11 murals around Downtown San Jose

It's great to see some occasional new posts from SJ Today. Their latest features 11 murals from around Downtown San Jose. Most are within easy walking of biking distance from one another. I highly recommend checking them out.

Second installation of Sharks mural in East San Jose

A new mural has been commissioned by the San Jose Sharks called "Recuerdos de Este" or "Memories of the East." The 35-foot mural is inspired by other East San Jose public art displays and is one of a seven-mural project sponsored by the Sharks Community Connections Project and Local Color.

You can find the colorful mural at the Latino Business Foundation at 1652 Alum Rock.

Source: SVBJ

Stunning street mural headed to San Pedro Square

There were a few silver linings that emerged from the pandemic. The closing of San Pedro Street between Santa Clara and St. John was a big one for me--and it recently became permanent.

Now that the street has been reclaimed for pedestrians, diners, and shoppers on one of the most popular Downtown districts--the gray asphalt simply won't do. Local groups are going to transform it into a colorful mural that reflects the vibrancy and diversity of San Jose this Memorial Day weekend. In order to bring this block-length mural to life, hundreds of San Joseans will participate in painting the mural.

The San Jose Downtown Association, Adobe, and Local Color all partnered together to organize this epic project which will result in what I think will be the largest and longest mural in Northern California and one of the largest in the United States at over 12,000 SQFT. It will be an attraction in and of itself and one more reason to dine outside this summer at San Pedro Square.

Thinking a few steps ahead, it would be great to expand the amount of retail along the first floor of the San Pedro Square parking garage. I think the MOMENT shops in the garage have been a great addition to the area and now that the street will look this interesting, we have to get more activity opposite of our Downtown restaurant row.

Source: SVBJ

Little Portugal San Jose Mural

San Jose's Little Portugal has been in the news quite a bit lately since it will be one of the four new stops in BART's $12 billion extensions to Downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. I'll have some updates (and criticisms) on a large development project for the area sometime next week. The neighborhood is also known for ADEGA, San Jose's first and only Michelin Star restaurant which is about to convert to a more casual concept to mirror it's sister restaurant in Downtown San Jose, Petiscos. 

Heading into a beautiful weekend, I thought I'd share a mural that I just found out about from a cousin that would like to stay anonymous. This is near Bacalhau Grille, a casual Portuguese and Brazilian restaurant at 1555 Alum Rock. It prominently features Five Wounds Portuguese National Church which has been around for 110 years. You can't miss the church's two red peaks driving along 101, Santa Clara Street, or Alum Rock. 

Towards the top it features the flags of the United States, Portugal, Brazil, and the Azores (autonomous region of Portugal). It's a cute little neighborhood that will get a whole lot busier after the BART station is built.

Stunning animated murals by San Jose Storyboard

I missed the SoFA Block Party and didn't get to see the insane animated mural that San Jose Storyboard put together. The picture below doesn't do it justice, you have to watch the short video to see what the mural was actually like. I also love their mission statement:

"Our mission is to transform Downtown San Jose into a global epicenter of artistic innovation and creativity. Through pioneering immersive public art, we showcase large-scale illuminated, animated, and projection-mapped murals and landmarks that pay homage to our city's heritage while pushing the limits of creative expression.

By seamlessly blending art with urban spaces, we strive to ignite the imagination of both residents and visitors alike, fostering an inclusive and vibrant community that celebrates the profound power of artistic storytelling. Together, we aspire to establish Downtown San Jose as an inspiring destination that not only connects people but leaves an indelible and transformative impact on all who encounter its extraordinary art scene."

Vibrant, dynamic, interactive, digital art is really how the San Jose art scene can stand out. We don't need a sea of skyscrapers to be a global city. However, a thriving art scene that is unique and compliments the innovative spirit of our region will go a long way to giving a sense of place to Silicon Valley.

New Downtown San Jose mural celebrates AAPI achievements

You can find a beautiful new mural honoring Asian American Pacific Islanders on the side of Pono Hawaiian Grill at 86 N. Market Street. The shark is not-so-suble nod to San Jose. In the upper left you'll see the message Malama Aina which means "care for the land." This is more appropriate and resonant today than ever. 

The artwork was sponsored by the San Jose Downtown Association and the work was done by artist Taylor Reinhold assisted by Erik Smiley and Casey Landaker. You can watch the artists at work below with a 1 minute making-of video.

Mural Festival adding nine new works of art along the Guadalupe River Park!

Between April 30th and May 8th, the SJ Walls mural festival will result in nine new murals along the Guadalupe River Park painted by 17 artists. The event even includes an art show, live painting, a pop-up market, and a mural tour ride.

The murals around Downtown San Jose mean a lot to me personally as the first date with my now fiancé was actually a mural tour on a pedicab ride (shout out to Eco City Cycles for enabling the best first date ever).

