Join us for the FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + STREET MRKT indie urban art faire for new exhibitions in the galleries, live performances in music venues and amazing local artists ready to share their work and meet their creative community!
Bring friends and family for a unique night out in downtown. Stroll through all the exhibits hosted by downtown’s best galleries, and then enjoy STREET MRKT as it transforms S. 1st St. into an open air gallery full of incredible hyper-local artists. Let’s come together to ensure that the arts, creativity and community thrive!
FIRST FRIDAYS ArtWalk: September 5th 5–9pm.
STREET MRKT: First Friday September 5th 5pm–10pm
Admission is free (spend it with the Artists!) and family friendly.
SoFA District
ANNO DOMINI // the second coming of Art & Design – 366 S. First St. map
Opening Reception:
A love letter to all the cars that could have hit me, but didn’t.
Kazland (UK) solo exhibition
A brand new collection of works that I began making during my recovery after being hit by a car last year. The accident itself wasn’t too bad but while I was healing it gave me the chance to work (very carefully) on lots of smaller pieces from my home, everything became more careful, and more meticulous. Using pencils and pastels more than paint became very important while I couldn’t move so much. Since then I’ve kept with the same way of working in a more considered fashion, and stepping back from what I’m doing to feel out the next moves.
The collection focuses on the relationship between mortality and magic – and how we shouldn’t try to control the world around us.
“Waiting for the swamp to float back to earth – feeding on whatever lands first.
a cabin built from the leftovers, the collection above the fire is nearly complete.
Decorated with only the rarest flowers and jewels from the riverbed we wait our turn.
Through the gate – choose your own adventure – third times a charm.
Burnt into the stone, I can see what you were trying to do.
She’s made of shadows – you’ll never catch her – go live in the tree (starve on acorns)
Trapped in the barn we made from spent matches. The door doesn’t open – It doesn’t have to.”
About the Artist:
Kazland, born Callum J. Buckland, 1990, is a self taught, mixed media artist living and working in the south of England. A process based artist, rarely working with a plan, he starts each piece letting the work guide itself until an idea starts to form, and then pursuing it to the end (or a better idea takes over).
He is known for his distinctive mixed-media works that blend abstraction, symbolism and narrative. Kazland’s draws his influences from folk art, outsider art and surrealism. His art is characterised by unconventional shadows, shifting perspectives and bold colour contrasts. He lets each new piece evolve organically, with colours and forms transferring between canvases, reflecting a dynamic exploration of visual language.
KALEID Gallery – 320 S. First St. map
Artist’s Recepton:
Portraits from the Wild
Jeffrey Bramschreiber solo exhibition
The last three years have been very challenging for me with both serious physical and mental challenges to try and overcome. I focused on the world around us and the beings that live there. Kind of immersing myself in nature to try and reconnect not only with it but with myself. These paintings cover some of that ongoing journey .
MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – 510 S. First St. map
Opening Reception:
There Are New Suns
There Are New Suns is an interactive exhibition exploring cultural resilience and gentrification at the intersection of art and technology. Cecelia Perez uses current technology such as animation, augmented reality, and projection mapping. Referencing one of the first forms of animation, the phenakistiscope, Claudia Blanco creates a series of wall sculptures, and Samantha Saldana’s quilted cyanotypes combine craft and technology.
There Are New Suns exhibition opening September 5 with FREE DJ set by The Homegirls of Soul, led by DJ Soulera
Phantom Galleries at The Pierce – 2 Pierce Ave. map
Visual Umami Savory Landscape Photography
Jerry Berkstresser Solo Exhibition
Six different feasts for the eyes to savor, each featuring a nearly six-foot wide panorama for the main course and side dishes of standard sized photographs to complete the menu. Color, black and white, and infrared photographs are on display, each with a unique interpretation of the subject.
Artist will be in attendance 5pm–9pm during First Fridays ArtWalk September 5th.
About the Artist:
Jerry Berkstresser is a contemporary San Jose-based photographer with a life-long passion for photography. He is best known for his creative use of infrared photography that renders water as black, vegetation incandescent white, skies inky black with brilliant white clouds. His panoramas are far wider than standard and capture the viewers attention from afar, inviting a closer examination to reveal the intricate details.
Phantom Galleries “Romance” Mural – Post St. btwn S. 1st St. & Lightston Alley
Romance mural by Danny Feliz Hanson.
