It’s been a minute, but we are officially back with the first podcast of 2026—and we’ve got some news to share. Founder Daniel Garcia and Production Manager David Valdespino Jr. sat down to catch everyone up on a big year ahead, including a transition within the team and a look at the projects currently hitting the streets.
The headline is a shift in Content’s roster. After founding the magazine in 2012 and serving as “The Cultivator” for over a decade, Daniel is preparing for a planned transition to focus on his personal art practice. He’ll remain a vital advisor through 2026, but he is handing over the keys to the Executive Editor role to David starting April 1st. David has managed production since early 2023, keeping the gears turning on the magazine’s execution, and this move marks a new chapter for the publication as we head toward our 74th issue.
The conversation also dives into Explore San Jose, a special edition produced in partnership with Visit San José. With 2026 bringing the “big games” and plenty of global attention to our hometown, we wanted to frame the city’s energy through the locals who live and breathe it. Featuring cover art by J.Duh, it’s a guide to the pulse of the city that goes beyond the typical visitor experience. Alongside this, we preview the regular February issue, which features a deep dive into the local scene—from musical composers and photographers to actors and County Supervisors.
In this conversation, we walk you through our 2026 Special Edition of Content, discuss what David’s expectations were when he first walked into the Production Manager role, and talk through what Content is looking for in the next Production Manager.
Join the Team. With David moving into his new role, we are officially opening the search for a new Production Manager. We’re looking for someone to manage the workflow between our editors, designers, and printers. You can learn more and apply here.
Find the Special Edition: Members will receive Explore San Jose in the mail with their February issue. Non-members can find free copies at The Locker Room (93 E. San Carlos)—the new SJ26 merchandise and visitor center—as well as local hotels and coffee shops around town.
The Next Pick-Up Party: Join us to celebrate issue 18.2, “Sight and Sound,” on Thursday, February 26.
Born in a small town in Vietnam, Ha Nguyen was raised with a clear path laid out before her: academic achievement, a professional career, and a life of quiet respectability. For years, she followed that path—studying dentistry for six years at the insistence of her father. But even in the lecture halls and clinical labs, something louder was calling.
Music had always been in her bones. As a child, she played piano, fashioned guitars from broomsticks, and recorded her favorite songs from MTV on cassette. It wasn’t until her late teens that she picked up a guitar and started taking lessons. In her early twenties, she joined an all-female rock band in Saigon, and soon after, she never looked back.
Nguyen quickly found herself swept into Vietnam’s indie rock scene, becoming the frontwoman for groups like Lazy Dolls and WhiteNoiz. Her voice—a rich blend of vulnerability and defiance—resonated with fans across the country. Fame followed. So did the pressures that often accompany it.
Behind the glamour of music videos and festival stages, Nguyen’s personal life was unraveling. Struggling with depression, disconnection from family, and loss of motivation, she reached a breaking point that forced her to walk away from it all. What followed was not an ending, but a beginning: a return to self, to family, and to music as a means of healing.
Now based in San Jose, California, Nguyen has entered a new phase of her creative journey. Her songs—many of them written in solitude, produced in her home studio, and shared intimately—are deeply personal yet universally resonant. Themes of surrender, forgiveness, and growth thread through her lyrics. She writes not just for applause, but for understanding.
Nguyen’s sound resists easy categorization. Influenced by everything from The Beatles to Adele to Dream Theater, her work drifts between indie rock, acoustic balladry, and soulful pop, often layered with subtle Vietnamese phrasing. Her band, The Travelers, gives her space to explore collaborative storytelling, but Nguyen also thrives in solo performances where the vulnerability is front and center.
One of her most poignant songs, “Surrender,” tells the story of letting go—a theme that has become central to her life. She once received a message from a listener who said the song had saved him from taking his own life. The weight of that connection is something she carries gently but powerfully.
In this conversation, Nguyen is reflective, grounded, and quietly fierce. She speaks of her Buddhist practice not as a performance of spirituality, but as a daily discipline—a reminder to stay present, to stay soft, to stay open. She’s also a mother now, a role that has softened some of her edges while sharpening her sense of purpose. Songs like “Best Thing” reflect this shift—less rebellion, more resolution.
Nguyen is not chasing fame anymore. She’s building something slower and more sustainable. She plays regularly in the South Bay, at venues like The Wheelhouse in Willow Glen, and continues to release music on her own terms. Her work doesn’t demand attention—it invites it.
Lolah Nguyen’s story is not one of overnight success, nor of perfect redemption. It’s a portrait of a woman who has fought hard for her voice, and who now uses that voice to create space—for herself and for others—to feel, to heal, and to be fully seen.
For photographer and educator Dan Fenstermacher, photography is more than documentation—it is a philosophy of presence, humor, and human connection. From the busy streets of Tokyo to quiet corners of San Jose, Dan captures moments that are layered, unexpected, and deeply personal. His work sits at the intersection of activism, storytelling, and everyday life, always seeking to reveal something authentic, even quirky, in the seemingly ordinary.
Growing up in Seattle, Washington, Dan first discovered the magic of visual storytelling at the Cinerama movie theater and later through the Polaroid camera gifted to him by his mother. While studying advertising at the University of Idaho, he imagined a future crafting funny commercials and marketing campaigns. But after realizing that the suit-and-tie world didn’t inspire him, his path shifted toward global exploration and education. A pivotal moment came when he taught English in Korea and was unexpectedly asked to teach art classes. With the help of a friend, he improvised his way through lessons in photography, sketching, and painting, uncovering a surprising talent for visual composition along the way.
Dan’s journey has taken him across four continents, working in Accra, Ghana, Sydney, Australia, and San Ramón, Costa Rica. Dan’s interest in photography can also be traced back to the influence of his stepfather, a hobbyist photographer, who introduced him to formal equipment and deeper techniques during a formative trip to the Galápagos Islands. Dan applied and earned his MFA in Photography at San José State University. He is now Chair of the Photography Department at West Valley College, where he continues to inspire students and document campus life through a lens of curiosity and care. His commitment to capturing the overlooked extends beyond teaching, with ongoing projects and zines; his current zine series is focused on everyday life at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Ultimately, he believes it is about finding meaning in ordinary places.
