London Collage Project, Sponsored by Contemporary Collage Magazine, 2025
Jentel Foundation Artist Residency, Banner, Wyoming, May-June 2023
Project 275: Artists Collective (Co-Founder), Redwood City, CA, 2014–2018
Mining the Collection, Badè Archaeology Museum, PSR, Berkeley, 2010–2011
Jentel Foundation Artist Residency, Banner, Wyoming, August–September 2010
Cubberley Community Center studio (juried), Palo Alto, CA, August 2005–2014
Kala Institute (juried), Berkeley, CA, August–Sept. 2008, Dec. 2005–August 2006
Creator, Activation Space for Man Base, Burning Man 2024
Design Concept for The Man Base, Burning Man, 2023 and 2024
Lead Artist, Designer: Unbound: A Library in Transition, Burning Man 2022
Build Crew w/Peter Loughran, The Staircase to Nothing, 2019
Build Crew w/ David Best, Parkland Florida, 2019
Build Crew w/David Best, Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C., 2018
Build Crew w/ David Best, SFAI, SF, CA
Build Crew, World of Wood, Longbeach, CA, 2017
Build Crew w/Michael Garlington, Hermitage Museum, Norfolk, VA, 2017
Build Crew w/ Michael Garlington, Burning Man, 2017
Build Crew w/ David Best, Temple, Patricia's Green, San Francisco, 2015
Build Crew w/ David Best, Temple, Derry, Northern Ireland, 2015
Build Crew w/ David Best, Temple, Burning Man, 2014
Founding Member / Artist resident, PROJECT 275 Artists’ Collective, 2014-2019
Collaborator, The Journey Home, Burning Man, with Maria Scileppi, 2012
Founder, "2012 Sketchbook Community Project" City of Palo Alto with Art House, Brooklyn
2024 Short List Award, Innovation in Collage, Contemporary Collage Magazine, England
2023 Winner, Innovation in Collage: Unbound, Contemporary Collage Magazine, England
ShortList Award, Text in Collage, Contemporary Collage Magazine, England
2022 Global Arts Grant #2 for Unbound: A Library in Transition, Burning Man 2022
2020 Global Arts Grant for Unbound Project, postponed until Burning Man 2022
National Collage Society Exhibition Award, Kent State, Ohio
2014 Exhibition Award, Sky: A National Exhibition, Bedford Art Gallery, CA
2013 Jury Selection, Cover to Cover, SF Camerawork
2012 Honorable Mention, Altered Book Show, Marin MOCA, Novato, CA
2011 Exhibition Award, Outlandish, Bedford Art Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
First Place Exhibition Award, Environment and Conservation, Los Altos, Ca
2007 Juror’s Award, Sanchez Art Center Bay Area Annual, Pacifica CA
Award Winner, Artfully Reclaimed, Marin MOCA, CA
2006 First Place Exhibition Award Winner, Collage, Impact Gallery, Buffalo, NY
2005 Exhibition Award Winner, Black, White and Read, Cabrillo College, CA
First Place, Manipulated Photography, The Palo Alto Weekly,
Art Award, Silicon Valley Open Studios, San Jose Museum of Art, CA
Panel on Abstraction, Sebastopol Art Center, CA, 2025
Unbound: Making Large Scale Art, Sheridan, WY, 2023
Building Unbound: The Joys and Challenges, Temple Builder Guild, SF, CA 2022
“Art Happens No Matter What” Podcast, Burning Man Live, May 27, 2021
Desert Arts Preview (online), Burning Man, Fall 2020
Going Big, Kolaj Fest, New Orleans, 2019
Art and Healing: Art in the Present, Doctoral Art Therapy Students, 2013
Analog Data: My recent Photo Books, SF Camerawork, 2013
Collage Centennial Panel, Menlo College, Menlo Park, 2013
Photography and Printmaking, AAU Printmaking Class, 2012
When Photography Isn't Enough, AAU Alternative Processes Class, 2011
Jentel Presents, News from the Residency Program 2010
Turning Found Objects into Art, Palo Alto Art Center, 2010
Interview: Youtube: Julia Nelson-Gal: Found Materials, SVOS Art Talk, 2017
2025 Aftermath: Fragments from Unbound, Icehouse Gallery, Petaluma, CA
2022 Unbound: A Library in Transition, a 400sf structure at Burning Man, NV
2014 Mountain View Center of Performing Arts, CA
2013 Monterey Peninsula College Art Gallery, Monterey, CA
2011 Doug Adams Gallery, Badè Archaeology Museum,PSR, Berkeley
2010 Michael Hunter Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MA
2006 Phantom Art Gallery, Milpitas Community Center, Milpitas, CA
2026 Triton 2-D Salon, Triton Museum, Cupertino, CA
Book / Art, Carl Cherry Center, Carmel, CA
2025 Dislocations Artist’s Book,: Global Art Project, Studio 55, Martinez, CA
21st Wabi-Sabi Exhibition,, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
17th Annual 50|50, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica CA
(Re)evolution, Evolution Studio, Santa Rosa, CA
The Art of Clouds, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
London Collage Project Exhibition, Hackney Wick, London
Impressions in Ink: Celebrating Printmaking, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, CA
