Dance in Transit

The weekend of the 18th and 19th continues to become more and more interesting. According to the press release below (thanks DLo for the tip), there will be full 90min modern dance concerts starting at the Convention Center Light Rail. I have no clue how they're going to pull this one off, but I'm definitely curious to find out =). San Jose has plenty of dance talent (google Katee Shean), so it's about time something like this comes together in our neck of the woods.

01SJ: Santana Row Also Gets a Role

Downtown San Jose isn't the only part of San Jose benefiting from the ZER01 festival, Santana Row is getting in on the action as well. Below is the full breakdown on what to expect in the "other downtown."

Be part of the art at Santana Row

SAN JOSE, Calif. (August 25, 2010) – Dreams for the future projected four stories high, ballerinas with musical tutus and a lone piano waiting to be played are some of the unique, interactive art that will be on display at Santana Row during the 2010 01SJ Biennial (01sj.org), a city-wide exhibition of visual and performing arts, public art and digital media.  As a proud sponsor of the Biennial, Santana Row will host three of the dynamic installations and performances.

Play Me I’m Yours

Tickle the ivories with this installation by internationally acclaimed artist Luke Jerram.  From August 28-September 19, Santana Row will host one of 20 pianos placed throughout Silicon Valley, each one free to be enjoyed by anyone who encounters it.  Whether they practice their scales, play a concerto, or just fiddle with the keys, visitors are encouraged to take photos or video of themselves interacting with the pianos and share with the world at 01SJpianos.com.

On Wednesday, September 8, Play Me I’m Yours will be part of Piano Explorations, a special performance by young pianists who will play piano selections ranging from classical to jazz.  Produced by the Steinway Society of the Bay Area and Sherman Clay Pianos of Santa Clara, members of the audience will be encouraged to duet with the young artists on Luke Jerram’s installation.  Piano Explorations takes place September 8 at 6 p.m. in Park Valencia.

offscript (pictured right)

From September 14-19, the glass façade of Santana Row’s newest building, 300 Santana Row, will become a massive canvas for this interactive video installation by artist Christopher Baker that asks the question: what happens when individuals reject a future scripted for them and move offscript? 

Participants are encouraged to submit responses to the question, “What is your dream for the future?” in 140 characters or less.  Answers can be submitted by email, text message or voicemail (408-634-4436), Twitter (#offscript) or Facebook (offscript).  Answers may also be sketched and submitted at www.offscript.org.  To see the story that unfolds as these responses are projected across the façade of 300 Santana Row, stop by September 14 -19 from approximately 7:30 p.m. – Midnight.

For full details on participating in offscript, visit offscript.org.

Audio Ballerinas

In this site-specific collaboration between Ballet San Jose and artist Benoît Maubrey, dancers from Ballet San Jose will wear solar-powered, plexiglass tutus that have been equipped with microphones and speakers that record and play back the sound patterns of their movements and their environment. Using photovoltaic sensors, sounds emitted from Audio Ballerinas change according to the intensity of light, enabling these world-class dancers to translate their movements directly into sound.  Santana Row will host two performances of Audio Ballerinas on Saturday, September 18. (Times and location to be announced; visit santanarow.com for the schedule.)

For more information on these interactive works of art, visit 01sj.org or santanarow.com.

About ZER01’s 01SJ Biennial

San Jose-based ZER01 has served as a catalyst and platform for the world’s most innovative artists since 2000. The nonprofit focuses on inspiring creativity at the intersection of art, technology and digital culture.  As producer of the 01SJ Biennial, a multidisciplinary, multi-venue event of visual and performing arts, the moving image, public art and interactive digital media, ZER01 has showcased the work of 350 artists from more than 40 countries using such media as GPS-equipped pigeons, interactive platform shoe devices, mobile phone and surveillance technologies.

A celebrated success in the region, the two previous  01SJ Biennial in 2006 and 2008 attracted 65,000 visitors and generated $15 million in economic revenue for San Jose. Between biennials–the 2010 01SJ Biennial takes place Sept. 16-19, 2010–ZER01 nurtures Silicon Valley’s cultural landscape with events such as the SubZERO Festival, produced in partnership withSoFA, which drew 10,000 people to downtown San Jose.

About Santana Row

Santana Row is a one-of-a-kind neighborhood that blends a distinctive mix of living, shopping, dining and entertainment.  Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santana Row features 563,000 square feet of retail, an international array of restaurants, a 213-room European-style boutique hotel and six-screen arts theatre, all surrounded by meticulously landscaped gardens, parks and plazas.  Above the retail pedestal are 514 residential units, featuring a fitness center and resort-style pool.  Santana Row is a property of Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. 