Throughout this journey, Dan’s use of flash and a 28mm lens has become part of his signature style, creating bold, immersive images that highlight contrast, humor, and narrative tension. His approach merges environmental portraiture with street photography, aiming to deliver not just visual impact but emotional resonance, as inspired by photographer Craig Semetko’s “DIET” (Design, Information, Emotion, and Timing) philosophy.
In this conversation, Dan describes the role of photography in his life as a spiritual and social practice, how teaching students keeps him inspired, and how even something as small as handing someone a Polaroid can foster real connection.
Follow Dan’s work on Instagram @danfenstermacher or visit his website at
After a musical restart stateside, Ha Nguyen admits that full-time musicianship and motherhood have brought new clarity to her craft.
In her earliest musical memory, Ha Nguyen felt like a rock star, foreshadowing the adoring crowds to come. Standing atop her bed, holding a broom like a guitar, she closed her eyes and was instantly on stage, performing in front of thousands. From that moment, she knew she wanted to be a performer.
For nearly a decade, she toured her native Vietnam, pursuing that dream as part of two female-centric rock bands. She arrived in America unsure if she’d ever perform again but has been methodically building the next phase of her career stateside. Since 2021, she’s released a steady flow of singles under the moniker LOLAH. In mid-2024, Ha launched a new band, LOLAH and the Travelers, and admits she loves returning to a more communal creative experience.
“Before I was a mother, it was about me. ‘I want to share my story, and I want people to hear my feelings.’ Now, I want my songs to be helpful.”
“I love that we have three songwriters. I love the fact that we all want to do big shows, and we have a vision for the band,” she says. “Echos of Deception,” released digitally in early November, is evidence of a new-found cohesion, crunchy guitars, and a driving backbeat carrying into an anthem-like chorus. It may have taken years, but she’s back on stage sharing her love for rock music.
Growing up in Long Xuyên, a town of nearly 300,000 in south-western Vietnam, Ha first saw concert footage at the tail end of Hong Kong soap operas on VHS tapes her family rented. She took piano and vocal lessons as a child, but finally realized her dream of learning guitar when she moved to Saigon to go to dental school. She was the only female student under the tutelage of “Master Chau,” who opened a new world to Ha when he called Vietnamese pop music cheesy and began teaching her iconic rock songs like Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and “I Hate Myself For Loving You” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Soon, Ha was all rock and roll.
In search of more rock music, she began frequenting a Saigon music store owned by the bassist of UnlimiteD, one of the biggest rock bands in the city. He wanted to start an all-girl rock band and invited Ha to join. In 2006, Lazee Dolls was formed.
“The first show [we played] was an audience of 3,000. We would play for colleges. We played for TV shows, and we joined contests,” she shares of her time in the band. A personnel shake-up a few years later led the band to change its name to White Noiz. At the height of their success, the band built a circuit of club gigs scattered throughout the country. But juggling the band with her dental practice post-graduation proved difficult.
“We went through a lot of member changes. I burned bridges. I got mad. I lost control. I got depressed,” she remembers of the final days of White Noiz in the mid-2010s. At the time, she was also dealing with her first stint of writer’s block and was scared she’d never be able to write music again. While it took years to be at peace with the band dissolving, she says writing the lyrics to her 2021 single “Back in Time” helped her process her feelings: “Time flies, several years gone by / not too long to forget, but enough to believe that it’s over.”
By this time, her entire family had immigrated to the US. They urged her to join them. “I was the last one in Vietnam. I had so much fun in Saigon, until it wasn’t fun anymore,” she recalls with a laugh. She moved to San Jose in 2017. “I forgot about everything. I missed playing music, but on the other side, I had my family.”
As fate would have it, her music career got an unexpected re-start during a job interview. “[The interviewer] found out I was a singer and said, ‘This job is not for you, but I used to do shows, so I’m going to sponsor you to play at this show,’ ” she recalls. Her first American performance was inside the Chùa Di Lặc Buddhist Temple on Story Road. Performances started to pick up, but it was hard not comparing the crowds to the larger rooms she played in Vietnam. She remembers busking at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, earning only the tips she received from passers-by. “It taught me to let go of ego,” she notes of the experience, adding that being a full-time musician has brought a new sense of humility to every opportunity to perform.
Another shift for her music? Motherhood. “Before I was a mother, it was about me. ‘I want to share my story, and I want people to hear my feelings.’ Now, I want my songs to be helpful.”
Despite the starts and stops to her career, she has a quick answer when asked why she plays music: “I love it.” After a beat, she elaborates. “When you play music, it’s healing. When you write a song, you get to say things that would be weird to say, and you can share your feelings in a creative way. When I play for people and I see that I make them happy, I feel great too.”
Tasi Alabastro uncovered the definition of “flâneur,” a French word that describes a man of urban affluence who can wander and observe urban life, while working on a play called “Three Days of Rain.” In his own life, Tasi views being a flâneur as walking around his hometown of San Jose, being present, looking at murals, and occasionally running into people he knows. He uses walking as a way to process creative problems or gather thoughts. That ability to be an observer is reflected in his work as an actor, visual artist, writer, and director.
Tasi’s observant nature extends to his art as he drifts between roles as an actor, director, and photographer. However, his journey into the performing arts was anything but conventional. Originally a microbiology major at San Francisco State, Tasi left for Hawaii after a breakup to help with his brother’s business. By chance, he discovered acting when he walked into the dark black box theater, and something about the environment – the smell, the nervous energy of other students – intrigued him. He became drawn to the competitive aspect of the class, where everyone had a chance to perform. His curiosity and desire to “make something out of nothing” attracted him to acting. The class sparked his interest in performing arts and became a turning point in his creative journey.
Creating an atmosphere of connection and inclusion through performance has also become core to his work. Tasi traces his care for the audience back to growing up in American Samoa, where the island community must rely heavily on one another. He also notes that humor and performance can be ways of coping with challenging circumstances like natural disasters in Samoan culture. In contrast to feeling like an outsider during his school years, the culture of inclusion encourages Tasi to create experiences through his work where everyone feels welcome and can participate.