Danny Feliz Hanson’s vision for the block long “Romance” mural was to create a meaningful public artwork that expresses love, resilience, and community in San Jose’s LGBTQ+ district, known as the Qmunity District. The mural draws inspiration from Hanson’s experience as a queer artist of color, as well as her connection to nature, cultural heritage, and underrepresented identities. Hanson’s artistic practice is known for bold color and intricate patterns, weaving influences from Aztec art, Mexican folk traditions, and her own explorations of meditative zentangle designs.
Through the city block long “Romance” mural, Hanson aimed to invite viewers to reflect on connection, identity, and the celebratory beauty of diversity. The piece uses vivid, Fauvist-inspired palettes and symbolic imagery to uplift queer and marginalized communities, emphasizing the transformative power of art for communal spaces and identity.
Curated and facilitated by Phantom Galleries.
Supporting artists: Steven Reece & Quynh Vy,
Sponsored by the San Jose Downtown Association.
Phantom Galleries “Urban Abstractions” Mural Project – San Carlos btwn S. Market & S. 2nd St.
Urban Abstractions
featuring artists: Apexer, Emoventur, Force129, Joey Reyes, Gwen Marcado-Reyes, Poesia and NoA–
Seven amazing artists have been painting “Urban Abstractions” murals on the sidewalk planters at the south gateway to SoFA District. These works are a signal to the passersby that we are an arts and culture district with galleries, music venues, residents and businesses that foster creativity and care about inspiring community well being. Stop by and check out this great project by Phantom Galleries in partnership with San Jose Downtown Association.
Opera San José at California Theater – 345 S. First St. map
Join us for South First Friday on September 5th and experience an unforgettable evening of music, adventure, and community at Opera San José.
The historic California Theatre will come alive with performances and activities for all ages. Step into the courtyard and be swept away by the power of live opera arias performed under the evening sky, then feel the magic of The Mighty Wurlitzer as Jerry Nagano fills the theatre with the sound of this extraordinary historic organ. Guests can enjoy complimentary popcorn and drinks throughout the night while embarking on a scavenger hunt that reveals the fascinating history hidden within the theatre itself. Doors open at 5:30 PM—so bring your friends, family, and curiosity, and join us in celebrating South First Friday with a night of music, discovery, and community spirit.
San Jose Jazz – 310 South First St. map
SJZ Break Room Jazz Jam & Michael Webster Quartet
Drop into the SJZ Break Room any time from 6:20–9pm for our free South FIRST FRIDAYS showcase of youth talent, this week featuring a performance by Michael Webster Quartet; followed by a Webster-led, all-ages jazz jam! Michael Webster Quartet performs at 6:20pm and the open, all-ages jazz jam happens from 7–9pm.
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map
Kay Sekimachi: Ingenuity and Imagination
Kay Sekimachi: Ingenuity and Imagination showcases more than 40 works from Berkeley collector Forrest L. Merrill’s comprehensive holdings, that represent every decade of this internationally renowned Bay Area artist’s long career. Sekimachi combined influences from her Japanese heritage and early training in painting and drawing with a thorough exploration and mastery of complex technique.
On view are ethereal hanging sculptures; delicate, origami-like printed artist “books,” bright seamless lidded boxes, abstract textile wall hangings, and weightless bowls and baskets made of Japanese paper and desiccated leaves that push the boundaries of what might be considered a textile. This is a not-to-be-missed chance to see the full scope of this pioneering artist’s work.
Virginia Davis: Art and Illusion
Virginia Davis: Art and Illusion Master weaver Virginia Davis (1929 – 2023) discovered weaving in the 1970s and over the ensuing 40 years created a significant body of work that manages to be simultaneously elegant and bold. The exhibition features 21 textiles that explore Davis’s interest in optic phenomena, and art and textile history and technique
Virginia Davis works with ikat weaving and other resist techniques, both as an internationally exhibited studio artist and from technical, historical, and ethnographic perspectives. Her awards include a Fulbright to India and Several individual Visual Artist grants from the NEA (including a residence at the Cite International des Artes, Paris) and the New York State Council for the Arts. In 1995, in Mexico, via a joint NEA and Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes award, she taught and researched Mexican resist techniques. She has taught and lectured widely on structure to surface subjects: warp and weft painting and ikat, weave resist, stitch and tie resist, indigo vat.
Historic District
Chopsticks Alley Gallery – 38 S. 2nd St. map
Chopsticks Alley Art’s Flow in Secret Garden Exhibition
Step into an oasis where wisteria cascades and lotus flowers bloom. Voonbin Leow works with batik, a traditional Indonesian art form that uses hand-dyeing techniques to create dreamlike tapestries with flowing colors and organic patterns. Yachen Xie creates wearable art that flows with effortless movement, turning fabric into a living expression of nature. Let the colors around you stir memories, inspire reflection, and bring a sense of serenity.