World Expo 2020 (The World's Fair) in Silicon Valley?

There was a lot of buzz last week when the Governator announced Silicon Valley's candidacy for the 2020 World Expo at the current 2010 Expo in Shanghai. There is entirely different from the "Bay Area" Expo that is also in the running for 2020 and would be based out of San Francisco (which has already hosted the Expo twice). Arnold's pitch was squarely focused around the world's leader in innovation and technology, Silicon Valley/San Jose.

Of course I'm biased, but I couldn't think of a more appropriate venue for 2020. It's a very "futurish" sounding year. As children we all probably imagined having robots clean up after us and driving around in flying cars by then. Who knows, that still may be the case... but whatever technology the future brings, there is a great chance it'll be coming from here. As an added bonus, we have one of the most statistically diverse ethnic populations on the planet for any large city (even more than SF), an extremely safe and clean city, and relatively good infrastructure.

A Wold Expo would no doubt be a huge boon to the area. I've only had a chance to attend one of them, Expo 98 in Lisbon, Portugal. I remember seeing billions of dollars worth of international pavilions, world-class museums, one of the best aquariums in the world, and incredible public art. That also happened to be one of the first Expos where they didn't tear most of it down afterward, they were able to re-purpose all of that development into one of the nicest parts of Lisbon today. The museums and public art are still there, along with new restaurants, hundreds of shops, and dense housing for 100,000+ people.

A great local example of how a World Expo can transform a city is Seattle in 1962. The most iconic symbol representing Seattle, The Space Needle, was built specifically for the World' Fair. Accompanying it was a monorail, what is now the Pacific Science Center, the current Seattle Center, and even the Experience Music Project was designed to fit in with the Expo atmosphere.

So let's get involved and do everything possible to bring Expo 2020 to Silicon Valley!

Barry Swenson Hoping to Build a Pair of 14-Story Apartment Towers on North 1st St.

A recent article in the Silicon Valley Business Journal announced Barry's desire to build 440 apartment units near Skyport Drive on First. These units would be spread across 2 towers, and accompanied by 10,000sqft of retail on the ground floor. This would be a great first step in the city's grand vision to build a walkable and transit oriented secondary "downtown" all along North 1st Street. The overall plan would include 32,000 new housing units and a staggering 27 million sqare feet of office space.

The main roadblock to getting Barry's project approved is that he doesn't have the needed building allocations. When the economy was rocking in 2008, the city gave allocations to various developers to kick start the vision for North First. Unfortunately Barry Swenson wasn't able to get the allocations back then because his financing fell through. Now that he has $100m ready to go for this new development, he doesn't have the allocations... ouch. He's now lobbying the city to redistribute the allocations so that developers that are ready to build can get their projects started. I hope he's able to convince the city council!

For the full story, head over to this SVSJBJ article. Unfortunately, you'll need a paid subscription to access this one, but it's a damn good publication so it's worth it.

Steel Magnolia Coming to Ruffled Feathers Eatery!

One of country music's hottest bands is coming to do a special lunchtime performance at Ruffled Feathers in Downtown San Jose next Wednesday, September 15th! Steel Magnolia will be meeting with fans and playing 4 or 5 songs between noon and 1pm... this is open to anyone. However, if you listen to 95.3 KRTY you can also participate in a contest that will give 30 lucky winners the chance to enjoy a free lunch with the band. Just listen to Gary & July in the morning for more details (can also go to this web link). Even if you don't win, remember that the performance and meet & greet are open to everyone!

01SJ: Oglala Oyate (Sister City Cam)

Another cool 01SJ public art piece that will be up during the festival is called Oglala Oyate and will provide a look at what our sister cities are up to around the globe. I wouldn't mind if this one was up all year round. You can find it at the corner of San Carlos and 1st Street on the side of the UFCW Local 5 building.

The Usuals Expansion + Streetbot

While is hasn't been around for very long, The Usuals (1020 The Alameda) has already expanded into an adjacent space allowing for more clothing/accessories, new dressing rooms, and plenty more local art. Another bit of interesting news is that they're partnering up with Treatbot (Awesome Karaoke Ice Cream Truck) on a new concept called Streatbot, which you can think of as a food truck without the food and with lots of local clothing and art instead. Here are some pics from the last party the Usuals threw (What's that? The clothing stores you shop at don't throw parties with free food and music? Maybe it's time to find a new clothing store).