Tasi’s multifaceted career spans acting, directing, stage design, and photography. He was featured in “Yes, We’re Open,” a film on Prime Video where he worked with Perry Shen, an actor he had admired since his early blogging days. Another pivotal role was in a City Lights Theater Company production of “Three Days of Rain,” where he tackled the challenge of portraying two contrasting characters—a neurotic son and his reserved father. These roles were pivotal in helping Tasi grow as a performer and expand his understanding of his craft. Currently, Tasi is working toward creating a graphic novel that combines his interests in theater, illustration, and storytelling.
In this conversation, Tasi shares his unlikely transition from science to the stage, how his upbringing in American Samoa influenced his perspective on community, and his thoughts on fostering inclusion within the arts while embracing his identity as an occasional outsider.
Join Tasi Alabastro on July 26, 2025, at San Jose Stage for The Contemporary Asian Theater Scene’s (CATS) second annual Playwright Festival. This year’s festival proudly features five newly commissioned 10-minute plays by a dynamic mix of emerging and established AAPI playwrights. Under the direction of Artistic Producer Jeffrey Lo, these staged readings are brought to life by AAPI actors and directors, including Tasi, committed to bold, authentic storytelling. Get Tickets.
Join singer-songwriter Ren Geisick to celebrate the release of her new album on June 21, 2025, at Art Boutiki in San Jose. Her full-length album, The Place I Planned to Go, will be released on June 20, 2025, featuring 14 original songs that showcase her evolution from a jazz vocalist to an Americana songbird, grounded in storytelling, perseverance, and hope. Get Tickets.
Ren was previously featured in Issue 9.4 “Perform” & Episode #33 of the Content Magazine Podcast, where we talk in depth about her roots growing up in Los Gatos, California, her education in Jazz vocal performance, and some early Jazz crossover and funk projects.
Originally from Los Gatos, California, Ren Geisick began singing at a young age. She earned an Ella Fitzgerald Scholarship, studied Jazz vocal performance at California State University, Long Beach, and was named an Outstanding Jazz Vocalist by DownBeat Magazine—but her identity as an Americana Singer-Songwriter has long been in motion. With influences like Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, and Guy Clark, her latest music draws from the outlaw country tradition—authentic, stripped-down, and emotionally direct. In 2017, she released her debut album, Ren, Love Song, produced by Jesse Harris, marking a significant step toward Americana, which blended folk with jazz sensibilities and showcased her deeply personal songwriting voice. Since then, Ren has leaned fully into Country music. While she doesn’t set out to specifically write country songs, her singing style and focus on honest, lyrical narratives have made Americana a natural fit for her.
The Place I Planned to Go centers on themes of hope and perseverance, especially in the context of being a musician. The album explores the struggles of progressing in life and music, maintaining optimism in the face of challenges, and finding compassion. It includes songs that reflect on the difficulties of the music industry, like the humorous “15 Cents” and more introspective tracks like “Weakness” and “No Mercy at All.” The title track, “The Place I Plan to Go,” was written during the pandemic and reflects on life not turning out exactly as expected yet maintaining hope for the future.
In this conversation, Ren gives us a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the production of this record and collaboration with producer Mikey Ross. Ren opens up about the challenges of sustaining a music career today, her reasons for pushing forward, and her connection to the music she creates.
Follow Ren on Instagram @ren4eva and visit her website, rensings.com, for show dates and updates. Don’t miss her album release show on June 21, 2025, at Art Boutiki in San Jose. Get Tickets.
Join South FIRST FRIDAYS ArtWalk SJ on Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7, for the 16th Annual SubZERO Festival to celebrate local subcultures of art, music, craft, and tech in San Jose’s SoFA District. This two-day celebration features outdoor stages, vendors, artists, designers, musicians, and performers, forming a creative mashup of indie spirit and innovation.
When Cherri Lakey and Brian Eder first launched Two Fish Design, their plan wasn’t just to continue their graphic design work—it was to build something radically different. Inspired by a yin-yang logo of two fish swimming upstream, the duo adopted the motto: “Those who swim against the stream come to the source.” This philosophy of challenging the status quo and seeing what others overlook became the heartbeat of their now-iconic creative ventures: Anno Domini Gallery, Kaleid Gallery, Phantom Galleries, South FIRST FRIDAYS, and SubZERO Festival.
When they chose San Jose over the more established art hubs like San Francisco, they saw possibility within the void. San Jose could be viewed as a cultural wasteland at the time, but Brian and Cherri were determined to see what others didn’t. While Anno Domini Gallery started slow with its first show, its second, featuring a young Shepard Fairey, was electric, with a crowd forming around the block. That spark expanded their vision to include impact-driven experiments, such as Shark Bite Art, a massive public art initiative that raised $300,000 for local nonprofits while paying artists fairly.
To Brian and Cherri, Anno Domini was never just a gallery; It was “The Second Coming of Art and Design” —a sanctuary for street art, counterculture, and art as activism. Their curatorial philosophy is radical yet straightforward in that they curate the artists rather than the work. This belief in autonomy and trust, especially toward first-time or nontraditional creators, allowed for a space where raw and urban voices could thrive. Furthermore, when opportunities were scarce, they launched Phantom Galleries with the intention of revitalizing downtown San Jose by transforming empty storefronts into art spaces and creating safe environments for all artists.
The SubZERO Festival emerged from this same impulse. What began in 2006 as the “Street Market,” a simple stage and vendor tables outside the gallery, has grown into a flagship celebration of subculture and creative rebellion. Today, SubZERO offers a platform for emerging voices and unconventional formats, featuring experimental fashion shows, live music, and interactive installations that present raw, accessible art.
In this conversation, Brian and Cherri recount their journey from design to street art, their curatorial risks, the birth of SubZERO, and how they continue their hand in shaping San Jose’s cultural ecosystem.
MindFi Performance of “The Many Faces of Men” in Content Black Backdrop at the end of this post.
What happens when a hair salon becomes a stage, a friendship becomes a band, and a guitar and voice create a whole universe of sound?
MindFi is a genre-bending musical duo formed by Kia Fay and Mark Arroyo. Combining their unique talents, they have created something they describe as a wireless mind connection, a performance philosophy, and a creative community rooted in the heart of San Jose’s Japantown.