Driven to Abstraction, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, CA
Leftward Bound: A Contemporary Photography Exhibition, Seb Arts, CA
Book Collages, Moonstruck Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Purple, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
2024 Exquisite Little Things, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
Members Exhibition, Sebastopol Art Center, Sebastopol. CA
Impressions in Ink, Sebastopol Art Center, Sebastopol, CA
Reclaimed/Repurposed, Gearbox Gallery, Oakland, CA
Driven to Abstraction, Sebastopol Art Center, Sebastopol, CA
National Collage Society 40th Anniversary Exhibition, MICA, Philadelphia, PA
Leftward Bound: A Contemporary Photography Show, Sebastopol Art Center
RE/Aligned: A Visual Journey in Collage, Carl Cherry Center, Carmel, CA
Pretty in Pink, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
2023 Photography Exhibition, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
2022 The Dust that Binds US, Foreign Lens Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Re: Imagined, Exhibition and Auction for SCRAP and Randall Museum, SF
Tenth Anniversary LOVE Show, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
2021 Collage, SF Women Artists Gallery, SF, CA
Members Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
2020 Bird, Nest, Nature Exhibition, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
Abstract, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
National Collage Society Exhibition, Kent State University, Ohio
2019 Unbound, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University
Left Coast Annual Exhibition, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Blue, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
2018 Art Santa Fe with OPUS Art Collective, 2018, Santa Fe, NM
Magnificent, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
2017 Small Works Show, Groundwork, New Bedford, MA
Guilty Pleasures, Jen Tough Gallery, Benicia, CA
Marvelous! International Exhibition of Collage/Assemblage, Sebastopol, CA
2016 Habitat, A Smith Gallery, Johnsonville, TX
7th Annual Altered Book, Marin MOCA, Novato, CA
Left Coast Annual Exhibition, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Salon Statewide Exhibition, Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA
Palimpsest Culture, Soltesz Fine Art, Portland, OR
Dada is It’s Name, Branner Spangenberg Gallery, Redwood City, CA
One Plus One, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
2015 Sheffield International Artists’ Book Prize, Sheffield, England
Second Annual Juried Book Exhibition, WOCA, Fort Worth, Texas
2014 The Cubberley Diaspora, The Art Arc Gallery, San Jose, CA
PROJECT 275 Presents, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
Sky: A National Juried Exhibition, Bedford Art Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
The Sixth Annual Plastic Camera Show, Rayko Photo Center Gallery, SF
85 Artists: 85 Years, Menlo College, Menlo Park, CA
Home: A Juried Photography Exhibition, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
International Biennale for the Artist's Book, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt
The Cubberley Diaspora, The Art Arc Gallery, San Jose, CA
2013 By Mostly Unexpected Means, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Collage Centennial, Menlo College, Menlo Park, CA
The Art of Giving, Gary Francis Fine Art Gallery, Alameda, CA
Short Stories: 7 Bay Area Women Artists, Gray Loft Gallery, Oakland, CA
Cover to Cover: A Survey of Artist-members Photo Books, SF Camerawork
Brooklyn Arthouse Print Exchange Exhibition, Graphic Arts Workshop, SF
Brooklyn Arthouse Print Exchange Exhibition, New York, NY
The Sixth Annual Plastic Camera Show, Rayko Photo Center Gallery, San Francisco
International Biennale for Miniature Graphics, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
2012 Every Expression is Justified, California Society of Printmakers, Thoreau Gallery, SF
Graphite, Inks and Other Means, Palo Alto City Hall, Palo Alto, CA
The Altered Book, 2012, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA
California Society of Printmakers Centennial Show, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
Royal Society of Printmakers Exhibition, Bankside Gallery, London, England
Light, the Bade Archaeology Museum, PSR, Berkeley, CA
The Fifth Annual Plastic Camera Show, Rayko Photo Center Gallery, San Francisco
Traces, Marks and Fragments, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, CA
H20: Fragility and Strength, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
