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Thursday 11am - 8pm Friday 11am - 6pm Saturday 11am - 6pm Sunday 11am - 6pm

Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College

Name: Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College
Address: Claremont, CA, US
Telephone: (909)6218283

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Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College

The Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College originates lively and innovative art experiences that foster creative and critical thinking.

06/02/2026

Salim and Nilo here 👋 This past Sunday, we represented the Benton at 10-year anniversary of their community photo and artist-centered programming. As one of many Community Conversations that day, we led a group discussion on artist legacies, asking attendees what do they envision for their artwork, where their art would go, and who would steward their works 💭

We want to shout-out Skye Tausig PZ ’24 (photo 1, center), our former museum intern who invited us to participate in this event. Seeing her actively involved in a local organization that fosters support for women and non-binary artists in the LA arts community fills us with tremendous pride and joy!!

05/29/2026

This isn’t a drawing of just any tree—this is a drawing of El Pino ✍🏼

Standing 100 feet tall, El Pino is a bunya pine tree that towers over the corner of Folsom and Indiana streets in East LA. While no one is sure exactly when the tree was planted, we do know that El Pino grew on the property of Dr. Okuno, a Japanese immigrant who was forcibly removed to a concentration camp during World War II. Decades later, the tree would be prominently featured in the 1993 crime drama ‘Blood In, Blood Out’ as the meeting spot of the main characters.

When a false rumor circulated about the possibility of the tree being cut down for new property development, community members rallied together to protect the tree. It became a cultural symbol against the ongoing gentrification of the neighborhood.

For Manuel, who was born and raised in Boyle Heights, El Pino is a local landmark that represents resilience amid changes in neighborhood demographics and land development in the last 100 years. In the museum’s Art Hall, he draws El Pino as part of the sprawling landscape that he recalls from his childhood, much of which he saw through bus windows on his frequent rides across the city.

See Manuel’s interpretation of El Pino and East LA in ‘Art Hall Projects 1: Manuel López,’ on view until June 28, 2026.

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Image 3: Hollywood Pictures

05/27/2026

SUMMER FILM SERIES LINEUP 🍿🎞️

Bring your blankets, chairs, and snacks to the Benton’s courtyard for the return of our popular outdoor film screenings! Swipe to see our lineup of films, carefully curated to be in conversation with topics in our current exhibitions on view through June 28.

June 4: Samsara (2011) dir. Ron Fricke
June 11: Fail Safe (1964) dir. Sidney Lumet
June 18: Stand and Deliver (1988) dir. Ramón Menéndez
June 25: It Was Just an Accident (2025) dir. Jafar Panahi جعفر پناهی

Share this post with a friend you want to bring to the outdoor screenings. See you there!

🎞️ Summer Film Series
🕗 Every Thursday evening in June at 8 pm
📍 John and Louise Bryson Courtyard at the Benton
🍿 Free and open to the public

05/26/2026

A Conversation on Art, Faith, and Meditation

Last month, several of our museum staff members, student interns, and print scholars gathered in the galleries for a Study Day with Anne Searle Bent, collector and co-author of ‘Art and the Experience of the Divine.’ She presented her insights into art and the Christian faith in the context of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century drawings of biblical themes from her collection, two of which she lent the Benton for the exhibition ‘The Meditative Object.’

We’re grateful for the generosity of Anne Searle Bent and for the opportunity to bring together a group of scholars to further develop our understanding of works on paper—and contemplative traditions.

See these works in person in ‘The Meditative Object,’ on view until June 28, 2026.

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Photos 1 & 2: Justine Bae Bias, Photo 3: Jeff McLane

05/22/2026

Taking off for the weekend 🏍️

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Image: Danny Lyon, Memorial Day Run, Milwaukee, 1966, printed 2006. From the series Bike Riders. Gelatin silver print on paper, 18 7/8 x 12 11/16 in. (47.94 x 32.23 cm). Pomona College Collection, Restricted Gift of Michael Mattis and Judy Hochberg, P2013.7.32

05/20/2026

What's in a chair that's mid-air?

In his most recent series, Projectile (2017–present), artist John Sparagana draws attention to the humble folding chair as a protest tool. In Projectile #25, he has sliced and recombined an image of a folding chair being thrown at the stage in a 1985 Neil Young concert after the musician left the stage early due to an illness.

A chair is usually associated with support for human bodies, and it also serves as an object for defense. Most recently, the 2023 riverfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama involved a participant famously wielding a folding chair in a heated altercation. The viral imagery from this event connects with this singular image in the Projectile series, as both scenarios depict crowds that spontaneously act in protest.

See the Projectile series in John Sparagana: Interference Patterns, on view until June 28.

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Images: Jeff McLane

05/18/2026

Five Years of Friendship, Generosity, and Service 🌳🤲

Today marks five years since we first opened our building to the public! While it’s impossible to fit every moment into one post, we want to share some of our highlights over the years. This museum is for everyone, and we remain committed to create meaningful, compelling art experiences through collaborations with our students, professors, and community.

What’s your favorite memory at the Benton? Share with us in the comments! ⬇️

05/15/2026

Look out, world—here they come!! 🔥🎓🖼️

We are SO proud of our Class of 2026 interns and will really miss seeing them at the museum 🥹 We’re grateful that they made time in their busy school schedules to help us in all areas of the Benton’s operations—from curatorial research to community engagement and programs.

We congratulate and thank them as they walk the stage this weekend!

05/13/2026

Rome: A Distillation in Six Colors

In the work ‘Roman Colors: Ochres, Siennas and Umbers,’ Marcia Hafif ’51 expresses Minimalist ideas by removing all of the details that might be in a classic landscape painting of Rome and instead representing the city through a set of six distinct colors.

On her choices, Hafif said, “reading about the pigments used in Rome in ancient times I chose these variations to imagine a set of Roman colors in paint.”

Experience this work in The Meditative Object, on view until June 28, 2026.

Address

Claremont, CA

Opening Hours

Thursday	11am - 8pm
Friday	11am - 6pm
Saturday	11am - 6pm
Sunday	11am - 6pm

Telephone

(909)6218283

Website

http://www.pomona.edu/museum

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