South FIRST FRIDAY (+ STREET MRKT) Sep 1st, 2023 in Downtown San Jose

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back today with multiple galleries open from at least 5-10pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

In addition to FIRST FRIDAYS it is also a STREET MRKT featuring over 50 artists a beer/fermentation garden, live music, and food trucks.

It all goes down today, September 1st. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. Keep scrolling for a list of artists and food trucks.

South FIRST FRIDAYS presents:

STREET MRKT an indie urban art faire 
5pm–10pm, free admission (spend it with the Artists!).
So. 1st St. between San Carlos & William streets

50+ talented artists gather together out on So. 1st St. transforming the SoFA District into a lively outdoor gallery for the evening. We’ll have stunning paintings, unique sculptures, mesmerizing jewelry, chic fashion and even on the spot experiences like custom poems and the Deep Legends Bus with DJ Dirty Beats . Support our amazing artists and help our local art scene thrive!

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Soloman Acosta
Rebecca Anguian 
Bay Area Glass Institute  (BAGI)
The Blunt Letters
Bolo Vintage
Julianne Bonnet 
Budding Art Foundation
Bungalow Glow Candle Co.
Jarold Cadion Art 
Emmanuel Cervantes-Mejía + Michael Rogan 
Crossroads Trading Co.
Curious Shapes / Brian Corbin
Current Tattooing
Jennifer DeChenne
Lorenz Dumuk 
Eraeon Clothing
Faded Visualz 
Flow State Sound Healing & Arts 
Force129 & Betty Proper 
Luisa Garcia
Glass Scout Studio
Cynthia Gonzalez
Ali Hall 
Hand in Hand Henna 
Higher Fire Clay Space & Gallery
Chris Jalufka
Jodi408
KNS Beauty Essentials
La Madre Bruja 
Land and Sky Fine Art / Joe Mandrick
The Local Creative Show  by StageOne
Frankie McFly 
Julianne McKay
Judit Navratil
Roger O. Jr.
OaxaCali Studios
Tania Okay 
Jean -Luc Pedanou
Leslie Perez Jewelry
Purl Bailey (AKA Marilyn Roaf)
Francisco Ramirez
Random Marks- the Art of Doug Edwards
Art of Joseph Richardson 
Mason Roberts 
Rene Schilling Sears
South Bay Ceramics
Suha Suha
Sujata Tibrewala
VMGC Designs
Heylu Wheat

Live Music:
6:30pm & 8pm: Bloc de la Soul (S 1st St and San Salvador intersection)
5pm–10pm DJ Dirty Beats & the Deep Legends Bus

Flipside Lovers DJs in the beer garden, plus delicious food trucks!

BEER GARDEN & FOOD TRUCKS

On Tap…
Clandestine Brewing
Fox Tale Fermentation

plus…

3 Brothers Kitchen
3 Hermanos Mexican Grill
Akita Gourmet Sushi
Chickn Bros.
Lemongrass Lane

South FIRST FRIDAY (+ STREET MRKT - August 2023)

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week with multiple galleries open from at least 5-10pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

In addition to FIRST FRIDAYS it is also a STREET MRKT featuring over 50 artists a beer/fermentation garden, music, and food trucks.

It all goes down this Friday, August 4th. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. Keep scrolling for a list of artists and food trucks.

Hollywood by Fuquan Divine

South FIRST FRIDAYS presents:

STREET MRKT an indie urban art faire 
5pm–10pm, free admission (spend it with the Artists!).
So. 1st St. between San Carlos & William streets

50 talented artists gather together out on So. 1st St. transforming the SoFA District into a lively outdoor gallery for the evening. We’ll have stunning paintings, unique sculptures, mesmerizing jewelry, chic fashion and even on the spot experiences like custom poems and crystal bowl sound baths. Support our amazing artists and help our local art scene thrive!

