2009 BEST OF SILICON VALLEY Reader Survey Winner - First Place

Best Art Museum

Since 1969, when it made creative use of the old Romanesque post office building, until today, with a spacious, well-lighted vaulted two-story addition, the San Jose Museum of Art has hosted many memorable exhibits: the meta-outsider images of Martn Ramrez, the fantastical collages of Jess, the illuminated installations of Jennifer Steinkamp and, most befitting for Silicon Valley, Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon. The museum concentrates on California and West Coast artists and boasts a strong permanent collection that can be seen in rotating shows; its holdings are especially deep in the Bay Area's abstract expressionist painters of the post-World War II era. On Oct. 17, the museum throws itself a 40th birthday party, with cocktails at the facility, followed by dinner and more at the Fairmont (call 408.271.6865 for details).


2009 BEST OF SILICON VALLEY Reader Survey Winner - Third Place

Best Gift Store


2007 BEST OF SILICON VALLEY Staff Pick and Reader Survey Winner - First Place

Best Place to Look at Art
The visions of Martín Ramírez; the dark fantasies of Camille Rose Garcia; the phantasmagorical collages of Jess... ”the museum's traveling shows get better and better. So too the permanent collection, which includes the amazing Internet installation Listening Post, currently dazzling audiences on loan in S.F.

-- Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly Newspaper, September 26, 2007

SJMA is the leading institution dedicated to visual culture in Silicon Valley. It is a community anchor, ensuring artistic excellence and access for an extraordinarily diverse populace. It is a contemporary art center whose acclaimed exhibitions have ranged across modern masterworks to the newest frontiers of art.

It is the largest visual arts education provider in Santa Clara County. It is a source of inspiration, contemplation, and delight for a fast-moving community. It is a Museum of the future.

The San Jose Museum of Art is the only museum in San Jose accredited by the American Association of Museums, a recognition given to only 750 of the nation's 8,000 museums.

As the region's premier visual arts institution and community museum, SJMA strives to be completely accessible not only to those who can afford to pay a fee, but also to San Jose's large, underserved population with limited financial resources. We count all of our generous supporters, from individual members to major philanthropic leaders, as voices for this important cause.

A public benefit 501(c)3 organization located in downtown San Jose, SJMA serves 225,000 people a year. 55,000 are children, nearly 40,000 of whom participate in our locally applauded Studio Arts Education programs. As the largest provider of visual arts education to regional public schools, SJMA pays special heed to the needs of students in schools receiving federal Title I funding (indicating that at least 50% of the students' families already receive funding in the form of Aid for Families with Dependent Children [AFDC] and are considered "at risk" of dropping/failing out of school).

The San Jose Museum of Art, founded in 1969 as the Civic Art Gallery, is dedicated to fostering the awareness, appreciation and understanding of twentieth and twenty-first century art in the diverse audiences of the Bay Area, through high caliber exhibitions, superior Studio Arts Programs, collections, and award-winning publications. All of these programs are designed to engage and enrich the individual and the community, and to sustain, promote and cultivate the value of the visual arts. SJMA's leadership is committed to serving the people of San Jose, and maintains ongoing dialogues and partnerships with the region's business leaders and arts organizations in order to meet the most current and pressing needs of our community.


Admission:

Adults: $8.00
Students & Seniors: $5.00
Children under 6: FREE
SJMA Members: FREE