As part of the festival, there will be an art reception and gallery soft opening at Empire Seven Studios on April 30th between 7pm and 10pm. The actual painting will take place between May 1st and May 8th, with a pop-up shop at Cukui. Live painting open to all will take place on May 1st at Citadel Studios. And last but not least, there will be a bike tour hosted by SJ Bike Party and the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition on May 7th.

For more info, the full press release is below.

MURAL FESTIVAL ADDS NINE NEW ARTWORKS 

ALONG THE GUADALUPE RIVER PARK

SJ WALLS AND THE GUADALUPE RIVER PARK CONSERVANCY IS BUILDING THE BAY AREA’S LONGEST PUBLIC ART CORRIDOR

April 30 - May 8, 2022; San Jose, CA: SJ Walls (formerly POW! WOW! San Jose) returns as a mural festival bringing 17 local artists to paint nine new murals along the Guadalupe River Park in downtown San Jose. The event includes an art show at Empire Seven Studios gallery soft opening, live painting by artists, a pop-up market, and a mural tour ride. This internationally renowned public art and culture festival embarks on its fifth year this April 30 – May 8, 2022, and will be the first festival among the worldwide network to center the murals along a natural waterway.

Originating in Hawaii in 2010, Worldwide Walls Festivals happen in over 20 cities around the world. SJ Walls is produced by Empire Seven Studios, a team of local cultural curators who specialize in producing public art in San Jose that you know and love. To date, they have added over 70 murals and public art installations across San Jose and Santa Clara County. 

The mural festival continues the partnership with the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy (GRPC), an organization in existence for over 25 years, providing community leadership for the active use and development of the Guadalupe River Park.

The goal of the initiative, Guadalupe River Art Walk, is to inspire a shared vision of the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens as a natural public art gallery by creating a series of new art installations that become a permanent cultural destination in downtown San Jose. With a robust collection of existing artworks and opportunities for future murals in and around the Guadalupe River Park, the Art Walk aims to highlight underrepresented and evolving stories of community, resilience, and inspiration.

Notable  Calendar  Events (Subject to change):

• Saturday, April 30: 7:00-10:00pm:

“This is the Way” – Art Show at Empire Seven Studios

Opening reception of the main art show at Empire Seven Studios featuring the artists of SJ Walls.

Located at 525 N 7th Street, Suite 10.

On view between April 30th - May 20, 2020

• Sunday, May 1 to Sunday, May 8 (sunrise to one hour before sunset):

Mural painting and installations in the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens by all SJ

Walls artists.

SJ Walls pop-up shop at Cukui, open daily except Mondays. Located at 229 Jackson

Street

• Sunday, May 1 (sunrise to one hour before sunset):

Happy Little Trees

Meeting of the Minds Collective artists from Citadel Studios will be setting up their easels at different locations within the park and painting just for the fun of it. Open for anyone to join!

• Saturday, May 7:

Tour Ride with SJ Bike Party and Silicon Valley Bike Coalition

Experience the Guadalupe River Park Gardens on one or two wheels through cycling, skateboarding, roller skating, or riding a scooter!

Pop up market with SJ Makers

Local market bringing the community together by uplifting small businesses, artists & musicians

 

 

SJ Walls and the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy are grateful for the support and partnerships of Applied Materials, Anne and Mark’s Art Party, County of Santa Clara (Supervisor Otto Lee and Supervisor Cindy Chavez) City of San Josè’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department, Beautify SJ, Cresco, Exhibit Jtown, FOMO MOFO, Kelly Moore Paints, Montana Cans, San Jose Conservation Corp/Resilience Corp, San Jose Downtown Association, Groundwerx, Team San Jose, Valley Water, and YBCA for their commitment to arts, culture, and public space in San Jose. For more information about how to donate or to become a sponsor, please visit https://sjwalls.com/donate

 

For more information on SJ Walls contact info@sjwalls.com or visit www.sjwalls.com

 

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About SJ Walls:

SJ Walls (formally POW! WOW! San Jose), established in 2017, is Northern California’s regional branch of the Worldwide Walls network of festivals happening in over 20 cities around the world. Led locally by the Empire Seven Studios collective —a contemporary urban art gallery and cultural institution in Japantown, San Jose, California.

Over the past five years, SJ Walls has grown into a premiere art festival with a line up and experience that rivals some of the best in the world. Much more than a multi-day festival, SJ Walls is also a vehicle to celebrate  San Jose’s  past, present, and future creative culture.

To date, SJ Walls has produced over 70 murals and visual art installations throughout San Jose, with a focus on overlooked places in our city. Our goal is to strengthen community ties by bringing local and worldwide contemporary art to San Jose to highlight the diversity our city has to offer.