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Soloman Acosta
Rebecca Anguiano 
Art of Joseph Richardson 
Purl Bailey (AKA Marilyn Roaf)
Bay Area Glass Institute 
The Blunt Letters / Elle and Micaela
Bolo Vintage
Julianne Bonnet 
Bungalow Glow Candle Co. 
Arely Cardenas
Emmanuel Cervantes-Mejía + Michael Rogan 
Curious Shapes / Bryan Corbin
Crossroads Trading Co.
OaxaCali Studios  / Dario Cruz & Steve Gonzalez
Current Tattooing 
Jennifer DeChenne
Sharon Diebert
Designs by Maureen
Lorenz Dumuk 
Flow State Sound Healing & Arts / Lailani Africa
Force129 & Betty Proper 
Jodi408
Faded Visualz 
Cynthia Gonzalez
Ali Hall 
Hand in Hand Henna 
Ken Harmount
Sydney Hessel 
Higher Fire Clay Space 
KNS Beauty Essentials
Land and Sky Fine Art / Joe Mandrick
The Local Creatives Show by StageOne
Luui Arts /Nhi Nguyen
Frankie Mcfly
Julianne McKay
La Madre Bruja
Ocelote Press / Jhovany De Ala
Jean -Luc Pedanou
Tania Okay + Lotte Van De Walle
Leslie Perez Jewelry
Francisco Ramirez
Random Marks- the Art of Doug Edwards
Mason Roberts Artist
Rene Schilling Sears
South Bay Ceramics
Suha Suha
Eric Vasquez
VG Designs
Heylu Wheat 

Flipside Crew DJs in the beer garden, plus delicious food trucks!

BEER GARDEN & FOOD TRUCKS

On Tap…
Clandestine Brewing
Fox Tale Fermentation
and more...

plus…

3 Brothers Kitchen
3 Hermanos Mexican Grill
Akita Gourmet Sushi
Chickn Bros.

South FIRST FRIDAY (+ SubZERO) - June 2023

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week with multiple galleries (both permanent and temporary) open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

In addition to FIRST FRIDAYS it is also the 14th Annual SubZERO Festival. This spans from 5pm-11pm and includes nonstop live music, a beer garden, food trucks, and hundreds of vendors. The events are related so come and enjoy them both at the same time!

It all goes down this Friday, June 2nd and continues on Saturday, June 3rd. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. Keep scrolling for SubZERO artists, musicians, and food trucks.

FEATURED ARTISTS

1Culture Gallery, Layla Aghaee, Alcala Designs, Rebecca Anguiano, Julie Barrett, Bay Area Glass Institute, Bay Maples Wild California Gardens, Purl Bailey (AKA Marilyn Roaf), The Blunt Letters, Bolo Vintage, Julianne Bonnet, Bungalow Glow Candle Co., Julie Cardenas + Sarah Mahoney, Classic Loot, Bre Contreras, Curious Shapes (Bryan Corbin), Crossroads Trading Co., Current Tattooing, Cypher Dance Company + K408, Nicolaus James Dalton, Jennifer DeChenne, Designs by Maureen, Eleventh Dimension Tattoo Arts (Ron Earhart , D-Rock, Michael Ascarie, Amber Joy) , Eraeon Designs, Ruben Escalante, Faded Visualz, Flow State Sound Healing & Arts,, Force129 + Betty Proper, Francisco Franco, Game Dev Club of SJSU, Cynthia Gonzalez, Heiko Greb, Hand in Hand Henna, Haptic Synapsis, Andrew Heine, Higher Fire Clay Space, House of Inanna Belly Dance Troupe, InterKinetic by SJSU CADRE, thejemalshow, Jodi408, La Madre Bruja, Lady of the Ocean Crafts, Land and Sky Fine Art, Trisha Leeper Productions, Rene Lorraine, Valentino Loyola + Inside Out Clothing, Luui Arts, Frankie Mcfly, Julianne McKay, Rayos Magos, Nicole Margaret, Laurus Myth, nizzotes, Ocelote Press (Jhovany De Ala), OaxaCali Studios (Dario Cruz + Steve Gonzalez), Tania Okay, Gianfranco Paolozzi + Emmanuel Cervantes-Mejía, Francisco Ramirez, Random Marks the Art of Doug Edwards, Joseph Richardson, Mason Roberts Artist, Rene Schilling-Sears, StageOne Creative Space, Suha Suha, Sujata Tibrewala, Eric Vasquez, VMGC Designs, Heylu Wheat

LIVE MUSIC

—> DAY 1: FIRST FRIDAY, JUNE 2nd

MAIN Stage

(South 1st St. btwn San Carlos & San Salvador St.)

with Stage Poet & Emcee “Mighty” Mike McGee

6:15pm Douglas Von Irvin’s Carnival 

Unique brand of Rock & Roll called “Monster Garage Pop”

7:30pm Silent Pictures

A mix of beachy reverb-jangle, big choruses, swirling strings & more

8:45pm Hyperdrive Kittens

Punkabilly, Burlesque Pop Punk originals. #GlitterPunk

10:00pm O’Craven

High-charged Celtic Pirate Rock

BEER GARDEN Stage

(Located at the corner of S. 1st St. and William St.)