The name MindFi is a play on “Wi-Fi for your mind,” and that is exactly what their music feels like—tapping into an unseen, deeply intuitive frequency between two artists who listen as much as they play. Born from a long-standing friendship and shared vision for musical purity, the project came to life post-COVID, blending logistical simplicity with artistic depth. With just guitar and vocals, they challenge themselves to make music that feels expansive, spontaneous, and emotionally raw.
MindFi’s core performance takes place on the last Wednesday evening of every month at The Curl Consultant, Kia’s salon-turned-sound-lab on Jackson Street in Japantown. What makes MindFi especially captivating is their intentionality. Every element—from the curated audience and the timing of their Wednesday shows to their strategic approach to growth—is designed to create connection and community. The band values intimate live performances and how each set is never quite the same. Each breath, mistake, and laugh becomes part of the show, immersing listeners in the moment and the music.
Their sound is the product of weekly rehearsals, conversations, active listening, and an ongoing “what if” approach to creation: what if we play this differently? What if we strip it down? What if we rebuild it entirely? Whether covering Depeche Mode with just a guitar and voice or experimenting with chord voicings and layered effects, their goal is always to make the music feel full beyond what most would expect of a duo.
While this collaboration between artists was long in the making, Kia received a 2025 San Jose Jazz Jazz Aid Fund commissioning grant, which acted as an accelerator for the project’s artistic vision. The fund validated their presence in the local arts scene and gave them the resources to launch MindFi with autonomy and intention. They continue to grow the project on their own terms—developing recordings, videos, and plans for future performances—while bypassing the traditional struggle of new bands constantly chasing gigs.
In this conversation, Kia and Mark reveal their approach to music as a creative outlet, a community hub, and a sonic experiment. They discuss their careers making art in other contexts and how MindFi is a place where they decompress, reconnect, and remember why they fell in love with music in the first place.
Experience MindFi’s sound at Pick-Up Party 17.3 on May 16, 2025 at West Valley College. They will be opening the event at 7p. You can also experience their magic at The Curl Consultant every last Wednesday of the month in Japantown. RSVP.
CURA Contemporary in Morgan Hill opened in the fall of 2024 as an art gallery and community space that hosts exhibitions, workshops, and art classes. The building, a work of art itself, was the brainchild of owners and longtime South County residents Dan and Kathy McCranie, who also own Colibri Art and Framing just across the street. The McCranies worked closely with Ellie Honl-Herman, the current Gallery Director, to develop CURA Contemporary’s design and offerings.
Growing up in the Midwest and coming from a long line of educators, CURA Contemporary’s Gallery Director Ellie Honl-Herman studied studio art and printmaking at St. Olaf College in Minnesota before earning an MFA in printmaking intermedia at the University of Iowa. As a student, Ellie worked at The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art and was a graduate teaching assistant before becoming a professor at multiple institutions, including Arizona State University, Indiana University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Points, and the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Ellie’s first time visiting California came when she was accepted for an artist residency at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley.
Ellie’s personal art practice includes printmaking, photography, and photogravure. Before pursuing art at university, she was interested in psychology and architecture, themes she would later explore in her artwork. Her works often feature precise geometric forms juxtaposed against unpredictable cyanotype backgrounds. The contrast of order and chaos in these prints explores human psychology, coping mechanisms, and situational emotional responses.
After her husband’s career brought Ellie back to California, they stayed in San Jose before settling down in Morgan Hill. At the time, Ellie was doing freelance photography and was seeking a more steady nine-to-five job. She found a job as a part-time framer at Colibri Art and Framing. Ellie’s background in art, combined with the fortuitous job posting, allowed her to get her foot in the door at the frame shop. This opened up the opportunity to start Colibri Gallery and eventually develop her role as a thought partner and gallery director of CURA Contemporary.
Since its opening, CURA Contemporary has hosted art exhibitions, workshops, and youth classes. The gallery’s goals are to be a welcoming and inclusive space for the community, provide educational opportunities that build an appreciation for the arts, be a hub for the local and regional arts community, and be a multifaceted arts destination with its unique combination of an art gallery, wine bar, restaurant, and event space.
In this conversation, we discuss Ellie’s art practice, her journey to becoming gallery director of CURA Contemporary, and her spirit of experimentation.
The Cultivator of Content Magazine, Daniel Garcia, and The Developer, David Valdespino Jr., reflect on 2024 and the curation of issues 16.1 through 16.4.
Entering the thirteenth year of printing Content Magazine, The Cultivator, Daniel Garcia reflects on early goals set for the magazine. One goal, he recalls, was to “try to do a second issue and the third issue and the fourth issue. The early days were like, ‘Are we gonna be able to do another one?” Today, as Content Magazine approaches the release of its 70th issue, The Content team, which includes its publisher, SVCreates, editors, photographers, writers, graphic designers, and interns, has continued reaching the magazine’s goal of featuring local creatives in print.
In this conversation, David and Daniel discuss the production of issues 16.1 through 16.4, highlights from 2024, and David Valdespino Jr.’s 2nd anniversary as the Developer of Content Magazine.
Join Content Magazine on Friday, March 14, 2025, for The South Bay Artist Summit: Empowering creatives at the intersection of art and entrepreneurship, produced in partnership with the City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, and Pick-Up Party 17.2, “Connect” at the San Jose City Hall Rotunda. The South Bay Artist Summit will feature an artist career panel, presentations on career development, a cultural exchange presentation, and an artist resource fair. Learn More.
Join us on Friday, November 22, for Pick-Up Party 17.1, “Discover” at The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. This issue’s magazine in-real-life experience celebrates the creatives featured in the issue, including graffiti legends King157 & Nexus, breakdancer Vicki “La Vix” Chang, fiber artist Jaya Griscom, and more.
The party will feature over 20 pop-up murals presented in partnership with 1Culture, painted by artists from current and past issues of Content Magazine. The evening will also include food trucks curated by Feast Mode, beer from Foxtale Fermentation Project, music from Edward of SOBA Collective, and a dance performance from the breaking crew, Elephant Graveyard.