Let their words guide you through a lyrical journey of color, culture, and connection within the serene setting of our current exhibition.
Works/San Jose – 38 S. 2nd St. map
Climate Interrelations Imaginative
Five artists, with guest curator Valentino Loyola, present data-based speculative to lived experiences with human relations to the climate crisis and its effects. Their results aim to further understanding of the changing landscapes we inhabit, depend on, and affect with our choices.
Participating artists:
Josie Lepe, independent photo-journalist
kaory santillan bueno, indigenous (wixarika and na’ayari) scholar and transdisciplinary artist
Sarah Loyola, San Jose based mixed-media artist
Linda Gass, Bay Area artist and environmental activist
Valentino Loyola, interdisciplinary artist (guest curator)
Martha Gardens District
Art Ark Gallery – 1035 S. Sixth St. map
In Search of Our Mothers Garden by Hargun Mahal Mann
This body of work reflects stories of movement, memory, and maternal lineage — a journey rooted in personal experience, this intimate body of work explores complexities of womanhood and sisterhood, through the lens of migration and belonging. These works unravel what it means to grow into a body shaped by multiple cultures, to find kinship in shared narratives, and to build emotional homes through connection.
Artist Talk at 6:30pm on September 5th.
FUSE presents at the Citadel Art Gallery- 199 Martha St. map
Echo of Life by Trieu Hai Dao
A lifetime to live, A lifetime to paint.
Một đời để sống, Một đời để vẽ.
MACHU PICCHU Gallery of the Americas, Est. 1974 – 199 Martha St. map
Amazonian Rainforest Arpillera
Three-dimensional cloth appliques by Peruvian textile artisans
Women of Perú living in the shanty neighborhoods of Lima create handmade “arpilleras”. The “arpilleras” are colorful, three-dimensional, cloth pictures or appliques often reminiscent of their former village life in the Andes.
These same appliques provide social commentary, story telling or scenes of planting/harvesting. The Andes Mountains are are known to produce numerous different varieties of potatoes. Other foods include tomatoes, carrots, strawberries and surrounded by llamas.
Unfortunately, the apilleras are slowly disappearing as a folk art. This and others were made with scenes of the rainforest. The testimony and message is to preserve the Amazon region of South America. Often considered the lungs of our sole planet earth.
STREET MRKT indie urban art faire
Come out for an amazing evening with incredible indie artists showcasing and selling their work. Artists are the heart and soul of our city and this is your chance to meet them in person, chat about what inspires them, and, in many cases- watch them work on site. We appreciate your dedication to ensure imagination and artistry thrives by supporting our hyper-local creative economy!
Join us on First Friday September 5th 5pm–10pm
Out on S. 1st St. in SoFA District downtown San Jose.
Free admission (spend it with the Artists!), and all ages welcome.
Featured Artists:
Animate One /Isaac Bassard
BAGI /Bay Area Glass Institute
The Blunt Letters
Becky Arrguiano
Bungalow Glow Candle Co.
Julie Cardenas
Bryan Corbin
Crossroads Trading Co.
Current Tattooing
Joesph Demaree
Mario Dimas
Lorenz Dumuk
Mahsa Emoventur
Betsy Fessler
Floating House Tattoo
Fuse Presents
Ground Up Multicast
Hand in Hand Henna
Danny Feliz Hanson
Higher Fire Clayspace
Maureen Holcomb
Hull House Market
Jodi 408
Leysar Garcia
Joe Mandrick
More Más Maram
Katherine Orjuela
Purl Bailey Crafts
Roger O.
Francisco Ramirez
Steven Reece
Roxana Romero-Vega
Jacob Sandoval
Mary Sesma
Stardrop Facepaints
Sundry 3D Treasures
Talk of the Town
S 1st St and San Salvador
Ground Up Multicast
STREET MRKT Beer Garden Stage
DJs Notorious PIG, Jswizza, Dougie
Delicious food provided by:
Barya Kitchen Food Truck
Cali Cool Hawaiian Shaved Ice
Daily Grind Burger
Los Tres Hermanos Mexican Grill
Luvs Brownies
Me Oi Food Truck
Roadhouse 48
Supported in part by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose. Additional support provided by Dahl’s Equipment,
FIRST FRIDAYS ArtWalk SJ is produced by CURATUS in partnership with the participating galleries, museums and independent creative businesses.
Join us on Facebook ArtWalkSJ
South FIRST FRIDAYS
366 S 1st Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408-271-5155
info@southfirstfridays.com