7:00-7:45pm In the Ponds (San Jose)

Instrumental post-rock with ambient vibes and a shot of heavy blues. 

With great music provided by Flipside Crew from 5-11pm

featuring Dougie, Jswizza, No Way Jose & Notorious P.I.G.

—> DAY 2: SATURDAY, JUNE 3rd

Main Stage:

(South 1st St. btwn San Carlos & San Salvador St.)

with Stage Poet & Emcee “Mighty” Mike McGee

6:15pm Mothers Against the Future

MATF is a 3 piece hard rock band that combines elements of grunge, punk, and friendship

7:30pm Dogcatcher

Combines elements of indie rock, soul music, and Americana.

8:45pm Mayya

Inspired by anyone who is unapologetically themselves and aspires to create a positive environment through her melodic, energetic music.

10:00pm The Trims

Indie/Dance/Post-Punk 

—> Beer Garden Stage:

(Located at the corner of S. 1st St. and William St.)7:00-7:45pm Swords of Fatima (Los Angeles)

Many worlds converge into their sound morphing your ideas of Rock or Punk

With great music provided by Flipside Crew from 5-11pm

featuring Dougie, Jswizza, No Way Jose & Notorious P.I.G. 

BEER GARDEN & FOOD TRUCKS

On Tap…

Camino Brewing Co.

Fox Tale Fermentation

21st Amendment Brewing

and more...

plus…

3 Brothers Kitchen

3 Hermanos Mexican Grill

Akita Gourmet Sushi

Chickn Bros.

Road Dogs

South FIRST FRIDAY - May 2023

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week with multiple galleries (both permanent and temporary) open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

It all goes down this Friday, May 6th. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. 

South FIRST FRIDAY - April 2023

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week with multiple galleries (both permanent and temporary) open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

One special stop on the art crawl I'd like to highlight this month is Opera San Jose. They are celebrating the launch of Puccini's Tosca and will have a rare sneak peek at rehearsals during South FIRST FRIDAYS! Performances will take place at 5:45pm, 6:45pm, and 7:45pm.

It all goes down this Friday, April 7th. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. 

South FIRST FRIDAY - March 2023

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week with multiple galleries (both permanent and temporary) open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across three different districts. I would also suggest stopping by the Unzipped Pavillion at 320 S. First Street. One of the coolest pieces of urban art in San Jose has been locking behind a chain-link fence for most of it's existence and it appears to finally be accessible to the public as part of the San Jose Winter Jazz Fest gallery. This space will eventually be used for a high-rise project, so check it out before it's too late!

It all goes down this Friday, March 3rd. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art!

South FIRST FRIDAY - February 2023

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week, kicking off it's 17th year! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

It all goes down this Friday, February 3rd. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art!

South FIRST FRIDAY - December 2022

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, and newcomers Chopsticks Alley Gallery and Natural Do Salon.

Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art!

South FIRST FRIDAY - November 2022

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.

Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art!

South FIRST FRIDAY - October 2022

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. The Street Mrkt urban faire featuring artists, special performances, live music, food trucks, and a beer garden will be running in parallel until 10pm. Two local breweries--Camino Brewing Co. and the Fox Tale Fermentation Project are the stars of the beer garden this month.

Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.

Admission is free and all ages are welcome.

Click here for a preview of featured art and list of all street vendors.

South FIRST FRIDAY - May 2022

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back today. Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.

Participating venues include the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, ANNO DOMINI, The Citadel Art Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.

Click here for a preview of featured art.

South FIRST FRIDAY - April 2022

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from at least 5-9pm. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.

Participating venues include the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, ANNO DOMINI, The Citadel Art Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.

Click here for a preview of featured art.

