First Fridays ArtWalk SJ + SubZERO Arts • Music • Subculture Festival
JUNE 5th 5pm–10pm & June 6th 2pm–8pm
SoFA District (& beyond!) downtown San Jose
Free entry and all ages welcomed.
Join us for the First Fridays ArtWalk SJ JUNE edition as we celebrate the indie creative spirit!
In addition to the June 5th ArtWalk (5pm–9pm) we’ll have the SubZERO Arts • Music • Subculture Festival out on the streets of SoFA District on Friday night 5–10pm and Saturday 2pm–8pm featuring 100+ artists, musicians and indie makers.
Free admission (spend it with the Artists!) and family friendly.
More info: www.southfirstfridays.com & www.subzerofestival.com
Enjoy free street parking or 90 minutes of free parking in the city garage at S. 2nd & San Carlos.
SoFA District
ANNO DOMINI // the second coming of Art & Design – 366 S. First St. map
AD SOMNIA (to the dreams): the wandering of a Dream-Passer
Céline Lyaudet (France) solo exhibition
AD SOMNIA (to the dreams) refers to the ancient rite of incubation—to lie down in Latin—which involved sleeping in a temple or sacred place to receive visions and answers from a divine entity during dreams. This practice, widespread in many cultures, is reminiscent of the shaman’s journey, as in the Dream-man figure of Ugrian culture in Northern Europe. Céline Lyaudet felt deeply related to these ancient rites in her own dream experiences and dived into those images and symbols as a great source of inspiration for her painting work.
She has taken notes of her initiated lucid dreams and visions for years, but only recently has she begun to glimpse topography, different types of places, wildlife, inhabitants, and spirits. From chaotic and fragmented episodes, a clearer path has begun to emerge—a world to explore, where Moon and Sun coexist, where she is sometimes a bird able to fly, or a wall-walker hiding in the House of the Abyss. Her body of work depicts these nocturnal journeys of visions, not as illustrations, but as partial memories pieced together from a single thread to reveal the pattern of a tapestry. The world of Dreams and painting are very similar: the desire to see further is accompanied by a surrender of control in order to be able to See and Listen.
From this need to assemble chaos were born her sculptural experimentations, Fetishes and Spirit Vessels, inspired by shamanic traditions of charged objects intended to embody spirits or ancestors that protect and heal. Created during a time of great anxiety, these vessels became receptacles to house protective spirits. Birds, dogs, or anthropomorphic figures were sculpted in clay like the small domestic idols of ancient houses, assembled with symbolic materials such as raffia, feathers, and shells. Inspired by ancient rites from different cultures, Céline seeks to articulate her personal rituals free from dogma—Rituals of Self that bring a sense of belonging to a greater Whole, hoping to See the Path beyond the Tall Grass.
KALEID Gallery – 320 S. First St. map
Artist’s Reception: Unbreakable bonds between us
Natasha Kramskaya Solo Exhibition
Exploring the metaphysical: what powerful threads connect us to the places we’re from, the ancestors who came before us, our mothers, fathers, and the people we love, no matter how far the distance?
Natasha Kramskaya’s second solo exhibition investigates a state of emotional quantum entanglement: a unified system where we remain connected regardless of the space or time between us.
Created over the last few years (from the start of war in Ukraine to the recent loss of her mother), this body of work serves as a visceral bridge between dimensions. Through bold, gestural marks and the use of textural elements, Kramskaya explores how we carry the fragments of our past and how our consciousness communicates with the unreachable.
To Mom, 1945-2026
About the Artist:
Originally from Ukraine and now based in San José, Natashaʼs work serves as a bridge between two worlds, fusing the traditional with the unconventional to create a unique visual language of identity and memory.
MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – 510 S. First St. map
Opening Reception:
Queerennial: Identity Through Fashion by Zachary Fernandez
MACLA’s Queerennial: Identity through Fashion explores how individuals represent themselves through textile and design. The artists delve into how fashion serves as a means of visibility, resistance, and self-actualization within the queer community. From historical coded dressing to contemporary gender-fluid designs, the exhibition showcases the role of LGBTQ+ individuals in shaping fashion. Visitors are invited to reflect on the power of personal expression and its impact on identity and culture.
DJ sets by DJ Toonin throughout the night.
Phantom Galleries at The Pierce Apts. Lobby Gallery – 2 Pierce Ave. map
Unspoken Impressions
Ashley Ogle Solo Exhibition
Life leaves marks that live in our body before they become clear stories. Monotypes bridge the connection between the kinesthetic and the intuitive by imprinting the emotion of felt experience.
Ashley Ogle is a monotype printmaker based in Los Gatos, California. Ashley learned printmaking from her father, David Ogle, a bronze sculptor and ceramics professor, who in turn studied with renowned printmaker Eileen Hill. What started out as a father-daughter project 15 years ago has evolved into a dedicated solo practice. Ashley has shown her work in Lake Tahoe and San Jose, California as well as Punta de Mita, Mexico.
Ashley’s work is abstract and contemporary with a sensitivity to light and atmosphere that echoes Impressionism. She is drawn to abstraction because it creates room for a unique narrative to emerge, inviting both maker and viewer to find their own meaning. Her monotype process translates the kinesthetic into visual rhythm and emotional expression through color, gesture, pressure, texture, and movement on the plate. She is interested in how this process mirrors intuitive, embodied cognition- how the hand often understands something before the mind finds words. Above all, Ashley wants people to encounter her prints and simply feel.
In a world that can feel fragmented and fast, Ashley sees art as a way to slow down, reconnect, and remember our shared inner worlds. As Leo Tolstoy wrote, “Art is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and of humanity.”
Artist will be in attendance 5pm–9pm during ArtWalk SJ.
San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art– 560 S. First St. map
INFRAMUNDO by Miguel Novelo
In his first institutional solo exhibition, Miguel Novelo presents an interdisciplinary project that brings together Indigenous knowledge systems, ecological grief, and technological innovation.
In INFRAMUNDO, visitors move through immersive, responsive environments where perception, inherited ways of knowing, and emerging technologies converge. Virtual spaces become interactive with motion, sound and presence, inviting reflection on how humans, machines, and the living world exist as inseparable parts of the same systems.
Born in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, Novelo draws on a landscape shaped by cenotes—natural sinkholes formed by the Chicxulub meteorite impact, presumably responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs, and regarded as sacred portals to the Maya underworld. By situating his work in this geologically and culturally layered terrain, he connects memory, ancestral knowledge, and deep planetary time.
The exhibition is an invitation to the underworld, the INFRAMUNDO, where bodies are left behind and the human becomes geological. Contrary to the Anthropocene’s narrative of humans as a geological force, the exhibition invites the viewer to look inward—and become a rock. Guided by Maya cosmology and the avatars of the bat, jaguar, snake, dog, and crocodile, we enter a space for serious play and connection with the other. Immersive and generative installations invite us to defy fear of the dark and unknown, to embrace uncertainty. Augmented reality installations, machine learning apparatus, and rock sculptures invite us to create rituals, reconsider the inanimate as living, reflect on death, renewal, and coexistence with non-human intelligence.
Join the ICA San José for another College Night during the June South First Friday festivities! We will be hosting a found-objects workshop with Sam Marks, a San José based teaching artist and the facilities and operations manager at the ICA. This is a free, drop-in workshop from 5-9pm at the ICA. RSVPs are not required, but are encouraged. Stop by for a night of creativity and connection as we celebrate the teaching artists in our region.