 

 

About GRPC:

The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy (GRPC) provides community leadership for the development and active use of the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens through education, advocacy, and stewardship. 

This two-and-a-half mile ribbon of parkland runs along the banks of the Guadalupe River in the heart of downtown San Jose. The River Park serves as a north/south connector and contains beloved features such as the Guadalupe River Trail, the Rotary PlayGarden, the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, and various public art including the Guadalupe River Art Walk.

Programming within the park includes educational opportunities, volunteerism, and a variety of year-round events for the public to enjoy. For more information visit www.grpg.org

New Mural in San Pedro Square

It has been a rough month and we could all probably use something colorful to brighten our day. The San Pedro Square Paseo next to the Modera apartment project has a beautiful new mural highlighting the buildings that make up San Pedro Square. Even the Old Spaghetti Factory has a spot.

Lila Gemellos is the muralist and it's worth checking out next time you are in the area.

Source: SJNewKid from the San Jose Development Forum

New Shark mural by famous artist

The Modera apartment complex on the Alameda near Whole Foods now has one heck of a mural. The graffiti artist Nychos has brought his unique style to San Jose with a 100-foot long mural that shows the anatomy of a shark with the city in the background. It's an interesting and eye-catching design.

The project is called "Bleeding Teal" and was a collaboration between Empire Seven Studios in Japantown, Mighty, SAP, and Modera.

Source: SVBJ

New mural near City Hall

The corner of Third and East Santa Clara Street has gotten a beautiful new mural commissioned by the City. Enso bar and nightclub was willing to host the mural and even prepped the wall for the artists. The whole process of painting the mural was captured in the short video below.

Source: SJ Economy Blog

PWSJ 2018 Honors San Jose’s Historical “Speed City” with 10+ New Murals, Public Art Installations, Music Exhibitions, and More

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Oct. 9, 2018 – POW! WOW! San Jose 2018 ushers in its second annual week-long arts and culture festival spotlighting street art and music in Downtown San Jose on October 17-28, 2018.

This year’s festival is inspired by San Jose’s long history of activism and local cultural pride. Fifty years ago, San Jose State University track stars John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists at the 1968 Summer Olympics to show solidarity with those fighting for human rights. This year’s festival will honor this source of local pride, and artists will showcase their talent and passion for their art and culture throughout the week.

“While the Silicon Valley is traditionally known for its innovation in technology, the City of San José is an equally rich community of culture, art and music,” said Council member Raul Peralez, San José Council District 3. “Working with POW! WOW! San José, we are thrilled to turn San José into a city-wide artists’ canvas, showcasing art in action and transforming our City alongside the community.”

2018 MURALISTS

POW! WOW! San Jose 2018 is honored to welcome the following artists who will share their talents throughout Downtown San Jose and surrounding San Jose neighborhoods.

SILICON VALLEY AND BAY AREA ARTISTS

San Jose: Sean Boyles, Drew Flores, Abel Gonzalez, Ivan Gonzalez, J.Duh, Frances Marin, Harumo Sato, Nikkea Takagi, Roan Victor

San Francisco/Peninsula: Apexer, Knits for Life, t.w.five

Oakland/East Bay: Felicia Gabaldon, Illuminaries, Skinner, UrbanAztec

VISITING ARTISTS – U.S.

Hawaii: Cory Taum

Los Angeles: Shrine, Woes

New York: How and Nosm

San Diego: Spenser Little

VISITING ARTISTS – INTERNATIONAL

Canada: 123KLAN

Iran: ICY and SOT

Japan: Dragon76

South Korea: Sixcoin

BUSINESS + ART JOIN TOGETHER

Pride in San Jose’s rich culture is not unique to the organizers of POW! WOW! San Jose. Many businesses throughout the Silicon Valley are supporting the festival through donations of supplies, lodging and funding. With the help of organizations such as Visit San Jose, a Community Partner, and The Silicon Valley Organization that represents over 1,400 businesses in the Bay Area, art in action will come to life during the festival.

“POW! WOW! San Jose continues to bring both businesses and community together to create a world-class event that showcases the heart of Silicon Valley,” said Matthew Mahood, President & CEO, The Silicon Valley Organization. “A city’s art and culture serves as its identity and offers its residents a way to connect. The SVO and our members applaud the work POW! WOW! San Jose is doing to showcase our city’s greatest strength: our diversity.”

2018 festival sponsors include: Cresco, Eastridge Center, Google, Hawaiian Airlines, Hyatt Place, Iguanas Burritozilla, Kelly-Moore Paints, Knight Foundation, City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), The Silicon Valley Organization, Visit San Jose, and more.

