Photography Exhibit at UC Davis Veterinary Hospital Highlights Connections Between Individuals, Place, and Goal

Employees and purchasers of the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) are having fun with a brand new photograph exhibit that invitations viewers to mirror on their relationship with the land—and one another.

The exhibit, titled [Placeholder: Living Precariously], options work by college students from Sacramento State University below the steering of Eliza Gregory, professor of Photography and Social Practice. The set up is a collaboration between Gregory and Dr. Meera Heller, college member on the School of Veterinary Medicine, and brings collectively artwork, training, and public service in a robust new manner.

“We have wanted to bring student artwork into the VMTH for a long time,” stated Heller. “This project seemed like the perfect opportunity because it highlights organizations within our local community and their interactions with land. Bringing this artwork into the VMTH makes us part of this dialogue and reminds us that we are part of the broader landscape, a vital part of our community and acts as a visual representation of our mission is to serve California and its diverse communities.”

The venture stems from a semester-long pictures course during which college students explored their relationships with the locations round them. Through subject journeys, hands-on experiences, and group interactions, college students created photographic works that mirror private and collective understandings of land, stewardship, and identification.

Most of the pictures on show are pupil work, capturing a spread of environments and moments. The clusters are organized round single portraits of individuals central to the stewardship of the atmosphere. For occasion, one cluster options the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology, with a portrait of Allen Chew, Insect Curator, within the middle.

The bigger environmental portraits that anchor the exhibit are Gregory’s personal—wealthy, detailed pictures that supply knowledgeable counterpoint and contextual body to the scholars’ views.

“I’m so grateful to be able to share this work with the hospital community,” stated Gregory. “The hospital brings together a group of professionals and clients who care for more-than-human life and think about relationships to land from a wide array of perspectives. It’s an audience I am eager to be in dialogue with and learning from.”

For both Heller and Gregory, the exhibit also represents an important bridge between institutions and communities in the region. By connecting Sacramento State and UC Davis, the project fosters interdisciplinary dialogue and regional collaboration.

The artists include Jonathan Wong, Zoey Velarde, Amy Tejada, Ethan Smith, Jesus Sanchez, Shana Press, Angelina Povio, Ryan Porter, Binh Nguyen, Yancey Mejia, Olivia Lopez, Karla Legorreta, Mindy Huynh, Angelo Hinojosa, Trevor Dahm, Evalina Carrillo, Zen Carlson, Olivia Bailey, Eyanna Brown, Kristina Marie Belantes, and Eliza Gregory.

More information about the project is available through these links:
Placeholder exhibit overview
Gregory discussing exhibit on Sacramento State podcast 
Downloadable book (PDF) of exhibit
Short film on exhibit