Cruise Control
March 13 – June 19, 2027
EPACENTER
An exhibition exploring Bay Area car culture through mobility, identity, craftsmanship, survival, and the ways we travel through changing landscapes
Monday–Friday 12 p.m.–7 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Appointments are recommended. Please email jennifer@epacenterarts.org to schedule your visit.
ADA Accessible
This exhibition has interactive elements built in, and there are art-making materials available for all to enjoy.
Cruise Control is a multidisciplinary exploration of the automobile as object, symbol, and lived experience. Through photography, video, sound, installation, and found materials, the exhibition considers the many roles cars play in our lives, as expressions of identity and craftsmanship, markers of freedom and mobility, vessels of memory, and, at times, places of refuge.
Rooted in East Palo Alto and San Mateo County, Cruise Control draws inspiration from the region’s rich car culture and from the people who collect, customize, repair, restore, and care for their vehicles. Cars become extensions of personal style, family history, technical knowledge, and creative practice: a teenager’s first experience of independence, a family’s weekend ritual of washing and waxing, or the accumulated expertise of a mechanic who has spent decades perfecting a craft.
The exhibition also looks beyond the car itself to the landscape through which it moves. East Palo Alto sits amid some of the Bay Area’s busiest transportation corridors, yet it is too often experienced by outsiders simply as a place to pass through. Cruise Control reverses that perspective, inviting audiences to stop, look closely, and encounter the people, aesthetics, histories, and creative life of the city.
At the same time, the exhibition considers the contradictions embedded in automobile culture: the freedom cars can provide alongside their environmental impact; the pleasure of collecting and customization alongside questions of affordability and access; and the intimacy of the automobile as personal space, including for those who rely on a vehicle as temporary shelter.
Through accompanying programs exploring car culture, design, sustainability, electric vehicles, clean-air practices, and the future of mobility, Cruise Control expands these questions beyond the gallery. The exhibition asks what our cars reveal about who we are, how we move, what we value, and the communities and landscapes we move through.
Cruise Control is curated by artist Darius Riley, EPACENTER Director of Visual Arts Jennifer Ifil-Ryan, and EPACENTER student artists.
Exhibiting Artists
Darius Riley
Darius Riley, Untitled, nd. Digital CMYK print
EPACENTER
EPACENTER is a multidisciplinary arts and cultural center in East Palo Alto, presenting exhibitions, performances, classes, and creative experiences for people of all ages. We connect artists and communities through opportunities to create, gather, and engage.
Things to Do Around Here
For a great cup of coffee and a special desert, head to Cloud9 coffee, just a short drive away from EPACENTER.
Jose Aviles, Director of Performing Arts, EPACENTER
I recommend grabbing a delicious taco or burrito from the food truck always parked directly opposite EPACENTER. They don’t have a website, but you can trust that it’s amazing!
Jennifer Ifil-Ryan, Director of Visual Arts, EPACENTER
Cooley Landing Park is a nature preserve just a short walk from our building. Take your lunch there for a quiet picnic or some bird-watching.
Fran Astorga, Program Operations Manager, EPACENTER