Issue 17.1, “Discover,” Cultivator Notes:
“I have wanted to do a primer on graffiti writing for years, and I am excited to see it finally become a reality in this issue. I wanted a primer because, though I don’t know much about graffiti, I wanted to honor the long tradition of street art in the South Bay and appreciate graffiti art’s role in many artists’ journeys. Many “bombers” have found their community through painting, which has helped them avoid other avenues that might not have been positive. I can’t pretend to be knowledgeable or an expert; thus, I am very thankful to Joey Reyes for helping bring this primer into existence.
Also, I want to thank Andrew Espino of 1Culture for his support in connecting us with Nexus and King157 and for providing a venue and a “yard” where this artwork could be created and displayed.
This issue is merely an overview of the craft. We will continue to feature these often-overlooked artists in the future, as we have in the past with Girafa, RC, Mesnger, and Wisper. But for now, we hope that in this issue, you will see that there is more to street art to be discovered.”
In this conversation, Daniel Garcia and David Valdespino Jr., the Cultivator and Developer of Content Magazine, discuss the curation of issue 17.1, “Discover,” share some insight into how each story connects, and layout what folks can expect from Pick-Up Party 17.1 “Discover.”
Thank you to our outstanding contributors. This magazine is only possible with your words, photos, and keen editing eye.
Thank you to our event partners: The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 1CULTURE, Foxtale Fermentation Project, and Feast Mode SJ by Culture Night Market.
Become a member and help support our mission to feature local creatives.
What does it mean to find your voice? For Miguel Kultura, a Mexican American musician, rapper, and producer, the answer lies in the beats he produces and the stories in his rhymes. Growing up in San José, Miguel loved hip hop, funk, and soul music. His interest in music led him to work with BAMN, By Any Medium Necessary, a South Bay collective of creatives in music and film production. The experience he gained from working with BAMN served as a tangible outlet for his creative voice.
Despite health challenges that could have stalled his creative journey, Miguel used them as motivation to push forward and as a reminder to stay positive. He began researching holistic medicines that connected him to his Mexican ancestry. He considers his work in music and with his community as the role of a ‘light seeker’ devoted to telling stories about the positive influences of Indigenous and Chicano cultures. Part of that work has been advocacy for his Eastside San Jose Mexican American community. He has engaged in activism by founding a group called Jovenes Activos, which fought to preserve community murals that represented the culture of East San Jose.
As a rapper and producer, Miguel addresses the lack of representation of Spanish rap and hip-hop culture in Northern California. His songs, typically performed in Spanish, are meant to weave together parts of his life with the broader experience of the Mexican American communities in California. His productions bend and fuse various musical genres to create a sound representing Chicanos’ rich culture and history. Core to his lyrical content is delivering a positive message that he hopes can heal hardships and highlight the strength in humility.
Miguel’s latest release, Estilo Chicano, is a heartfelt expression of the strength, joy, and style found in Chicano car culture. Estilo Chicano celebrates low-riders and the pride in a community guided by a common interest. Estilo Chicano is part of a new tape Miguel is working on that will incorporate new sounds into Miguel Kultura’s style. He mentions that specific productions will emphasize vocals and harmonies, in addition to his raps, which will lend themselves to a more soulful and romantic tone. By expanding his sound with new projects and planning future tours, Miguel hopes to continue making music that speaks to Chicanos everywhere.
In this conversation, Miguel shares the motivation that he has found in adversity, his journey of self-discovery, and the importance of representing positivity in his work.
Follow Miguel Kultura on Instagram @miguelkultura and explore his website for merch, albums, and more.
Join Tara for the opening of her solo exhibition, “Mining the Plastocene,” at Felix Kulpa Gallery in Santa Cruz on Friday, November 1, as part of First Friday Santa Cruz.
Tara de la Garza’s art finds beauty and meaning in discarded materials. As a sculptor and artist in residence at the Cubberley Artist Studio Program in Palo Alto, she approaches themes of environmental justice through visual storytelling. Tara began collecting plastics while pursuing a sustainable lifestyle and later found artistic potential in the often vibrant or semi-transparent commercial byproducts. Her work centers on both reuse and upcycling while inviting viewers to consider a future increasingly defined by the saturation of synthetic plastics. In de la Garza’s upcoming solo exhibition entitled “Mining the Plastocene,” opening on November 1, 2024, at Felix Kulpa Gallery in Santa Cruz, she continues to explore the inclusion of plastic within the sedimentary and archaeological record through the eyes of history. As part of this solo exhibition she will also host upcycling workshops and release a book showcasing the evolution of her work from collage to sculpture.
Tara’s artistic journey began at a magnet theater arts high school in Australia. She nurtured a passion for performance by studying film and television in college. The filmmaking process led to her love for computers, and she later spent a decade as a graphic designer, thriving on client projects but eventually yearning for a deeper artistic expression. She grappled with her message and intentions as she transitioned to fine art. She would experiment with various mediums, ultimately focusing on large-scale collages that explored humanity’s connection to the environment. A pivotal moment came when she encountered a haunting image of a dead albatross, its stomach full of plastic, which sparked a visceral response and prompted her to investigate the profound impacts of pollution.
Tara’s work resonates with sustainability and environmental advocacy. She credits the Australian sensibilities she grew up with for her belief that even one person can make a significant impact. In her youth, Tara saw people in her community of Fremantle, Western Australia working towards sustainability; composting, thrifting, and making do with what they had. Consciously or subconsciously, those experiences have inspired her current body of work.
In tandem with her solo artistic endeavors, Tara seeks to make tangible impacts through her nonprofit, Inventurous based in Palo Alto. Inventurous focuses on recycling plastic in innovative and community-oriented ways. The nonprofit aims to educate communities by taking in locally sourced plastic waste for creative reuse. A recent public art project facilitated by Inventurous used 3D printers to create papel picado from upcycled plastics in honor of Dia de los Muertos. These art-based community engagement initiatives open up conversations about where our waste goes and demonstrate circular economies and the potential for plastic waste.
In this conversation, Tara discusses finding her voice as an artist, the duality of plastic–its danger and potential, and the opportunity for one person to spark meaningful change.