South FIRST FRIDAYS Tonight

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from 5-9pm, rain or shine. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.

Participating venues include the Institute of Contemporary Art (with an awesome new façade), KALEID Gallery, ANNO DOMINI, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.

South FIRST FRIDAYS - February 2022

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back this week! Galleries (both permanent and temporary) will be open from 5-9pm, rain or shine. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.

Participating venues include the Institute of Contemporary Art (with an awesome new façade), KALEID Gallery, ANNO DOMINI, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, and MACHU PICCHU.

Click here for a preview of featured art.

South FIRST FRIDAYS

With some of the highest vaccination rates in the world (more on that in another post), it's time for San Jose to come back full-force this summer. Today will be the biggest South FIRST FRIDAY since the pandemic started. There are in-person exhibits to enjoy at ANNO DOMINI, Art Ark Gallery, KALEID Gallery, MACHU PICCHU Gallery of the Americas, MACLA, and the SoFA Market. For directions to each gallery and all of the details head over here.

As a side note, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles will be reopening this month with a members and artists weekend on June 11-13 and a full reopening on June 18-20.

South FIRST FRIDAYS

While South FIRST FRIDAYS are technically on hiatus due to COVID-19, there are a mix of in-person and online exhibitions happening this this weekend. Anno Domini, Art Ark Gallery, KALEID, and Works will have all have exhibits open this Friday, roughly around 5-9pm. For more info on what will be showcased, click here.

For a proper night out you can pair that art with an outdoor movie at 3Below Cinemas, a great meal in one of SoFA's trendy eateries, or perhaps a few cocktails at Haberdasher. It's been a rough election week for everyone, I think we deserve a day to remember what normalcy looked like (plus masks of course).

12th Annual SubZERO Festival June 7th & 8th

South FIRST FRIDAYS is hosting an art walk on steroids tomorrow--SubZERO. Over 100 artists, performers, and musicians are participating in the event. Dozens of local arts & crafts vendors will also be there and two stages will host nonstop live music. The event runs from 6pm to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Oh, and admission is free.

For more info, head over here. Hope to see you there!

South FIRST FRIDAYS San Jose art walk

Tomorrow from 7pm-11pm, almost two dozen art galleries will be open late for your enjoyment. Most are clustered in Downtown San Jose's SoFA neighborhood. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. To get a preview of what will be on display, just head over here.

Two special SubZERO events for tonight

As a reminder, tonight is the start of an epic two-day arts festival in SoFA called SubZERO. There are two special events I wanted to quickly highlight:

Works San Jose is having an opening reception for System Overlord between 7pm and 10pm. This project brings together designers are artist who are pushing the limits of print and new media. They always have a compelling showcase and I'm sure their latest collection will not disappoint.

You also have to swing by the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles and check out "Before You Were Born" by Laurie Shapiro. This is an immersive, walk-in exhibit that has an accompanying live performance. The exhibits at this museum continue to become more and more ambitious, and this one sets a new bar! Below are a couple photographs by Octavio Martinez to help you get a feel for the scope of this piece.

Admission is free at all venues, including the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles which normally do charge a fee outside of FIRST FRIDAY events.

The 10th Annual SubZERO Festival is this Fri & Sat!

This weekend, in addition to the monthly South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk, the SoFA district will be celebrating the 10th annual SubZERO Fest. Every year the festival gets bigger and better, and it plays an important role in the neighborhood's culture and identity.

If you're not familiar with South FIRST FRIDAYS, the streets on 1st St south of San Carlos St are closed off to cars during the art walk. This gives an opportunity for local artists and DIY vendors to come together and share their work with the public. People crowd the streets to visit some of their favorite local shops, and artists get a chance to show off their work. Local art galleries are also open a little later so visitors can get a chance to explore.

SubZERO builds on this concept by adding stages for music, inviting many more performance artists, and bringing in 10+ food trucks. To get a sense of what to expect, the video below gives a small taste of the festival in 2016.

If anyone asks me where the indie scene is in the South Bay, I can't imagine a better example. It's still a small scene, it's still growing, it deserves support, and it is most definitely worth checking out. Best of all, it's all free to attend! For more information, check out the website, including the music schedule, the list of artists & vendors, and the art walk map.