‘Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years.’ Exhibition Celebrates the Iconic Franchise

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It doesn’t require a San Diego Comic Con badge to enjoy the “Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years.” art exhibition being held at the Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts Gallery (363 Fifth Avenue #102) during the sold-out convention. The free exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic sci-fi series will be open to the public from July 21 through July 23 between 11am and 8pm, and on July 24th from 10am to 5pm. 50 artists from around the world contributed works to the exhibition, with Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy’s final piece included in the stunning exhibit that’s a must-see for Trekkies.

Senior Vice President and Creative Director Jorge Ferreiro (the exhibit’s curator) had the difficult task of selecting just 50 pieces of art to be included in the exhibition. “We spent about a year actually researching artists – about 300, 350 artists. And then I spent three months culling that down, essentially breaking it down, looking at it every day, walking away, coming back, looking at it again,” explained Ferreiro during our interview that took place at a media preview event leading up to the opening of “Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years.” exhibition. “My main approach was that I wanted to make sure that they were a fan, that they loved the franchise, and then I looked at the diversity of talent. I wanted textile designers, I wanted sculptors, I wanted painters – I wanted to make sure that I had a good assortment of pieces represented. I also wanted to make sure that it was a global exhibition so I wanted people from around the world.”

Star Trek 50 Artists 50 Years

Artists from China, South Korea, and a lot of talented people from the U.K. are among the group who contributed pieces to the Star Trek exhibition, and Ferreiro admits it was tremendously difficult to choose just 50 pieces of art to feature in the exhibit. “I wish it was the 300 year anniversary so I could pick all 300,” joked Ferreiro. “It was hard to do. I tried to get as many people involved in the process and I asked people what they thought about specific pieces. But, at the end I had to pick 50.”

Asked how important it was to debut the “Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years.” exhibition at Comic Con, Ferreiro replied, “This is where the fans are. Again, the artists are fans and so we wanted to make sure that this was the place that we kicked it off and gave back to them. This is as important for the fans as it is for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.”

Speaking of the fans, Ferreiro believes the continuing popularity of the Star Trek franchise has to do with the appealing, relatable characters. “They kind of touch on so many different things. They deal with race relations…all the things that are still prevalent now that we’re still talking about. I think that people can pick and choose who they feel like represents who they are. They can connect with it and you can find something that feels good to you.”

If you’re unable to make it to downtown San Diego during Comic Con, you may be able to check out the “Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years.” exhibition as it travels to different cities. Following the exhibition in San Diego, the “50 Artists. 50 Years.” exhibit will head to the Star Trek Convention, stopping afterwards in other cities including a multi-week stay at the Paley Center in Los Angeles, CA as well as stops in London and Paris.