Under the light-strung trees of Mexican Heritage Plaza in East Side San José, the South Bay arts community celebrated the release of Content Magazine issue 16.4, “Profiles”, and 2024 Content Emerging Artists Esther Young and Elba Raquel. The August 22 Pick-Up Party was an event only San Jose could cultivate–a meeting point for diverse cultures, technological optimism, and a collective commitment to the community.
The School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza hosted a living issue of Content Magazine with nearly all 29 featured creatives in attendance. Starting at 6:30 p.m., guests and featured artists mingled. DJ Hen Boogie kicked off the party with his genre-blending beats. Artists from the issue shared their prints, fashion, writings, and music. Guests could even take home dried sage to plant. The plaza’s indoor gallery was activated with support from Works/San José and exhibited photography, mixed media, and sculptural works directly from the magazines’ pages.
Even the food and drink at the party reflected the South Bay’s creative diversity. Mama Roc’s Kitchen brought a variety of Puerto Rican flavors, and Sushi Roku Palo Alto offered a sampling of their high-quality rolls and sashimi. Goodtime Bar, located at Fountain Alley in Downtown San Jose, also popped up and had a selection of local natural wines for guests to taste.
As the sun set, a crowd gathered to watch a belly dancing performance from House of Inanna. Afterward, The Cultivator of Content Magazine, Daniel Garcia, stepped up to the stage to announce the recipients of Content’s 2024 Emerging Artist Award. Musician Esther Young and painter Elba Raquel accepted their awards, each designed by Local Artist Joe Miller, to camera flash and applause. The Content Emerging Artist Award recognizes early-career artists and provides $5,000 in unrestricted funding to support their creative work. After accepting her award, Young took to the stage, opening her set with an ethereal cover of Adrienne Lenker’s ‘Anything.’
The party provided a space for artists to forge connections and set the foundation for future collaboration. The School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza is a communal hub for celebration, organization, and art. In that way, the atmosphere reflected Content’s mission–both open and intimate, a true celebration of San Jose’s community and its commitment to the arts.
Join Content Magazine for Pick-Up Party 17.1, “Discover,” on Friday, November 22, at The Santa Clara County Fairground Fiesta Hall. The night is produced in partnership with San Jose-based 1Culture Gallery and will be a showcase for street art and culture in the South Bay.
Join Tommy and Universal Grammar at SJZ Break Room on August 21, 2024, at The Changing Same, featuring live performances by Madison McFerrin and Milan Ring, backed up by Universal Grammar Djs Chalé Brown and Zuri Alexa. All ages. Doors at 7p. Showtime at 8p.
Tommy Aguilar founded Universal Grammar as a collective of like-minded individuals interested in producing events that could shape culture through music, art, and community curating. Tommy prefers the title of ‘producer’ rather than ‘music promoter’ to describe his work. He treats event production as an art form. He shares, “Everything that Universal Grammar has done since day one has been very intentional. It was born out of what I saw in San Jose and not seeing a space for myself.” Since its founding in 2001, Universal Grammar has brought acts such as Kaytranada (Live At The Pagoda), The Internet (Jazz Beyond), Aloe Blacc (The Changing Same), Hiatus Kaiyote (Live At The Pagoda), Flying Lotus (The Changing Same), Thundercat (Jazz Beyond), Little Dragon (Live At The Pagoda), Questlove of The Roots (Universal Grammar presents), and Jazzy Jeff (Universal Grammar presents) all in support of its mission to present quality artistry and emerging contemporary voices to the South Bay.
In this conversation, Tommy Aguilar discusses the very early days of his interest in music and event production, the nuanced arena of producing music events in the South Bay, what events he has coming up, and the future of Universal Grammar.
The current San José Museum of Art Exhibition, Seeing through Stone, is on view through Sunday, January 5, 2025.
The stories told by museums hold profound implications for how society understands history and power dynamics. San José Museum of Art Chief Curator Lauren Schell Dickens has partnered with The Institute of the Arts and Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos to curate the museum’s current exhibition, “Seeing through Stone,” part of their ongoing Visualizing Abolition series. At the heart of this project lies a critical examination of the agency wielded by artists, activists, and institutions in imagining a world without prisons.
Seeing Through Stone challenges dominant narratives surrounding incarceration and stands as a testament to the power of art in confronting societal injustices. Featuring the works of 80 artists, It delves into themes of prison abolition, offering a platform for marginalized voices and a vision for creating a world beyond prison walls. Through poignant imagery and evocative installations, artists provoke viewers to confront the harsh realities of the prison-industrial complex while envisioning a world free from the constraints of incarceration. By centering the experiences of system-impacted individuals and their allies, the exhibition aims to spark dialogue and catalyze action toward dismantling oppressive systems.
Visualizing Abolition extends beyond the confines of the museum walls by fostering networks between abolition activists and artists. Through public programs and engagements, they seek to deepen community involvement and amplify the voices of those affected by incarceration.
Lauren Schell Dickens, most recently featured in Content Magazine Issue 15.4, “Profiles,” was born in the South Bay and raised in Sonoma County. She received a BA in American Studies from Yale University and an MA in Modern Art History, Critical Studies from Columbia University in New York. Her original interest in lighting design for theater arts set the stage for her interest in the work required when sharing an artist’s work. As a curator, Lauren weaves together the voices of artists, creating narratives that hopefully have a transformational effect on viewers.
In this conversation, we discuss Lauren’s Journey to becoming a curator, the transformative potential of art in fostering collective imagination and social change, the importance of artists in challenging normative representations of prisons, and specific installations that guests should look out for.
Join The San José Museum of Art on Friday, June 21, for live musical performances that will activate the artworks in SJMA’s exhibition “Seeing Through Stone” in collaboration with the City of San José’s Make Music Day Celebrations. Acclaimed composer and theorist James Gordon Williams, assistant professor of music at UC Santa Cruz, will perform an improvisational piece using a sculpture by interdisciplinary artist Maria Gaspar made of iron bars from the Cook County Department of Corrections, the largest single-site jail in the US. Experimental composer and visual artist Guillermo Galindo will perform a piece on his artwork, Llantambores, an instrument made of materials found at the US-Mexico border.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, and raised in San Jose, California, internet sensation DaQuane Fox, better known as Flammy Marciano, tends to be ahead of the curve when it comes to gaming, streaming, and even music. He began his music career in the late 2000s under the name Young Marvel before releasing viral songs such as ‘Jerry Rice’ and ‘Mood Right Now’ in the early 2010s under his current moniker, Flammy Marciano. Along with blending humor into his raps, Marciano has pioneered gaming and streaming into his musical career, building a large fanbase on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.
