San Jose Arts Groups Get $1 Million to Fund Projects

This is pretty substantial news. Five Bay Area arts organizations were selected for national grants. 1st ACT Silicon Valley and ZER01 each collected $500k, meaning that San Jose raked in more arts-related funds than either SF or Berkeley from this program.

I'm particularly excited about what 1stACT is planning to do with their grant. Read below!

San Jose, CA: 1stACT Silicon Valley

The development of Gore Park into an urban plaza and outdoor living room in the SoFA (South First Area) district of downtown San Jose will connect four significant local arts institutions and advance the evolution of Silicon Valley's urban center. The Park is the capstone of a project that includes the ArtPlace-supported ZER01, transforming the SoFA district and leveraging more than $60 million in City of San Jose redevelopment funds.

"The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art has been committed to the SoFA district for more than 30 years. This project will allow us to extend our programming and our motto, 'make art here,' beyond the walls of the building to activate the entire district." - Cathy Kimball, Executive Director, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art

"SoFA is beginning to pop and transforming Gore Park will take the work that's been done to a new level." - Connie Martinez, Managing Director/CEO, 1stACT Silicon Valley

"The transformation of Gore Park into an 'outdoor living room' for the arts organizations in SoFA will create a unique gathering place in downtown San Jose for both residents and visitors. It will leverage the investment that the City and our partners have made in cultivating a vibrant arts and entertainment district in the Downtown and realize a major element of the vision for SoFA." - Kim Walesh, Director of the Office of Economic Development, City of San Jose

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Joshua Russell

Director of Communications & Emerging Initiatives

1stACT Silicon Valley

408-200-2020 ext. 104

1st Act's Vision for Downtown San Jose