As a bubble of art in a city booming with technology, Local Color showcased
Bay Area artists’ works to the San Jose community on Sunday.
Local Color, a San Jose-based nonprofit organization, was established to “build economic opportunities for creatives at the intersection of art and community development,” according to their official website.
The organization held a second installation of its Daytime Market, where artists set up stations for art fanatics to browse and buy their work, on Friday.
The first Daytime Market was hosted in December 2019.
“We just wanted to give a reason for people to come out and have an opportunity for artists to come and sell their items,” said Carmen Gaines, Local Color’s facilities and fiscal sponsorship manager. “If you have things to sell and you feel confident in setting up a table, you’re more than welcome to visit here.”
Gaines worked with a committee of five to organize the event and the market in December 2019 as well.
The exhibition consisted of 22 artists hailing from different cities, because artists did not need to live in San Jose to present their art.
Visitors indulged in different art forms like live painting, portraiture paint prints, graphic design clothing, jewelry making and more.
Each artist seemed to embody their work, as opposed to the regular suit and ties that are seen in and around glass buildings.
Jim Fonseca, a Local Color artist and freelancer, has been graphic designing for the apparel industry for 12 years and screen-printing for the last four years.
At the market, he sold an amalgamation of his two professions: his original designs screen-printed onto T-shirts.
“It’s good to just be able to interact with the public,” Fonseca said about the Daytime Market. “We get our stuff out there and sell things, hopefully network and now just build the community, bring it together.”
Through these events, Local Color hopes to provide a workspace for artists and help them make a profit, eventually making enough financial strides to find a permanent home.
Their previous location on First Street closed down because it did not comply with zoning laws.
Now, Local Color rents two places and produces artwork at each location.
“Moving from space to space has been fun and exciting,” said Erin Salazar, executive director and founder of Local Color. “But we know now that in order to be stable and to be sustainable, we need to have a stable place to be.”
Salazar, a San Jose State alumna, started Local Color, originally called The Exhibition District, after a nihilistic lapse in her life following the death of her parents.
“I wanted to do something that would be big and impactful with my time on earth because [my parents] died when they were pretty young,” Salazar said. “I really wanted to do something special and important and with my whole heart, for my life and for my job.”
She decided to revitalize run-down buildings to spread art and provide artists with a creative platform.
“One of the things artists can give is a sense of community, a sense of ownership over a space that might be blighted or empty or vacant,” said Salazar. “So that’s kind of what we’ve been doing over the last couple of years is building. Building the community and actual people in it.”
Salazar said Local Color’s mission is to provide artists with economic opportunities to sustain a “sense of cultural authenticity” during the turbulence of gentrification and development San Jose goes through.
Local Color plans to host an event at its South First Street location on April 11.
