By Karen Park, Arts Program Manager, Office of Cultural Affairs, City of San Jose

The Public Art Network (PAN), the largest advocacy organization for public art in the U.S, presented the City of San Jose Public Art Program with the first-ever Public Art Program of the Year award at its annual conference on June 16 in San Diego. PAN is a program of Americans for the Arts.

Additionally, Jed Berk’s A Champion Flock of Weedeaters (image below), a temporary project commissioned as part of “Art of San Fernando: Re-Visioning the Corridor” was given special mention in the humor category.

The Public Art Program, in partnership with ZER01: The Art and Technology Network, is also the recipient of a $250,000 inaugural “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to launch a new initiative: Silicon Valley Inside/Out (SV I/O). SV I/O will wed the creativity of the technology and cultural sectors to create a mash-up that will help downtown San Jose define the look and feel of the “Capital of Silicon Valley.” The goal of the project is to stimulate a more engaged community and promote new partnerships between art and technology.

The press release on the San Jose project may be found here, and one about the NEA Our Town Program here.