City of San Jose Cultural Affairs Office

General information

The Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) is a unit of the City’s Office of Economic Development. Together, we foster cultural and economic development as related strategies for continuing to build San Jose as the cultural and economic heart of the Silicon Valley. The OCA coordinates services at a large number of outdoor events and festivals, offers a variety of financial support opportunities for arts and culture providers, creative entrepreneurs, and leads the development of public art works throughout the city.

The OCA provides staff support for the San Jose Arts Commission, an 11-member citizen advisory body appointed by the City Council.

Purpose:
• To support, promote and develop opportunities for cultural enrichment, cultural literacy and cultural participation in San Jose, and facilitate the City’s rise as they key cultural and creative center for Silicon Valley.

• To encourage, develop, coordinate and promote a wide range of unique and successful outdoor special events on public and private property throughout the City.
Programs

The OCA provides programs and services through three optional services – Arts Program, Special Events, and Public Art – each of which works actively across City Departments and City Service Areas.

Arts Program: Manages several grant opportunities that fund local arts and culture, and leads the Creative Entrepreneurs initiative created to improve the San Jose opportunity landscape for independent artists.

Special Events: Facilitates the planning, coordinates the City services and issues permits for approximately 400+ outdoor special events year round which attract over 2.5 million participants from San Jose and beyond.

Public Art: Seeks to build community identity by initiating artworks and exhibitions that enliven regional, and nationally recognized to create original artworks that enhance public spaces. Through the active engagement between the artists and project stakeholders, public art strives to reflect the City’s ethnic diversity, historic richness, and envision its present and future.

Arts Commission: Appointed by City Council, the 11-member Arts Commission assesses the cultural needs of San Jose and develop arts policy, program and budget recommendations for approval by the City Council, including annual cultural grants and public art. The Arts Commission meets on the third Monday of every month at City Hall.