Art Builds Community

Home
United States
San Jose, CA
Art Builds Community

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Art Builds Community, Art, 510 S 1st Street, San Jose, CA.

Art Builds Community is a women-led, public art planning and consulting firm that brings critical thinking and artists’ perspectives to the creative design of cities, buildings, and infrastructure.

02/25/2026

Some scenes from Sundays opening!

Thank you to our 2026 artists, community partners , volunteers, and everyone who joined us to celebrate the opening of Lunar 2026 Year of the Fire Horse Art Exhibiition at Art Builds Community this past Sunday!

It was the perfect way to celebrate this new year and celebrate Art Builds Community as a new business and gallery space in downtown San Jose! We feel so welcomed and excited for what is to come this year!

If you missed our opening, please visit our gallery hours!

EXHIBITION:
Feb 22 to Apr 19, 2026

GALLERY HOURS:
Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
11AM–5PM*

*Special extended hours and programs will be announced on instagram! So please follow for those updates

All artwork in the Lunar 2026 and selected works from San Francisco Opera's 2025 Monkey King are for sale unless marked sold. Please consider supporting local artists by purchasing artwork!

Please email for inquiries:

[email protected]
[email protected]

02/20/2026

🔥LUNAR 2026 — Year of the Fire Horse 🐎🔥

Join us for the Opening Reception
📅 2.22.26
⏰ 11:30AM–6PM
📍 E William St (btwn S 1st & S 2nd St)
Hosted by Art Builds Community

Going into our 9th year for .art.exhibition , we found ourselves reminiscing about all of the previous Lunar celebrations we've had at Tea Lyfe as our host gallery for the pop-up. Grateful for their hospitality, it only made sense for us to return the favor and ring in this fire horse year with (f.ka. Tea Lyfe).

Check out the special Lunar New Year menu they will be serving this Sunday from 11:30AM–4PM from new menu items and the return of the forever classic Bobbivie. 🖤

🌕 Osmanthus Moon Oolong
Osmanthus oolong milk tea with osmanthus oolong jelly & topped with lychee fruit

🍊 Trà Đào Cam Sả
Black tea, peach gum jelly, fresh orange & lemongrass garnish

☕ Bobbivie
A magical combination of Thai tea & Vietnamese coffee (sweetened condensed milk/dairy)

🥭 Mango Sticky Rice Matcha (vegan)

Thank you to our community partners:

02/16/2026

About last night...

Thank you to everyone who came out on rainy Sunday to be in community and support some great Viet-Am talent across comedy, poetry, music, and food. We're slowly testing out the capacity of the ABC space and couldn't have thought of a better collaboration than with and 's program as well as pop-up.

If you missed out, catch us next Sunday 2/22 for .art.exhibition for The Year of the Fire Horses Art Exhibition!

Also tag us in your photos and follow along these artists to be in the know for when they'll perform next or let us know of you want them to return to Art Builds Community!

mai.nguyen

Thank you to for the program support and for lending us some of their decorations.

02/16/2026

Thank you to the for hosting a space during Community Day for the Vietnamese community to gather to view the directed by and to discuss important topics, moderated by Quyen Ngo from .community, that impact the Vietnamese diaspora.

Creative & Community Engagement Director .mai.nguyen of Art Builds Community was brought on last year to work with The Tech on hosting a number of focus groups to learn from the Viet-Am community on how the museum can encourage more of the Viet community to attend or return back to the The Tech through marketing and programming. This year we started incorporating that feedback and recommendations through pilot Viet & English bilingual tours and programming that include Viet-Am artists and creatives.

This is just the start and we're looking forward to continuing this work. Please follow for more updates on what's to come.

Thank you for the awesome performance by your troope to ring in the Lunar New Year / Tết!

12/16/2025

Still thinking about Sunday's event. It was a beautiful evening to be in community with folks as we all came together to "break lumpia" and celebrate 👑 Arlene Biala's poetry book release of 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜.

Still finishing up your Xmas shopping? Gift them some poetry!