2011 SNAP: National Juried Photography Exhibition, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
Drawing Connections, Siena Art Institute, Siena, Italy
Environment and Conservation, Los Altos Town Hall, Los Altos, CA
The Altered Book 2011, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA
Bloom, Palo Alto City Hall, Palo Alto, CA
Artists Book Faire, Fabula Urbis, Lisboa, Portugal
Outlandish, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
No Mirrors: Images made without Cameras, Rayko Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Light/Dark: Print Selections by Enrique Chagoya, Berkeley Art Center, CA
2010 Loteria Portfolio, produced by SF Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA
International Center for Prints Benefit Auction, New York, NY
50/50, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, California
Roll Call, San Francisco Camerawork, SFCA
Primo Tempre Pictoris in Insula, PikNik Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MA
Memories, Stanford Nursing School, Stanford CA
International Center for Prints, New York, NY
Printing From Perception, Adobe Art Center, Castro Valley, CA
Past, Present, Future: Artists Reflect on Sustainability, Sonoma State U, CA
Prints from the Studio of Glen Roger, Stone Metal Press, San Antonio, TX
A Space of One’s Own, Cubberley Artists, Palo Alto City Hall,
RE: (rebound, recycled, repurposed, reused), Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO
25th Bay Area Annual, Gallery Route Route One, Pt Reyes,
Cutting Edge: West Coast Collage and Assemblage, Coos Bay Museum, Oregon
2009 Hecho en Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Museum of Art, Mexico
Under Pressure: Society of California Printmakers, Sun Gallery, Hayward, CA
Mostly Black and White, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
Printed, Cabrillo College Art Gallery
50/50, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Monterey Printmakers, Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Silicon Valley Artists, Intel Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA
Pressing On: Monterey Peninsula College Print Club, Pacific Grove Art Center, CA
2008 Fresh Work, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
Cubberley Artists, Palo Alto City Hall, Palo Alto, CA
25th Juried Exhibition, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
18 Months: Taking the Pulse of Bay Area Photography, SF Arts Commission Gallery, SF
Madison National Show, Madison-Morgan Art Center, Madison GA
Gentes, Lugares, Cosas , Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo. San Jose, Costa Rica
Cinco Californianos en Dardo, Dardo costado Este de la Casa Amarilla, SJ, Costa Rica
2007 Bay Area Annual, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Art that Speaks: Blending Word and Image, O’Hanlon Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
All Things Great and Small, Artisans Gallery, San Rafael, CA
Other People’s Memories: Found Photos, Mendocino College Gallery, CA
Made in A Day, Herger Gallery, Solano Community College, Fairfield, CA
Narrative Photography, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
Artfully Reclaimed, Novato Art Center, Novato, CA
Body of Works, and Housewarming, Works Gallery, San Jose, CA
Arts on Fire XI, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA (Rene de Guzman)
The Art of the Book, San Francisco Center for the Book, SF, CA
Bay Area Annual, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
Dada, Surrealism, Readymade and Found Object, 2nd City Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2006 Fresh Work, Artists in Residence, Kala Institute, Berkeley, CA
Is Dada Dead? O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
We Are Family, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Out of the Box: Art Expressing Life, Women Beyond Borders, Palo Alto Art Center, CA
Works on Paper, Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Arts Commission Exhibition, Berkeley Civic Center, Berkeley, CA
By The Hand, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
Collage, Impact Gallery, Buffalo NY
Context: A Blending of Images and Language, Herger Gallery, Solano College, CA
The Body: Figurative Art, Fetterley Gallery, Vallejo, CA
Arts On Fire X, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
The Intimate Portrait, STAC, St. James, NY
Explorations in Art and Language, Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Annual Juried Show, Gallery Route One, Pt. Reyes, CA (Kenneth Baker)
2005 Fresh Work, Artists in Residence Annual Show, Kala Institute, Berkeley, CA,
