201d said Collard.<\/p>\n Third place went Iranian-born artist Mahta Jafari for \u201cOppression\u201d a haunting black and white photography series.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a commentary on how these things that are happening on the other side of the world can still affect us here in O.C.,\u201d said Collard.<\/p>\n Maggots and flies adorn the body of a telecaster-style guitar in Laishan Ito\u2019s \u201cStench,\u201d one of over 130 pieces on display as part of OC Made at the Fullerton Museum Center through Aug. 1<\/p>\n (Eric Licas)<\/p>\n In addition to placing in the show, the top three winners are also awarded the opportunity to do an artists residency program with Fullerton Museum Center.<\/p>\n \u201cThe three of them will be sharing the gallery space, which we will divide into three sections so each of them essentially has their own solo exhibit for six weeks,\u201d Collard said.<\/p>\n There are sculptures, ceramics and more that go beyond 2D work. Museum-goers will also find work that uses Orange County as its subject. A photorealistic painting of La Habra Bowl by Maria Dolores Martinez for example and a water color of seaside cottages titled \u201cCrystal Cove\u201d by Richard Picardy.<\/p>\n Collard said it was also important that the show represent Orange County\u2019s range when it comes to both artists and mediums.<\/p>\n \u201cTraps\u201d by Stephanie Butler was inspired by cultish appeal of a presidential candidate, and is one of over 130 pieces on display as part of OC Made at the Fullerton Museum Center through Aug. 1.<\/p>\n (Eric Licas )<\/p>\n \u201cOur main goal was to show the diversity of Orange County,\u201d Collard said. \u201cI think there are certain stereotypes of demographics here, but that\u2019s not true at all. We really wanted to showcase all the different types of individuals that make up O.C.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Light](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775764029_74_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\""Viva](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775764029_546_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Maggots](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775764030_269_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\""Traps"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775764030_338_.jpeg\")
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