C You Saturday! – February 2026

Please join us at ICA San Diego / Central on Saturday, February 21, for the opening of Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya: In the Garden of Earthly Delights: I Bend to Paradise. 

This free art event in San Diego is part of ICA’s commitment to reduce barriers to contemporary art in our community.

Please join us on Saturday, February 21 from 4 to 7pm for the opening reception of Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya: In the Garden of Earthly Delights: I Bend to Paradise at ICA San Diego / Central. This exhibition, Rodriguez Montoya’s first solo museum show in California, is an immersive project that brings Nahuatl cosmology into deep space. Drawing from folklore, border politics, popular culture, and science fiction, Rodriguez Montoya’s exhibition relays the story of a stowaway vampire adrift on the wreckage of a spaceship meant to ferry the privileged into the future. His sculptures and installations, made from disused materials and silicone, trace the vampire’s journey from wholeness to rupture and back again, mirroring the divisiveness, fear, and longing that shape our contemporary moment. 

Visitors are invited to attend Bloodsuckers: Queering the Monstrous Other, a panel discussion considering the vampire as a symbol of both queer and migrant resistance in the face of persecution. Panelists include exhibiting artist Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya; Dr. Brenda Lara, interdisciplinary theorist and professor at San Diego State University; and Los Angeles-based writer and artist Christal Pérez.

Guests will also enjoy a selection of crafted cocktails, some light music, and an opportunity to create art in our Education Hub. 

4 PM – 6:30 PM | Family Friendly Activity: HUB

Visitors will have the opportunity to drop-in and create an all-ages art activity in our Education Hub inside the gallery. 

5:00 – 6:00 PM | Bloodsuckers: Queering the Monstrous Other Panel Discussion

Join us for a panel discussion in the Mingei Theatre where local educators and artists focused on queer vampire theory and the momentum behind Ruben Montoya’s In the Garden of Earthly Delights: I Bend to Paradise. 

4 PM – 7 PM | Food, Drinks and Socializing 

Socialize and explore the exhibition with delicious tacos plates by Bety’s Tacos and crafted cocktails available for purchase. ICA members receive free drink tickets.

Parking

Parking fees range from $5-16 depending on residency status and time in the lot, some lots further from the ICA have the first three hours free. For a map and details about paid parking, visit Balboa Park Parking, accessibility parking and tram services are available in parking lots.

ICA San Diego / Central
1439 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101

February 21, 2026
4:00 – 7:00 PM
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To reduce barriers to contemporary art, these events and exhibitions are free of charge.

ICA San Diego exhibition support provided by:

RSVP HERE

ICA members receive free drink tickets.

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