My Body Was A River Once by Anoushka Mirchandani
“My Body Was A River Once” is the debut institutional exhibition by India-born, San Francisco–based artist Anoushka Mirchandani, curated by Zoë Latzer. Featuring an entirely new body of work, the exhibition engages the senses—sight, sound, and smell—to explore memory, matrilineage, and the ways migration and place shape identity and agency. For nearly a decade, Mirchandani has developed a distinctive visual language centered on translucent, introspective female figures often situated within domestic interiors. In “My Body Was A River Once”, these figures break free from built environments, merging with waterfalls, flora, stones, and tree bark in fluid metamorphoses that blur the boundaries between body and landscape. Drawing inspiration from the Apsaras—celestial beings in South Asian mythology whose name translates to “one who moves flowingly in the waters”—Mirchandani reimagines these mythic figures as vessels of intergenerational movement, carrying ancestral stories across terrains both real and imagined. Expanding her practice beyond painting, she incorporates diaphanous silks, sculpted wooden thorns, and subtle aromas to create a multisensory environment. Together, these works form a living archive that reflects on belonging, inheritance, and transformation through the lens of mythmaking and migration.
San Jose Jazz – 310 South First St. map
SJZ Break Room Jazz Jam
Drop in anytime Friday evening for some great jazz, beginning with a set from the SJZ High School All Stars U19s at 5:20, followed by the Michael Webster Quartet at 6:15pm. From 7–9pm, join us for our all-ages jazz jam. Bring your instrument and join in, or just enjoy the music in the intimate club atmosphere of the SJZ Break Room. All ages, and completely free!
Schedule:
5pm – Doors
5:20–6pm: SJZ U19’s & Michael Webster Quartet
6:15–7pm: Michael Webster Quartet
7–9pm: Jazz Jam
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map
Join the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles to celebrate the opening of our upcoming exhibition A Mi Manera / My Own Way.
A Mi Manera / My Own Way explores the breadth and evolution of the Latino experience through textile art, highlighting the intimate and communal acts of making that carry deep cultural memory. From inherited traditions like embroidery, weaving, quilting, and garment-making to contemporary experiments with fabric, the exhibition will feature artists whose practices draw upon techniques and materials that fill our homes, closets, and altars. These tactile practices are often passed from one generation to the next—grandmothers teaching stitches, mothers repurposing garments, fathers repairing late into the night, as well as friends learning and sharing cultural knowledge online.
The phrase “a mi manera”—“my own way”—reflects a spirit of individuality shaped by cultural inheritance. This exhibition honors how artists reclaim, rework, and reimagine traditional forms of both Latine roots and American life, transforming them into new heirlooms for future generations. Together, the works in the exhibition will form a living archive that speaks to migration, memory, labor, celebration, family, and community.
While centered on the experiences of Mexican American and broader Latino communities in the Bay Area and beyond, the exhibition also invites visitors to consider how textiles act as vessels of identity—stitched with stories, symbols, and a sense of belonging.
Symphony San José at California Theater – 345 S. First St. map
Drop into the historic California Theatre during First Friday ArtWalk for a special preview of Symphony San Jose’s season finale program, Symphonic World Cup.
Experience an open dress rehearsal where conductor, soloist, and musicians come together as all the magic happens before the final performances on June 6 & 7. Hear live orchestral music, witness the creative process behind the concert, and enjoy a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into how a symphony performance comes to life.
As the FIFA 2026 World Cup heads to Santa Clara County, Symphony San Jose’s own all-star musicians will celebrate an international lineup of composers from around the globe. Featuring conductor Carlos Vieu and harp soloist Katherine Siochi, the program includes music by Carl Nielsen, Alberto Ginastera, and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Before the rehearsal begins at 7:30pm, enjoy a special lobby performance by members of the Pre-University Percussion Group.
Come and go throughout ArtWalk hours and enjoy free admission.
Historic District
Chopsticks Alley Gallery – 38 S. 2nd St. map
Pearls Remember by Charlene Tan
Across the ocean, memory gathers slowly.
Pressed by time, shaped by care, they become pearls.