Cubberley Artists, Synopsis Corporation Gallery, Mountain View, CA
Art and the Interpretation of Quilts, Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, PA
My Cultural Heritage, Northwest Cultural Council, Barrington, IL
Snap to Grid, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
The Mona Lisa Project, Works Gallery, San Jose, CA
Sixth International Collage Exhibition, FFCS, Austin, Texas
Unique Markings, Visual Anthropology, Francis Hardy Art Center, Wisconsin
Black, White and Read, Cabrillo College, Soquel, CA
Book Arts and Parts, Herbst International Exhibition Hall, SF, CA
2024 Featured Artist, Contemporary Collage Magazine #31, Page spreads 37-43
Reproduction and Mention, Monterey Weekly, April 11, 2024
Awards Publication, Contemporary Collage Magazine
2022 Unbound “Best of Burning Man 2022” includes SFGate, ArchDaily, Dezeen, Archipanic,
Apple News, MatadorNetwork, several private blogs
Reproductions, Oakland Art Murmur, Article on Jingletown Originals, 2022
2021 Podcast “Art Happens No Matter What” Burning Man Live, 5/27/2021
2020 Interview “Julia Nelson-Gal” in pariscollagecollective.com 2/26/2020
2017 SVOSTalkArt Youtube Video, “Julia Nelson-Gal: Mixed Media Artist” 10/28/2017
2014 85 Years: 85 Artists, by the Menlo College Art Committee, July 2014
Diablo Magazine, “Sky High,” full-page reproduction in exhibition review, April 2014
2013 California Society of Printmakers: One Hundred Years 1913-2013, Reproduction/biography
2012 Six-page spread: Bibliotheca Alexandrina International Biennale for Miniature Graphics, Egypt,
Included: Caught on Film: Fifth International Plastic Camera Show, Rayko Photo Center, 2012
2011 Reproduction and mention, Walnut Creek Patch, July 2011
2008 Mention, Review of Kala Annual Show, East Bay Express, Dec. 31, 2008
Cover Reproduction, SF Camerawork Journal, Spring 2008
2007 Reproduction and mention, Bay Area Annual Review, The Dirty Palette, November 2007
2006 Mention, Arts on Fire Review, The Dirty Palette, May 2006
2005 Reproduction and short article, Palo Alto Weekly, June 2005
2004 “Art with Heart” Palo Alto Weekly, May 2004
Graduate Mixed Media Photo, Academy of Art University, SF, 2012–2013
City of Palo Alto Fine Art Program, Palo Alto, CA, 2009–2013
Graphic Arts Workshop, San Francisco, CA, 2009
Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA, 2009
Advisory Board, Temple Builders Guild, associated with Burning Man Arts, 2023- current
Southern Graphics Council International 2014 Conference in SF, Exhibitions Committee, 2014
San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA 2004 - 2008
FotoForum, SFMOMA, SF, CA, President, 2000 – 2003
ArtTable, A group of Professional Women in the Arts, SF, CA
San Francisco Camerawork Board, San Francisco, CA, 1989-92
Mother Jones International Fund for Social Documentary Photography, SF, CA, 1988-90
Photography Advisory Board, San Francisco City College, SF, CA, 1987
Since 2004, I have donated multiple pieces to the following non-profits: Burning Man Projects and Sotheby’s: Boundless Space, 2002; International Center for Prints New York, New York, 2010; San Francisco Camerawork Auction, San Francisco, CA, (2005-2011); Marin MOCA Altered Book Auction, Novato, CA (2011-12); Center for the Book, Loteria Portfolio contributor, 2010; San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA; Goodwill and Sustainable San Mateo County, 2010; Works Gallery Auction, San Jose, CA, 2006
Artist, 2002-current
Art Instructor, 2008- 2014
Art Appraiser, Photo specialist, 1996 – 2000, 2010 - 2014
Vice President and Photography Specialist, Butterfield Auctioneers, 1991-1995
Curatorial Assistant, Photography Department, SFMOMA, 1989-1991
Director of Education, Friends of Photography, San Francisco and Carmel, CA, 1984-1989
Curatorial Intern, Photography Department, Art Institute of Chicago, 1983-1984
Research Assistant, Modern Art Department, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1982-1983
Sheffield International Artist's Book Prize Collection (artist's book)
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. (etching)
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt (monoprints, artists’ book)
Siena Art Institute, Siena, Italy (drawings)
City of Palo Alto Art Collection, CA (Mixed-media photo collage)
John Coetze, Dorothy Driver, Australia (Mixed-media photo collage)
Brooklyn Art Library, Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn, NY (Mixed-media collages)
M.A. in the History of Art, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Certificate in Museum Practices, UM, Ann Arbor, MI
B. A. in Honors Art History and Psychology