Marciano credits his love for music to his late uncle, Sultan Banks, widely known as Traxamillion. This love for music and relationship with his uncle led to Marciano’s passion for entertainment outlets that resemble television and cinema. Marciano gets deep when discussing how fatherhood has molded his life and impacted his career. Despite gaining recognition in a modern world that rewards being ahead of trends, Marciano never strays from his affinity for television shows of the 1970s and anime of the 1990s. His current success as a public figure has made his potential to become an internationally recognized influencer a real possibility.
In addition to being a father, rapper, and streamer, Marciano founded his record label, 88 Entertainment, and continues to release music that displays his evolution in sound. His upcoming project, currently referred to as ‘Yourself’ (final title pending), will be released in late Spring 2024. However, Marciano has released several exclusive early-cut tracks on Patreon before the final release.
In this conversation, we discuss Flammy Marciano’s journey as a rapper, streamer, and father, the inspiration behind his work, and the evolution of his career. You can find Flammy Marciano on all major music streaming platforms, Twitch and YouTube @flamgawdfaming, and Instagram @flammymarciano.
Host Troy Ewers is a journalist and personality from Southside San Jose, CA, with a background in music, film, and sports. Hey aims to highlight art and culture through music, fashion, film, and sports. Check out Troy Ewers on the Content Magazine Podcast, Instagram @trizzyebaby, and YouTube @topkatfilms.
Bree Karpavage and Ann Hazels are breathing new life into the Santa Cruz art scene.
First Friday Santa Cruz is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024. As part of the celebration, First Friday Santa Cruz and Radius Gallery, also celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, have teamed up to host an exhibition entitled “Changing Spaces,” opening on the First Friday in June. “Changing Spaces” features the work of 39 artists and is an homage to this monthly event that presents both emerging and established artists showing in small businesses, galleries, and art spaces across the county.
Radius Gallery was founded in 2014 by Ann Hazels to create a space for contemporary art with an edge. As a commercial gallery, Radius partners with other regional arts organizations while maintaining its vision for curation and creating a platform for local artists. A practicing artist herself, Hazels believes in the power of art to change the world and works hard to create shows at Radius that resonate with visitors, knowing artists are working just as hard to make the same things happen.
Bree Karpavage, the new face of First Friday Santa Cruz since 2020, has injected fresh energy into the organization. Her focus has been on uplifting venues and artists, all while fostering a sense of community. Karpavage’s vision for First Friday Santa Cruz extends beyond downtown or traditional art galleries. She envisions it as a platform that showcases the artistic talent of the entire region. First Friday Santa Cruz is a bridge that connects the community to art and small businesses, firmly believing in the transformative potential of art experiences.
In this conversation, Ann and Bree discuss the business of art, their own art practices, advice for emerging artists, and what they hope audiences take away from their work.
Be sure to attend First Friday Santa Cruz on June 7 and check out the opening of “Changing Spaces” at Radius Gallery. This exhibition celebrates 20 years of First Friday and features the work of 39 artists. It is an homage to this monthly event, which presents both emerging and established artists showing in small businesses, galleries, and art spaces across the county.
Jonathan Borca is a San Jose community leader, performer, and rapper. He is currently the Deputy Director at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza and the San Jose District 5 Arts Commissioner. He performs poetry and rap as ‘The Francis Experience.’
From his early days in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to his nomadic childhood following his father’s Air Force career, Jonathan Borca’s journey is one of determinant care for the community. Settling in East Side San Jose at the age of seven, Borca’s progressive mother, who introduced him to hip-hop albums from Tupac and Arrested Development, ignited his passion for poetry and the transformative power of music.
Borca attended Bellarmine College Preparatory High School in his teens through an East Side pathway program. Reflecting on his time at Bellarmine, he holds two realities to be true: the program did not do enough to support the students from under-resourced backgrounds, but it also was beneficial in developing his interest in pursuing a career in nonprofits. Throughout his journey, music, performance, and storytelling have always been a common thread, sometimes for himself and, more recently, a craft to share with others.
Under the moniker ‘The Francis Experience,’ Jonathan Borca has crafted a unique storytelling platform. His live performance projects, such as ‘Color Me Gold,’ are a fusion of storytelling and various performance genres. These curated performances, featuring a blend of poetry, rap, dance, and jazz, serve as a platform to showcase local San Jose talent.
Most Recently, Borca secured a 3-part residency at the San Jose Museum of Art funded by California Humanities. The project, currently preparing for part 2 on April 5, 2024, is titled First Friday: Hip Hop(e), Jazz, & Storytelling that will offer students and diverse audiences community members new ways to engage with exhibition themes of migration, identity, self-love, and inclusion through written and spoken word. The series is presented in partnership with Francis Experience Quartet, with co-founder Gabby Horlick (drums), standout musicians Bennett-Roth (keys, vocals), and Miguel “Frunkyman” Leyva (bass). Together, the quartet blends rap, poetry, and storytelling, which will be augmented by SJ Storyboard’s digital art and will showcase with a monthly featured poet).
The residency will be offered on SJMA’s late-night “First Fridays” with open galleries, held from 6–9 p.m. on April 5, 2024 (Rasanna Alvarez) and May 3 (Tshaka Campbell).
In our Conversation, we discuss Jonathan Borca’s Background as a youth growing up in East Side San Jose, what led him to a career in nonprofits, and the vital role music plays in his life.
Trevor Jones is a family man, building designer, and co-owner of Minnow Arts Gallery in Santa Cruz, California. Trevor was born and raised in Cupertino before studying economics and international studies during his undergrad and earning a master’s in architecture from the University of Oregon. Trevor describes the 15 years he lived in Portland, Oregon, as the “cauldron of his life as a creative person.” Inspired by Portland’s DIY art, design, music, and skateboarding scene, he imbued collaborative and process-oriented principles into SpaceCamp Studio, his design-build practice where he works as principal designer and general contractor.
