{"id":20160669,"date":"2018-03-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/?p=20160669"},"modified":"2022-09-19T10:33:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T17:33:10","slug":"art-culture-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/art-culture-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Art & Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

BEST ARTISTS TAKING BACK THE TOWN<\/b>
Haters insisting on insulting San Jose’s tendency toward bland architectural choices and beige-on-beige building palates have less to gripe about than they did back in 2008. A number of initiatives spearheaded by local artists have helped to brighten up the town sometimes referred to as Tan Jose. The Exhibition District<\/b> has focused on raising money through grants to paint murals all over the city, while the Ex-D’s affiliated Local Color artist cooperative has reactivated the shuttered Ross Dress for Less space\u2014turning it into a space for creatives and makers of all stripes. And last fall, Empire Seven teamed with Universal Grammar, the city of San Jose and other local organizations to put on POW! WOW! San Jose, which recruited local artists to create more than 10 murals over the course of a single week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OVERALL<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Art Gallery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art<\/b>
560 S First St, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Allied Arts Guild<\/b>
75 Arbor Rd, Menlo Park<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 MACLA<\/b>
510 S First St, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Holiday Celebration<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Christmas in the Park<\/b>
Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Fantasy of Lights, Vasona Lake County Park<\/b>
333 Blossom Hill Rd, Los Gatos<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Oktoberfest, Campbell<\/b>
Campbell Ave, Campbell<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Film Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 San Jose Short Film Festival<\/b>
sjsff.com<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Palo Alto International Film Festival<\/b>
Palo Alto<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival<\/b>
svjff.org<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Greg Ramar<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

BEST RESURRECTED THEATER<\/b>
Back in 2014, the South Bay\u00d5s performing arts community took a major hit, as the San Jose Repertory Theatre went belly up and pulled out of the Hammer Theatre<\/b>. For a few years, the big blue building remained vacant. But in 2016, San Jose State University worked out a deal with the city of San Jose to take over the complex and the era of Hammer 2.0 was born. Now the theater center is home to a variety of productions\u2014including SJSU programs, National Theatre Live screenings, live music and touring productions. The Hammer Theatre Center is no longer a symbol of a flailing Silicon Valley arts community but the centerpiece of a lively scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Small\/Quirky Museum<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum<\/b>
1660 Park Ave, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Campbell Historical Museum<\/b>
51 N Central Ave, Campbell<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Computer History Museum<\/b>
1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Dance Company<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Los Gatos Ballet<\/b>
630 University Ave, Los Gatos<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Dance Attack<\/b>
Multiple locations<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 San Jose Dance Theatre<\/b>
1756 Junction Ave, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Small Theater Company<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 City Lights<\/b>
529 S Second St, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 San Jose Youth Shakespeare<\/b>
youthshakes.org<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 El Teatro Campesino<\/b>
705 Fourth St, San Juan Bautista<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Illustration by Jhonen Vasquez<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

BEST HEORES SAVING THE DAY<\/b>
After a long absence, Silicon Valley, a mecca for nerd culture, has not one, but two, comic book and sci-fi oriented conventions. In 2014, Dan Vado of Slave Labor Graphics and the Art Boutiki, regained control of the Alternative Press Expo<\/b>, which he founded in 1994. The celebration of alt-comics produced by the likes of Derf Backderf and Jhonen Vasquez returned to its city of origin, San Jose, in 2014. Then, in 2015, prototypical nerd and Silicon Valley booster Steve Wozniak took over the Big Wow! Comic Fest, rebranding it Silicon Valley Comic Con<\/b>. It returns for its third year this March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Theater Company<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Broadway San Jose<\/b>
100 W San Fernando St, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 San Jose Stage Company<\/b>
490 S First St, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 CMT San Jose<\/b>
1401 Parkmoor Ave, San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PENINSULA<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Mountain View Art & Wine Festival<\/b>
Mountain View<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Los Altos Art & Wine Festival<\/b>
Los Altos<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Palo Alto Festival of the Arts<\/b>
Palo Alto<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEST VALLEY<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Music In The Park<\/b>
Los Gatos<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Boogie on the Bayou<\/b>
Campbell<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Oktoberfest<\/b>
Campbell<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Frank Ferrante Productions<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

BEST CINEMATIC STEWARDS<\/b>
For a period in late 2017, downtown San Jose was without a single dedicated movie theater. This was not OK. Thankfully, Guggenheim Entertainment has taken over what was once the Camera 3 and is trying a new concept\u2014mixing live stage performance, the longtime San Jose staple Comedy Sportz and revivals of classic movies, as well as singalongs. The new space, rebranded as 3Below<\/b>, recently held one such audience participation night, inviting Monty Python fans to a screening of The Holy Grail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CENTRAL VALLEY<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Cherry Blossom Festival<\/b>
Cupertino<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Santa Clara Art and Wine<\/b>
Santa Clara<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Sunnyvale Summer Music Series<\/b>
Sunnyvale<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAN JOSE \/ SOUTH VALLEY<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Gilroy Garlic Festival<\/b>
Gilroy<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Dancin’ on the Avenue<\/b>
San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 San Jose Obon Festival<\/b>
San Jose<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FREMONT \/ MILPITAS<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

BEST SILICON VALLEY SCI-FI WRITER<\/b>
Longtime Bay Area resident and current Mountain View denizen Andy Weir<\/b> was always into science and space travel. He also, apparently, has a penchant for writing. Back in 2011, he published a serial story about a man marooned on Mars on his personal blog. The posts eventually became The Martian, published in 2014 to critical acclaim. The sci-fi smash became a blockbuster film starring Matt Damon. In late 2017, Weir published his follow-up, Artemis, about a low-gravity heist on the moon. The work has already been optioned for a movie, which may star Rosario Dawson in the leading role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Local Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Fremont Festival of the Arts<\/b>
Fremont<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Milpitas Backyard Boogie<\/b>
Milpitas<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Celebrate Milpitas<\/b>
Milpitas<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEST ARTISTS TAKING BACK THE TOWNHaters insisting on insulting San Jose’s tendency toward bland architectural choices and beige-on-beige building palates have less to gripe about than they did back in 2008. A number of initiatives spearheaded by local artists have helped to brighten up the town sometimes referred to as Tan Jose. The Exhibition District has focused […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":16003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1918],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n