POW! WOW! San Jose 2019

There are more realities for our San Jose community than the “Silicon Valley” identity we seem to be chasing as our one overall proclamation to the globe that most stakeholders in this city trumpet far and wide. POW! WOW! San Jose (PWSJ) is an internationally renowned week-long arts and culture festival that provides public art/installations in various neighborhoods since 2017. As PWSJ, we believe in the power of public art to help build strong communities and create a sense of pride and place. Our goal is to highlight the cultural diversity of San Jose through the gathering of global and local artists engaging the broader community in the process of creation. We live here, create here, and serve our community as locals who are passionate about enhancing the artistic and cultural experience in our city. For 2019,we are incredibly proud of PWSJ and the impact it created in South San Jose and other neighborhoods. Thank you to all the artists, volunteers, community members and civic leaders to help make this a special experience! A special "thank you" to Council member Sergio Jimenez and his team from District 2 who truly understand the power of public art in creating community. The D2 team worked tirelessly and showed us what strong partnerships can help us accomplish by providing funding support, introductions to property owners, and community outreach in a part of San Jose often overlooked when it comes to public art. By choosing to champion an arts organization, Council member Jimenez helped add 9 murals in a Distict that previously only had 1 mural. Video by @ekhocreative