Charlene Tan works with ube powder, tapioca pearls, mung beans, and pigments rooted in home and ritual. She places each element one by one in quiet devotion. Her surfaces echo ancestral weavings and tribal markings, sacred geometries that move like water, scales, and skin: snake, crab, crocodile.
Interwoven across the Philippines and the United States, suspended between digital loss and return to handmade, Tan’s labor becomes a form of meditation.
Each pattern is an act of listening—to grandmothers, to oceans crossed, to histories that refuse to disappear.
7:00 pm: Artist’s Introduction
7:15 pm: Shaena Reyes, Poet
Works/San Jose – 38 S. 2nd St. map
Boundaries of the Self: sjsu masters of fine art 2026
Boundaries of the Self is an examination of how we construct ourselves in relation to social norms, family history, identity politics, and geographies, often in conflict with the desire to be seen as an individual. The exhibition brings together the work of six emerging artists whose practices explore the tension between individual needs and the needs of the collective. Through varied perspectives and personal narratives, the artists examine what it means to belong, both to oneself and within a community. The artists in this exhibition share an interest in medium as a “mediator” of the boundaries between self and others. Artists Elisabeth Koss, Jeevan Kracht, Zoey Mubiru, Andy Nguyen, Peter Schreiber, and Roger Smith connect lineages of craft and tradition, providing deep wells of knowledge and wisdom that surpass what one individual could gain.
HomeFirst at Open San Jose – 38 S. 2nd St. map
Home Is Where the Art Is
Featuring: Ray Selak, Alfredo Morales, Christian Brokaw, and 18 others
The work in this art show features original pieces created by people with lived experiences of homelessness currently staying at HomeFirst’s Emergency Interim Housing communities in San Jose.
During an eight-week art making workshop series led by professional artist, Rayos Magos and Karen Adamski, program participants explored painting, printmaking, collage, sculpture, and drawing through themes of belonging, creativity, and home. 100% of sales go directly to the artists.
By supporting this work we recognize the unique voices, lived experiences, and personal journeys back to safe housing for everyone in our community.
5:45pm: Artist Talk with Alfredo Morales
Martha Gardens District
Art Ark Gallery – 1035 S. Sixth St. map
World’s Apart
Portrait & Street Photographer Daniel Garay
Fashion Photographer Todd Allen
Design & Perspective Photographer Christopher Denise
Landscape and Architectural Photographer Cosmo Rahn
An immersive experience of the world from beneath our fingertips to the world beyond our reach, at once above, beyond, and in between.
“A World Apart” brings the work of four local photographers together in an ecclectic experience spanning perspective, personality, and presence. From far and away to the closest closeup, from fantasy to forensics, and from digital detail to celluloid sacrament, this exhibit promises to take the viewer on a delightful and introspective romp through four unique lenses.
Free portraits by Cosmo Rahn and a vintage camera exhibit.
First Friday June 5th (5pm–10pm) & Saturday June 6th (2pm–8pm)
Focused on emerging and present subcultures thriving in our region, SubZERO is a DIY, artistically bent, hi/lo-techno mashup where street meets geek.
Come downtown on June 5th from 5pm ’til 10pm and June 6th from 2pm ’til 8pm to San Jose’s SoFA District from for an inspired evening of arts & culture. In addition to the South FIRST FRIDAYS monthly art walk you’ll find outdoor stages of entertainment plus artists, performers & musicians celebrating the indie creative spirit!
Free admission (spend it with the Artists!) and family friendly.
