Santa Clara County’s unique identity and greatest strength is our diversity – a diverse economy, a diverse landscape and a rich diversity of cultures. As we live and work together it is through sharing our arts and culture practices and traditions that we begin to understand each other and establish foundations for collaboration and increasing community health.
More than 1,000 arts organizations call Santa Clara County home. Most of these are small and many represent cultural-specific traditions that preserve and celebrate their heritage within the wide range of cultures. They are dynamic, well-loved organizations in their communities that provide vibrant performances, festivals and classes and are often important gathering places for families and residents.
Some have been around for more than 50 years. Some are newly formed by more recent immigrants to our region. Many were places of refuge, information sharing and service during the pandemic. Many are the first stop for educational resources or information on voter registration. They are likely hidden or unknown to those of us not familiar with a particular cultural community. Let’s change that!
When we experience our neighbors’ traditions, we often see how they parallel our own. When we experience their art, we better understand their history and perhaps their inspirations and goals. Through this sharing we find common ground to help us work together to improve community outcomes, advance economic opportunities, share space, educate our kids and uplift our neighbors.
From Latinx artist collectives and festivals in Gilroy, to the rich diversity of nonprofit arts institutions in downtown San Jose, to recent increases in east and south asian cultural offerings, to new public art projects in smaller cities around our county. Once you start looking you can’t miss the incredible wealth of creativity and care in our communities. If you’re ready to get involved, here are a few hidden gems to get you started.
The Cambodian Cultural Dance Troupe of San Jose is part of Cambodian American Resource Agency (CARA), a San Jose-based organization that provides cultural programming to the Cambodian American diaspora throughout the Bay Area. Founded in 1998, CARAS’ programs served young Cambodians in the low-income, east side San Jose neighborhoods where their parents resettled after fleeing the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s.
In the decades since CARAS inception many of the earliest graduates of these programs have gone to college, built families and now engage their own children in cultural heritage and generational history through traditional dance. In 2024 and 2025 The Cambodian Cultural Dance Troupe commemorates the artists that were targeted during the genocide by the Khmer Rouge, which started 50 years ago with the fall of Phnom Penh. A series of workshops, classes and performances will be presented at the Olinder Community Theater, operated by Chopsticks Alley, and at the School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.
The Chinese Performing Arts of America (CPAA), which operates from a facility in West San Jose, is both a dance troupe preserving and uplifting Chinese artistic traditions, and a hub for a community of professional artists, culture bearers and practitioners that promote the cross-cultural heritage of Asian communities. The Center is an arts incubator program for 40+ organizations from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The facility’s 12 studios and a 350-seat auditorium provide classes and activities for thousands of children and adults each week. CPAA’s internationally recognized ensemble presents multiple performances annually including the Silicon Valley Spring Festival Gala, at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. The event features new and traditional dance pieces and showcases an array of multicultural performances.
Kaisahan of San Jose celebrates the beauty and splendor of Filipino cultural traditions through song and dance while fostering community spirit and addressing the need for cultural representation in the pluralism and diversity of our region. Open community dance classes are offered year-round at Hamann Park Community Center and the Filipino American United Church in Sunnyvale. Kaisahan performs at festivals and private venues, the Historic Hoover Theatre in San Jose and provides an artist for school programs.
This year Teatro Vision de San Jose is celebrating 40 years of bilingual theater rooted in the Teatro social justice tradition. While pursuing innovation and supporting new artists, Teatro Visión’s work is also steeped in history and honors Mexican identity, tradition and community participation. The 40th Anniversary Dia De Los Muertos Production of MACARIO will take place this October at the School of Arts & Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza. MACARIO is a Teatro Vision adaptation of the classic Mexican film and novel, with original music for our local community to tell the story of a poor woodcutter who dreams of a day without hunger. When his wife makes that dream come true he is given a healing power that could change his family and his community’s lives forever.
A list of other local arts organizations currently supported by SVCreates can be found here on our website.
Alexandra Urbanowski is CEO of SV Creates, the state and county designated arts service organization and local arts agency for Santa Clara County. She serves on the leadership committee for the California Coalition of County Art Agencies and is vice chair of the board at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Her columns appear every first Wednesday of the month. Contact Alexandra at [email protected].
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