Books are available for purchase at BarnesAndNoble.com and Bookshop.com

Books published by

11/29/2025

Discover the enchanting dance performed in the traditional Vietnamese Áo Dài, featuring the Nón Lá, which symbolizes Vietnamese femininity- gentle, elegant, resilient, and poetic—while paying homage to the country’s rich agricultural heritage. It serves as a living art form, preserving traditional aesthetics for future generations, embodying the heart of Vietnam

The Southeast Asian Community Center Cultural Dance is a vibrant ensemble dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and sharing the rich and diverse performing arts traditions of Southeast Asia. Based at the heart of our community center, the troupe brings together dancers of all ages and backgrounds, united by a passion for cultural heritage.

They excel in authentic renditions of traditional Vietnamese dances, showcasing meticulously crafted costumes and often accompanied by live or traditional music.

As cultural ambassadors, they are dedicated to educating audiences about Southeast Asia's rich artistic legacy. They foster intergenerational connections and instill cultural pride within our diaspora communities while promoting cross-cultural understanding through the universal language of dance. Their captivating performances at community festivals, cultural events, and center functions highlight the beauty and depth of Vietnamese culture, leaving a lasting impact on all who attend.

Join us at the outdoor Monkey King Public Markets on Friday 11/28 and Sunday 11/30 to view Southeast Asian Community Center Cultural Dance (SEACC) Nón Lá demonstration.

📅 FRI, NOV 28, 2025 | 5PM–8PM
📅 SUN, NOV 30. 2025 | 11AM–3PM
📍 Memorial Court, 301–401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102

11/28/2025

Based in San Francisco's Chinatown, Lion Dance ME specializes in traditional Chinese lion dance, music, and entertainment. What began as a high school club has grown into a thriving organization offering programs in schools across the city. Recently featured in Sarasota, Florida's annual Winter Wonderland hosted by Nik Wallenda and The Circus Arts Conservatory, Lion Dance ME has also been showcased on America's Got Talent
and made history with the first female Western Lion King title. Dedicated to preserving the cultural art of dragon and lion dance, Lion Dance ME continues to inspire through its youth programs and performances throughout San Francisco and beyond.

View Lion Dance ME at The Monkey King Public Market on

📅 FRI, NOV 28, 2025 | 5PM–8PM
📅 SUN, NOV 30. 2025 | 11AM–3PM
📍 Memorial Court, 301–401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102

Learn more about

11/27/2025

A diabolo, also known as Chinese Yo-Yo, is a hundreds year old skill toy originating from China. It's believed that the diabolo was invented over 2000 years ago and was originally made of bamboo and other types of wood and would make a whistling sound when spun fast enough.
In today's day and age diabolos are made out of more durable materials like rubber, plastic, and metal. Diabolo usually consists of 2 sticks connected together with a cord and the diabolo itself which is made up of two cups with an axle in the middle. To this day diabolo is still a big part of Chinese & Asian culture, and through trade has become a popular sport, hobby, and circus art worldwide. As the sport has expanded over the years, so have the tricks being created. There are hundreds of thousands of tricks and styles possible with the diabolo, and the list is still growing!

California-based juggler Chris Garcia, aka Draco the Juggler, is a master of many forms of juggling, with his favorite being the diabolo (Chinese Yo-yo). He started juggling as a hobby in 2003, and as a professional juggler & instructor in 2008. Chris has performed across the SF Bay Area and also internationally and has taught thousands how to juggle.

View Draco the Juggler at The Monkey King Public Market and learn how to juggle the Chinese yo-yo.

📅 FRI, NOV 28, 2025 | 5PM–8PM
📅 SUN, NOV 30. 2025 | 11AM–3PM
📍 Memorial Court, 301–401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102

Learn more about

11/27/2025

Journey to the West, HENNY! is a calligraphy performance and interactive demonstration by Grace Jin and Vincent Chong, which reimagines the classic tale of the Monkey King through the lenses of Q***rness, Gender, Diaspora, and Chinese American identity. The artists transform into Tang Sanzang (Jin) and Sun Wukong (Chong), inviting audiences to embark on a pilgrimage through gestures of play, ritual, mischief, and devotion. Here, enlightenment is not found at the journey’s end, but in the collective act of writing one’s self into being.

