After my conversation this week with Jeremiah Matthew Davis — the new Oshman executive director and CEO of the San Jose Museum of Art — I’m intrigued to see where he takes the city’s flagship visual arts institution.
Davis, 42, comes from Oklahoma Contemporary in Oklahoma City, where he served as both artistic director and director during his nine-plus years there. That museum underwent some serious growth during his tenure, including moving into a new building and increasing its annual attendance from 10,000 to 80,000 visitors.
In San Jose, Davis sees an opportunity to bring a more-established institution to the next level — continuing the “museum without walls” initiative championed by his predecessor, S. Sayre Batton, who departed in May. He starts his new position Oct. 1 and he’ll be introduced to museum supporters and community members at an event Oct. 18.
“I’m passionate about the collection, about the programming of the institution and its position as a museum that’s dedicated to the region, to the people of San Jose and Silicon Valley,” he said. “I really believe that art and culture and civic engagement should go hand-in-hand and when you have that kind of public support for a cultural institution.”
He’s got some good aspirations, too. As a fan of large-scale installations, he thinks the San Jose Museum of Art could make more of an artistic impact downtown, whether its at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, the Circle of Palms or elsewhere. Davis noted that San Jose’s position at the center of a multicultural region presents great opportunities for programming and exhibitions.
“A city like San Jose — and a region like the Bay Area and a state like California — is very global,” he said. “It’s connected to culture all over the world, and I think combining that uniqueness with global influences that are already present in the area is a perfect mix for a fresh, contemporary institution.”
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Davis comes from a theater and performing arts background, which he concedes is a little offbeat for a museum director, but he thinks that’s also made him more open to collaboration. He said he looks forward to exploring more of the arts ecosystem in the valley and can see potential collaborations not only with San Jose’s arts organizations like the Institute of Contemporary Art and Opera San Jose but with others like the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga.
Given the challenges all cultural institutions are facing — both in terms of financial support and attendance — working together can be nothing but helpful.
“I think solidarity and collaboration just enhances the collective impact,” he said. “When institutions combine forces, they can amplify their ability to engage with audiences to reach new heights and to gain more of a following than they can individually.”
SILVER SCREEN SPECIALS: Movie lovers will get a real treat with the Free Film Fest next weekend at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s locations at Westfield Valley Fair and Mountain View. OK, you do have to reserve a spot by purchasing a $10 food voucher, but that’s still a great deal.
The movie lineup for the Sept. 19-21 festival includes classics like 1978’s “Superman,” “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” “Vertigo,” and “Old Boy” as well as more recent fare such as Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” There are different movies at each location, so go to www.drafthouse.com/sf for the lineup.
3Below Theaters in downtown San Jose also has a fun promotion running this fall: Anyone who attends five movies over the next seven weeks will get a voucher for nine admissions at $9 each.
They’re calling it a challenge, but it shouldn’t be difficult to accomplish given the slate of movies on the schedule for 3Below’s Big Screen Project. You could get it done just with the “Lights, Camera, Liftoff” series featuring movies and documentaries about space exploration with talks from experts including folks from NASA. Go to www.3belowtheaters.com to check out the lineup and ask about the challenge at the box office.
TOO FAST, TOO FURIOUS: If you sped through my item this week about the Santa Clara Valley Model T Ford Club’s Cars in the Park event at History Park in San Jose this weekend, you might have missed that I didn’t mention when it’s taking place. It’s this Saturday starting at 11 a.m.