Pacific Art Collective - Cultural Xposure Through Unity of Art

Can the Pacific Art Collective turn San Jose into the art capital of the world?

When South Bay native William Rowan claims that the San Jose art scene should be counted in the same league as New York and Paris, he’s not kidding. Nor is he foaming at the mouth and wearing a little cap with a propeller on it; he’s dead serious. And beyond just talking about all of the great, undiscovered art Silicon Valley is producing, for the past two years Rowan has been working 12-hour days trying to coordinate and promote San Jose’s discombobulated art movement.

“There’s a lack of organization [within the Silicon Valley art community],” says Rowan, the 34-year-old founder, curator and self-described “zookeeper” of the Pacific Art Collective. “[PAC] has pretty much drawn a blueprint for the way art collectives should aggressively approach their goals. With the success that we’ve had, it’s completely exceeded our expectations.”

Since its inception in December of 2002, the PAC has hosted 35 shows and currently averages two or three per month. Since they don’t have a permanent home, the PAC sessions (as they are commonly referred) take place among rotating venues, although Rowan recently inked a deal with Camera 12 Cinemas to do monthly gigs at their theater complex in downtown San Jose.

What kind of art can you expect to find at a PAC session? Well, that depends on what night you show up. PAC shows offer decidedly eclectic works and you’ll find every type of art lover between the ages of 15 and 65. “Each show is different – not one has been the same. The common denominator is it’s all just art,” explains Rowan, sort of. “It doesn’t matter if it’s hip-hop, spoken word, live painting, a dance performance by the San Jose Ballet, or a reading from the National Poetry Slam champion. What we’re doing is a cross-pollination of art.”

Upon closer examination, however, a few trends have emerged from PAC sessions. Even though the visual art consistently varies, the night’s opening musical act is usually a DJ, who’s typically followed by a live band. And inbetween sets an emcee keeps things flowing by introducing dance performances, open-mic comedy or live poetry.

“We’ve blended the business and the art scene, which has been a problem for both [in Silicon Valley] in the past. They haven’t supported each other and we need to find a way… The idea is to get people to come down to San Jose. We’re all about exposure.”

And while San Jose is PAC’s launching pad, you may have taken note of the word “Pacific” in the group’s moniker. The long-term goal is to unite emerging art movements throughout the Western region of the United States and possibly Mexico. Rowan envisions a day when his 300-member art collective will expand to San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and L.A. PAC has already made some progress with its grand plan. Not only have their San Jose shows featured bands from as far as L.A., but they recently put on their first San Francisco show and they’re gearing up for two events this year in Las Vegas (although even Rowan admits that Vegas barely qualifies as a “Pacific” town).

The next PAC session takes place on September 16 at 7pm at the Camera 12 Cinemas (201 South Second St., San Jose), followed by a 6pm show on September 24 at Works Gallery (20 North Third St., San Jose). Admission is $5. All money raised goes into the PAC fund, which pays for PAC artists to travel to Vegas and other out of town gigs. Nobody, including Rowan, gets paid for the immense time and energy put into this project.