Participating Artists:
Asterisk Magazine SJSU
Julianne Bonnet
BX Edits
CADRE SO SJSU
Combsy
Content Magazine
Breanna Contreras
Bryan Corbin
Craft Haus
CreaTV
CrochetforLoves
Crossroads
Current Tattooing
Jennifer DeChenne
Eleventh Dimension Tattoo
Nicole Ennen
Ruben Escalante
FadedVisualz
Flora Art Studio
Force129
FUSE presents
Game Dev SJSU
Leysar Garcia
Heiko Greb
Katie Green
Jared Gochuico
GroundUp Music Bus
Hand in Hand Henna
Heavy Lemon Showcase
Higher Fire Clay Space
Richard Hoffman
Maureen Holcomb
HOP32 by Cole Pergerson & James Morgan
Robin Laurence
Lucidbeaming
J.MA
Machu Picchu Gallery of the Americas
Joe Mandrick
Manik Nic Dalton
Yasushi Matsui
David Mejia
Mountain Medusa Designs
Laurus Myth
Timna Naim
N@P_T1M:3
Nuanez Artglass Studio 408
Katherine Orjuela
Paper Sweetly
Photon Salon
Annamarie Pilon
Pork & Beats DJ Collective
Betty Proper
Purl Bailey Crafts AKA Marilyn Roaf
Steven Reece
Danny Sauce
Veronica Schulte
SLG/Art Boutiki
South Bay Sonic Circuits Showcase
Starbunny
TWC / Together We Create
Upswell Studios Showcase
Vinyl Record Vendors:
Harmonie
SOBAD
2 Broke Chicks
Sundae Soul
Joey Digger’z D-Lite
Void Knight Art
YMCA Camp Campbell
Zine Baby by Andrew Blanton
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LIVE MUSIC FRIDAY, June 5th 5pm–10pm
• LONGHORN Stage
(So.1st St. near California Theater)
with Poet Emcee Chris Locsin
5:00pm (& during set breaks): International Sounds of Leisure – DJs Jeff Jagged & Christian Wimer
Live music curated by Heavy Lemon
5:45-6:30 pm Thelves
7:00-7:45 pm Luck Fever
8:15-9:00 pm Later Alligator
• South Bay Sonic Circuits Showcase
(So. 1st St. at San Salvador)
South Bay Sonic Circuits is a meetup for enthusiast of electronic music with all kinds of instruments and styles. From guitars, keyboards, alternative controllers, laptops, synths to modular setups between live looping, sequenced phrases or totally improvised.
• Parque de los Pobladores beer garden Stage:
(So. 1st St. & William St.)
5pm–10pm Pork & Beats DJ Collective
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LIVE MUSIC SATURDAY, June 6th 2pm–8pm
• LONGHORN Stage
(So.1st St. near California Theater)
with Poet Emcee Chris Locsin
2:00pm (& between sets) International Sounds of Leisure – DJs Jeff Jagged & Christian Wimer
3:15-4:00 pm Douglas von Irvin’s Carnival
4:30-5:15 pm Hyperdrive Kittens
5:45-6:30 pm O’Craven
• South Bay Sonic Circuits Showcase
(So. 1st St. at San Salvador)
South Bay Sonic Circuits is a meetup for enthusiast of electronic music with all kinds of instruments and styles. From guitars, keyboards, alternative controllers, laptops, synths to modular setups between live looping, sequenced phrases or totally improvised.
• Parque de los Pobladores beer garden Stage:
(So. 1st St. at William St.)
2pm–8pm UpSwell Studio Showcase
featuring: Dvinyl 5, Grizzy Javino, Lake Eagles Band, Maq Steez, Milo Green, Misa James, Miu, Mr. Amoroso & The Dead Heat, Shine Light, Sinister Moments, Steven Angel, Trianna Feruza & The Heavy Hitters
Food Trucks:
3 Brothers Kitchen
3 Hermanos Mexican Grill
Fire & Slice Pizza
Kabobi Persian Grill
Luv’s Brownies
First Fridays ArtWalk SJ & SubZERO Festival is produced by CURATUS in partnership with the participating galleries, museums and the indie arts community.
Join us on Facebook ArtWalkSJ | Instagram @ArtwalkSJ
South FIRST FRIDAYS
366 S 1st Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408-271-5155
info@southfirstfridays.com