In 2024, San José’s Mayor and five City Council seats (in even-numbered districts) are up for election, and there are competitive races for two Santa Clara County supervisor seats. This is our chance to have an impact on who makes the decisions on arts and culture policy at the city and county level. With that...

Today, the San José City Council will be considering Mayor Mahan's March Budget Message, which includes directions to the City Manager for how to structure the City's budget for the coming fiscal year beginning in July. We just sent a letter to the City Council letting them know where we stand!

As avid readers of our newsletter know, the San José City Council is holding a study session on Arts, Destination Marketing, and Destination Events tomorrow, February 16, beginning at 9:00am. In advance of this special meeting more than a year in the making, SJAA’s Core Team has been educating the Mayor, Councilmembers, and their staffs about...

With six brand new City Councilmembers and a fresh face in the Mayor’s chair, it’s time for us to come together and refocus our advocacy as they begin to set a path forward. We can’t wait to get started with you!

The City Manager’s latest draft budget for FY2021-2022 earmarks $2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to support arts and cultural programs that have been devastated COVID-19. And now, the Mayor has proposed using additional one-time relief funds to backfill shortfalls in the Transient Occupancy Tax (aka TOT or Hotel Tax). While we thank the...

As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, San José Arts Advocates believes that a significant investment in our creative ecosystem will help rebuild our local economy and reactivate our city for residents, workers, and visitors. The City of San José budget process is an opportunity for advocates to speak up and let city leaders...

The SJAA Core Team has reviewed the Mayor’s budget message for items that would have a direct impact on the creative community.

SJAA believes in a public process for the installation and deinstallation of any and all public art projects. Sign our letter to Mayor Liccardo calling on the City to conduct a thorough public review of the series of events that led to the early deinstallation of the Holding the Moment exhibit.

As a key component of our mission, San José Arts Advocates are committed to collaborating with other community-based organizations to create a more inclusive, engaged, and empowered San José. That’s why on November 21, 2020, thanks to support from the City of San José, we partnered with CatalyzeSV, San José Jazz, and genARTS Silicon Valley...

Recently, San José Arts Advocates hosted our first-ever series of candidate forums with the incumbents and challengers vying for City Council Districts 4 and 6 in the November 2020 elections, which could swing the balance of power on the council. Over two nights in early September, we engaged the four candidates in a wide-ranging conversation...