New Kinships: Community Dialogues and Interdisciplinary Connections
November 2, 2021 - January 28, 2022
New Kinships: Community Dialogues and Interdisciplinary Connections presents two distinct, yet interrelated projects: Wish You Were Here, which features multidisciplinary contributions of visual and text based work focused on placemaking, and Community Table, which utilizes printmaking and design to consider food insecurity in San José. With guidance and mentorship of faculty and staff members in Art, Design, English, Urban Studies, and Nutrition, for over a year students have been engaged in thoughtful exploration of concerns that are currently central in the lives of the San José community: the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing shelter in place orders, food insecurity, climate change and sustainability, cultural history, and intergenerational connection.
Wish You Were Here began in Fall 2020, emerging out of discussions between the Thompson Gallery and
faculty in Art, Design, and English as a way to meaningfully connect themes from the
San José Story Map Project through the production of small-scale “correspondence art.” Students from across
disciplines were invited to attend a series of workshops that presented techniques
that could be utilized to translate personal experiences of living, learning, and
working in San José into visual form via a postcard format. The produced postcards
were entered into a competition which was later repeated in Spring 2021. Of the submissions,
fifteen winners were selected for their creativity, visual aesthetics, and capability
to address one or more of the key project themes: Sheltering in Place, Sustainability,
Cultural History, Generational Connectivity, and Transformation. Winning submissions
have been printed for distribution in the gallery exhibition and beyond and all submissions
to the project are featured in the current exhibit. Under the mentorship of Design
Professor Kohar Scott, students designed, prototyped and helped in the construction
of an innovative, sustainable and environmentally conscious display and distribution
kiosk which is featured in the Thompson Gallery.
Equally focused on sustainability, placemaking, and intergenerational connection,
Community Table utilizes art and design to consider the availability of fresh and diverse food on
the SJSU campus, foster a better understanding of food needs of SJSU students, and
create resources for students and community members. It runs parallel to Taste of Home, a project by community partner Chopsticks Alley Art and Cynthia Cao, Creative Ambassador for the Office of Cultural Affairs, City of
San José, which engaged San José communities in printmaking workshops to share food
stories and inspire change in future food donations. Community Table builds bridges across disciplines and connects students in the art, design, and nutrition
departments through curricula, visiting artist lectures, student presentations, and
hands-on workshops.
Through Community Table, participating faculty and students have worked to create creative art and design
based solutions for more culturally diverse and enjoyable ways to access and utilize
available on campus food resources. Students have had the invaluable experience of
using art and design as tools of social change as they move forward as arts professionals
operating in a civic sphere.
Each of these innovative projects involved multidisciplinary groups of San José State
faculty and staff who engaged students across the disciplines in hands-on projects
of collaboration, placemaking, and innovation. Generative workshops hosted by SJSU
faculty and invited speakers encouraged students to think about new materials and
processes, to map physical and virtual spaces, create works of art using novel processes
and materials, and utilize groundbreaking design strategies to reach community goals.
Most importantly, both projects created spaces of shared conversation and collaboration:
brainstorming beyond the bounds of discipline to consider how we can work together
to sustain a university, a city, and beyond through meaningful thought, speech and
action, in deep engagement with the community's needs and a desire to create change.
The resulting exhibition, New Kinships: Community Dialogues and Interdisciplinary Connections, presents work by SJSU students, alumni, and community members, and highlights the
creativity and innovation that define our university across the disciplines. Moreover,
the exhibition showcases new pairings and partnerships, such as those between printmaking
and food science, design and poetry, photography and urban studies. Created through
new modes of engagement, conversation, and connection imposed during the Covid-19
pandemic, the works showcased in this exhibition demonstrate the infinite possibilities
for community growth and social change that can arise when creativity is encouraged
and disciplinary lines are crossed.
Alena Sauzade
Gallery Director and University Art Collection Manager
In-person celebration
Thursday, November 4, 2021 | 5 - 7:30pm
SJSU Art Building Room 127
Gallery Hours
Open by appointment only.
*closed during Winter Recess, December 20, 2021 - January 7, 2022.
SJSU Art Building is open by keycard access only. Visitors may schedule an appointment by calling (408) 924 - 4330 or e-mailing Gallery@sjsu.edu.
COVID-19 Protocols
All visitors are expected to comply with SJSU protocols and guidelines to ensure the well-being of our campus community. Masks or face-coverings are required regardless of vaccination status. We thank you for your cooperation.