View Journey to the West, HENNY! at The Monkey King Public Market

📅 FRI, NOV 28, 2025 | 5PM–8PM
📅 SUN, NOV 30. 2025 | 11AM–3PM
📍 Memorial Court, 301–401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102

Grace Jin is a Chinese American artist & medical student in SF working in painting, calligraphy and installation. Grace comes from four generations of village physicians in Wenzhou, a lineage she carries forward through her practice reclaiming art and medicine as entwined ways of tending to life. Grace's work is a material and somatic reintegration of ancestral healing practices. Working in collaboration with rather than mastery over materials—ink, herbs, mineral pigments, Wenzhou mulberry paper and the five elements—Grace paints to alchemize studies in biomedical science, traditional Chinese medicine, Buddhist, Christian, Taoist spirituality and decolonial feminist theory to summon new worlds of collective liberation. Learn more about

Vincent Chong (莊志明) is a Q***r mixed-race Chinese-American artist working in Chinese calligraphy, seal carving, painting, drawing, and performance. They will receive their MFA in Art Practice from Stanford University in 2026, and they hold a BFA in Fine Art and a BA in Mathematics from Cornell University. They are a student of Taipei-based calligrapher Wu Wensheng. After studying with Teacher Wu in Taipei from 2015-2017, Chong moved to New York city, where they developed their work alongside Bushwick’s Q***r and drag nightlife performers in addition to New York’s dance community. Learn more about

11/25/2025

SAVE THE DATE

We are honored to host a San José book release party for the beloved author, poet, spirit, and queen Arlene Biala in celebration of her newly released publication of poetry titled, 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜

🗓️ Sunday, December 14, 2025
⏰ 6PM–8PM
📍Art Builds Community
E. William Street between S. 1st & 2nd St.
(look for gray roll-up garage door on side of pink building)

Join us for an evening of poetry and community with featured performances by...

🔅 DJ / Abraham Menor

🔅 Lorenz Dumuk / / emcee

🔅 Quỳnh-Mai Nguyễn / .mai.nguyen

🔅Ellie Lopez /

🔅 Keana Aguila Labra /

🔅 Tshaka Campbell /

👑 Arlene Biala /

📚 Books are available for purchase at BookShop.org and BarnesAndNoble.com

𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 published by

Please note:
Street parking free after 6PM. Please read signs carefully. Accessible space.

11/07/2025

📢 In case you didn't know...

Congrats to Amanda from Art Builds Community, who had been training for the last 8 months for the New York Marathon to represent San Jose!! 🏃🏽‍♀️🎉🎉🎉 She just came back home this week with her medal and we couldn't be more proud of her accomplishment and the support she was able to fundaised through her run for the , the nation's largest nonprofit providing shelter and healthcare services to LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness in NY.

If you haven't yet, catch the write-up on Amanda's participation in Sal Pizarro's column (slide 3) and give Amanda a 🎉!

🏃🏽‍♀️..🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏻🏃🏿‍♂️...🏃🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏿🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️..🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏻🏃🏿‍♂️...🏃🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏿🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️

10/24/2025

The City of Newark California is doing amazing work by showing their commitment to the Arts & Humanities during the month of October. At this evening's city council meeting Mayor Hannon, Vice Mayor Little and Council members Jorgens, Grindall and Del Catancio joined together to proclaim October as National Arts & Humanities Month to local Newark Artist Adriane Dedic, found of the Newark Artists Open Studios.
Our team is proud to be the public art consultants for the City of Newark as they develop their public art program.

Address

510 S 1st Street
San Jose, CA
95113

Telephone

+14086416993

Website

http://www.artbuildscommunity.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Art Builds Community posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Art Builds Community:

Shortcuts

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Arts & Entertainment in San Jose?

Art Builds Community

02/25/2026

02/20/2026

02/16/2026

02/16/2026

12/16/2025

11/29/2025

11/28/2025

11/27/2025

11/27/2025

11/25/2025

11/07/2025

10/24/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Establishment

Shortcuts

Share

Category