Trevor moved to Santa Cruz in the early 2010s to continue his work at SpaceCamp, raise his family, and, as a surfer, live a coastal lifestyle. He met Minnow Arts Co-Owner Christie Jarvis through a mutual friend and artist, Jeremy Borgeson. Christie, a landscape architect, ceramicist, and filmmaker, was looking for office space, and Trevor had an office in the barrel aging warehouse of Humble Sea Brewing. It didn’t work out for them there, but it led Trevor and Christie to look for an office together. They eventually found and leased the space that became the Minnow Arts Gallery.
Trevor and Christie began hosting exhibitions that featured work from friends and artists they were connected with. Since then, Minnow Arts has been working to create an inclusive and supportive gallery focused on supporting the local art scene in Santa Cruz and giving opportunities to local and regional artists. Rather than having a strict mission statement, Minnow Arts stays true to its DIY roots and takes a more flexible approach to exploring what the space can be through different shows and events. They also aim to make exhibiting art more approachable and demystified for artists. Trevor sees his role as a “companion” to artists.
In our conversation, Trevor shares his approach to building design, reflections on the journey that led him to co-owning a gallery, and advice for anyone hoping to ‘do it themselves.’
Join Christie and Trevor at Minnow Arts Gallery on Friday, January 5th, for First Friday Santa Cruz as they open a retrospective exhibition featuring artwork from Good Knife Studio Creative Director Juan Llorens, a Buenos Aires-based artist who designs and illustrates work for Humble Sea Brewing’s cans, bottles, and marketing materials. Frank Scott Krueger from Humble Sea Brewing is collaborating with Juan to curate the show.
Pamela Walsh is an artist of a different sort. As a gallerist, her work lives in the margin between artwork and art buyer. A gallerist’s art is not just curation but creating a space that brings people to artwork and telling those stories-becoming a conduit between artistic expression and the community that is engaging with it.
Pamela Walsh Gallery is a contemporary art space in Palo Alto’s Ramona Street architectural district. The historic building housing the gallery was designed by Stanford architect Birge Clark in 1929.
Having opened in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Pamela was able to weather the turbulence of unprecedented times and is set to celebrate the gallery’s 4th anniversary with a group exhibition opening in December 2024.
The gallery’s focus on contemporary art is on creating a platform for diverse creative expression or establishing emerging artists. Having spent 20 years before opening her gallery, Pamela sold works from historical artists. Still, she decided to move forward with contemporary art as a fun and inspiring way to work with artists who are currently practicing. Small local galleries like Pamela’s are crucial to the arts ecosystem by encouraging artists, providing opportunities, and fostering a culture of art.
In our conversation, Pamela shares what it means to be a gallerist, her background in art and working in galleries, her journey toward becoming a gallery owner, and the role her space plays in the broader arts ecosystem.
IKUKA pastry and dessert shop at State Street Market in Los Altos takes its name from the first syllables of the Japanese words imo (sweet potato), kuri (chestnut), and kabocha (pumpkin). The goal of its creator and general manager, Miyuki Ozawa, is to bring the namesake flavors popular in Japanese baking to the South Bay.
Miyuki created the idea of IKUKA alongside her mother, Kuniko Ozawa, a prolific Bay Area restauranteur. In addition to Kuniko’s five other South Bay Japanese American restaurants, including Orenchi Ramen (also at State Street Market), Sumika Grill, & Ogiku Kaiseki, Miyuki is putting her stamp on Japanese cuisine in the Bay. IKUKA offers the deliciously starchy and subtle sweetness of imo,kuri, and kabocha as well as other favorite deserts from Japan such as the beloved Mont Blanc, burnt basque cheesecake, mini croissants, and mochi bread in hopes that patrons can experience delicate texture and sweetness of authentic Japanese pastries that bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients.
Try IKUKA at Pick-Up Party 16.1 This Thursday, November 30th, 6p-9p at State Street Market. Content members will receive a complimentary taste as a toast to their support of South Bay Creatives.
Like locking puzzle pieces, Scott and Shannon Guggenheim—or “Stannon” as their staff fittingly knows them—are the producing entity and owners of 3Below, the new home of Guggenheim Entertainment since the closing of the Retro Dome, San Jose’s previous realm of movie and sing-along fun. 3Below delivers top-quality surround sound as you view an indie film or enjoy a classic flick in the cozy Theater 2.
3Below is also the home of the ComedySportz show and provides acting classes, sing-along to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and theater productions. No matter what you come for, your experience is curated by creators driven by the need to provide entertainment that promotes joy. In our conversation, Shannon was sure about the journey to opening, the road they have been on through COV-19, and the spark of hope they feel as they can see the light at the end of the tunnel as they slow to reopen.
Shannon shares her own experiences through SIP and announces a new production series they are dreaming about called “San Jose Stories.” The series will consist of interviews with locals that are then developed into an improv interpretation.
Social Media: 3belowtheaters 3below if featured in issue 11.0 “Discover” 2019. ________________ This episode’s music is “Tang” by Chris Emond. Follow Chris on Spotify, https://bit.ly/ChrisEmond.
Juan Carlos Araujo – Director, Art Consultant, Painter.
Co-Founder of Empire Seven Studios (E7S) and POW! WOW! San Jose, along with his partner Jennifer Ahn, Curator and Gallery Manager. ES7 was established in 2008 as an urban contemporary art gallery located in Japantown San Jose at Empire St. and 7th St.
As often seen in Silicon Valley, their industrial gallery space that had became a hub for the South Bay Local Art Scene was razed for a new housing development. Fortunately, they were already expanding and transitioning to curate public art/mural projects and networking with POW! WOW! to launch POW! WOW! San Jose in 2017.
In our conversation, Juan Carlos discusses his journey as an artist, gallery owner, artist-curator, and what the future holds for him, Jennifer, and E7S.
Follow them on Instagram at @empire7studios and @powwowsanjose. Check out the video from our original interview with Juan Carlos in 2012.