“As a local business headquartered in the Bay Area, we take pride in the beauty our paints can bring to the world in the hands of artists – whether those artists are homeowners, teachers, or muralists like those sharing their talents through POW! WOW! San Jose,” said Jasmine Hatch, regional learning and development specialist - South Bay, Peninsula and Central Coast, Kelly Moore Paint Co. “With our contribution of paint for the murals, we are thrilled that Kelly Moore will have a direct tie to the remarkable works of art that will live on in our City.”

Gensler is hosting "Scratch"

UPDATE: This event is being rescheduled. Stay tuned for the new date.

Gensler, a leading architecture and design firm, is hosting an event today for local makers and creatives called Scratch. The goal is to connect designers, architects, and Gensler clients with the local artistic community. The guest speaker is Bay Area artist Aaron de La Cruz, a painter that specializes in graffiti writing and street art, especially patterned murals.

The event takes place at 5pm today at 225 West Santa Clara Street, Suite 1100.

San Jose street art map

Brian Eder created a handy map showing you were to find murals and significant street art installations throughout San Jose. Now that everyone is walking around collecting imaginary pets, you might as well incorporate some of these murals into your walks. Many of these works are very impressive and and several were painted just in the last two years.

Source: “Find Beauty in the Streets of San Jose this Summer” by Cherri Lakey KQED Arts

Mural by Ian S. Young (Photo by Cherri Lakey)

Mural by Jeffrey Hemming (Photo by Brian Eder)

Mural by Galen Oback (Photo by Cherri Lakey)

Mural by Jamie Friedman & Notre Dame H.S. (Photo by Brian Eder)

Mural by LAuruS Myth (Photo by Cherri Lakey)

Street print design by Scape Martinez (Photo by Cherri Lakey)

Mural by Nosego (Photo by Cherri Lakey)

New Mural in Fountain Alley

A 140-foot long mural called "Phylum of the Free" has recently been completed in Downtown San Jose's Fountain Alley. The artist is Jeff Hemming, an instructor at at UC Santa Cruz. The work blankets the side of Lido Nightclub and bring some much-needed character to the area. The $20,000 project was funded by the DA's office, Lido, the San Jose Downtown Association, and Republic Services.

Source: The Merc

New Mural called "Little Moment" in Japantown

Japantown is building quite a collection of impressive murals. The latest one is called "Little Moment" and is located at 140 Jackson Street (on the side of Nichi Bei Bussan). The giant mural was done by Nosego, a Philadelphia based artist known for colorful and emotive public art. What do you guys think?

Source: Hi-Fructose

New 150-Foot-Long Mural in San Jose

The fact that a mural this size can be completed in 5 days is pretty astounding. Check out some "making of" photos over here and the full description from Empire Seven Studios below.

From Empire Seven Studios:

Andrew Schoultz new mural in San Jose, CA

A couple weekends ago, we brought out Andrew Schoultz to San Jose, CA to paint a large scale mural. Completed in 5 days measuring at 150ft long x 24ft tall, this is the 11th mural part of the E7SWallSJ Project.

Below is an statement by the artist:
"Generally speaking, my approach to murals happens somewhat spontaneously and organically on location of the mural. I enter in with general ideas, and maybe an initial starting point image. In this case I wanted to begin with the idea of the vessel. To be more specific a vessel on its side or tipped over. A vessel's purpose is to carry water. In this picture there is not much water falling from the vessel, instead there appears dust clouds instead. I try very hard to incorporate social and political ideas into my public works, but I strive to keep it on a subtle level, that encourages a viewer to think about the picture and arrive at their own conclusion. Obvious political and social messages in public art and murals becomes nothing more than a message that preaches to the choir, and eliminates a viewer who does not subscribe to those particular politics or social messages from even considering or thinking about what they see.

With this particular mural, that I am loosely titling "Empty Vessel"  the underlying theme without being too obvious or didactic has to do with the water crisis that California is currently facing. To make a long story short, this is a catastrophic problem. Technically California has been considered in a drought for nearly 6 years, and no one really seems to care on any sort of mainstream level. Its typical in America for there to be huge problems going on, and as long as they do not effect our day to day life, they seem to be easily Ignored. So then comes in the huge Beast, or monster that appears in the mural. Perhaps the idea of there being a giant monster in the room that no one wants to talk about or deal with is a good description of this water crisis. The idea of outer space is also incorporated, in kind of a loose tongue and cheek sort of way, in that there is no water on the moon or in outer space for that matter, and outer space and the moon
are not inhabitable places. Living things cannot exist… etc.

On purely aesthetic level, I do also try to create walls that are fun to look at and create a dynamic experience for a viewer in the public space. I try to push forward with new and exciting painting techniques every time I do a wall. In this case I used a paint sprayer in ways I have never used one before…"

-Andrew Schoultz