Evergreen: Art from the Collection celebrates SJMA’s collection as both a gift to and a product of its community. This dedicated gallery space, which provides long-term access to the Museum’s collection, honors the community members who rallied together to establish the Museum; the artists who trust us to care for their visions; the generous donors who helped to build the collection; the generations of students who have visited; the volunteers and staff who have contributed; and the breadth of community experiences that give ongoing meaning to the works.

Located in the Museum’s historic building—formerly the city’s post office and library—Evergreen highlights the Museum’s growing collection and the numerous San José stories it tells. The gallery features such works as rafa esparza’s Yosi con Abuela (2021), a recently acquired portrait on adobe of the East San José poet and activist Yosimar Reyes with his grandmother. Also on view are Resident Alien (1988) by Hung Liu, the beloved Bay Area artist and longtime friend of SJMA, and Louise Nevelson’s monumental Sky Cathedral (1957–58), a centerpiece of the Museum’s collection. The gallery also includes access points to the free digital collection catalog 50×50: Stories of Visionary Artists from the Collection, which highlights the stories and impact of artists in the Museum’s collection.