Content Magazine

#51 Eric Bui- Multimedia Artist 

Look through Eric Bui's social media feed and you will notice that he enjoys drawing with ink and pen as well as digital tools like Procreate.

Recently, Eric found himself in the local spotlight because of a piece he submitted to a group exhibit curated by the City of San Jose called "Holding the Moment," a series of works by 77 artists displayed at the San Jose International Airport. One of his selected pieces, "AMERICANA," received complaints, prompting the City to rotate the show earlier than scheduled.

In our discussion, Eric shares his creative path, the intentions behind the piece, and the encouragement and support he received from the San Jose creative community following the illustration's removal.

Instagram: @lolwtferic (https://instagram.com/lolwtferic) www.lolwtferic.com This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond. Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

South Bay native Brendan Rawson has worked in the local arts scene for more than twenty years. Since joining San Jose Jazz (SJZ) in 2012, Brendan has worked to increase their education programs' impact and conceived many of their most successful initiatives, including Jazz Beyond programming and the mobile Boombox Truck stage.

#49 Halfdan Hussey - CEO and Co-Founder of Cinequest and Creatics

Halfdan (hallf' dun) Hussey is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cinequest Inc. and Creatics Enterprises Inc. Launched in 1990, Cinequest fuses innovations with creativity to empower youth, artists, audiences, and innovators globally. His passion for creating positive and transformative impact in our world is ever-present in his work. Having produced five films, written two books, and successfully built companies, Halfdan demonstrates his love for the worlds of leadership and creativity, and youth empowerment.

A year ago, 48 hours before the opening night of the 30th Cinequest celebration, COVID hit.

Cinequest was one of the first California institutions to make the tough choices to postpone the festival after six days of safe in-person events.

Fortunately, Cinequest leadership was already working on a digital media platform called, Creatics that they could alter to include online screenings in the summer of 2020, which has been a great test run for this year's Cinequest Online Festival coming March 20-30th.

In our conversation, Halfdan talks about the changes they have had to make to their programming and how those adjustments will roll out to this year's festival.

Follow Cinequest and register for this year's festival at cinequest.org and their new platform Creatics.org.

Cinequest Virtual, entitled Cinejoy featuring the Artists & Movies of Cinequest, will occur March 20-30, and tickets will go on sale in early March. You will find your logins, profile, browsing, and shopping experience easy and fun! You will discover a lineup of live events, community interactions, and movies that fulfill the Cinequest legacy: vanguard, stellar, and inspiring.

This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond. 

Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond

Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

#48 Marianne McGrath - Independant Art Curator and Consultant- MKM Art Consulting

Marianne K. McGrath is a Los Gatos, California, local who used her background in art and art history to build her own business, MKM Art Consulting, LLC., to practice curating, art consulting, and art education. Marianne holds a BA in art and 3-D design, as well as an MA in art history from San Jose State University. Her passion for art led her to a career focused on sharing art with the community, especially seen through her work with the New Museum Los Gatos (formerly The Museums of Los Gatos). Art exhibits and projects hosted by MKM Art Consulting include "To Hear and Be Heard" and "31 Women."

In our conversation, Marianne explains how her life path led her to be an art exhibit curator which she see as vitaul role in helping advance artists' careers.

"I think art is a reflection of the community. Art gives us an opportunity to know each other better, and to understand ourselves, to make us think and ask questions, help us change, and foster empathy."

Find out more about Marianne's work at:

@theartistcollector (https://www.instagram.com/theartistcollector/)

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: @MildMonkMusic

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 

Chad Johnston, CEO of CreaTV San Jose, sees immense opportunity and a chance to reshape what we’ve come to know as Public Access TV, and transform it into a powerful public tool for local storytelling and media activism.

“Teaching people to tell their story can change their position,” says Johnston. “It empowers you in a way where you say ‘My voice does matter. I’m as important as Wolf Blitzer!’ When that happens to someone, that’s the transformation that I think is relevant and important to doing community work.”

In our conversation with Chad, we discuss the programs and value of Public Access TV to the community, the opportunities that CreaTV provides, and the new media center that will launch later this year.

Chad also shares his life insights that have been inspired by the Horace Mann quote,  "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."

FEATURED in  Issue 11.3 “Perform”(https://www.content-magazine.com/articles/chad-creatv/)

Written by:  Kevin Marks  | Photography by: Daniel Garcia

Podcast production assistance by Madison Cleeland @marie__madison (https://www.instagram.com/marie__madison/)

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: @MildMonkMusic

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 

#46 Ato Walker - Humorous, host, and emcee

He calls himself "Mr. Walker." He started out hosting comedy nights at San Jose's Britannia Arms and has performed at the Ice House, San Jose Improv, Laughs Unlimited, Rooster T. Feathers, and the Caravan Lounge. He has also emceed Music in the Park and San Jose Jazz Festival stages.

In our conversation, Ato tells us about how he got into comedy, his first performance, and the role comedy plays in society, especially as a Black man in the U.S.

Follow on his instagram @mratowalker

Read more about him in our 2016 interview in Issue 8.3 "Show." (https://www.content-magazine.com/articles/8-3-ato-walker)

Written by Diane Solomon (https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleybikes/)

Photography by Daniel Garcia (https://www.instagram.com/thecultivator/)

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: @MildMonkMusic

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 

Jorge “J.Duh” Camacho uses the symbiotic duality of his creative process—fine art versus street—to create unique, vibrant, and witty works of art.

Since jumping into the local art scene as one of Local Color's first tenants, Jorge has expanded his skills, network, and portfolio with projects from the "Greeting from San Jose" wrap on the PCW building to POW! WOW! San Jose.

In our conversation, we talk about his connection to the community, his growth as an artist, and the personal art project series he started during SIP.

jduhdesigns.com

Instagram: j.duh

And, in our interview with him in Issue 10.0 “Seek” 2018. (https://www.content-magazine.com/articles/10-0-jduh/)

Written by Tad Malone | Photography by Arabela Espinoza

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Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: @MildMonkMusic

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 

#44 Dana Harris Seeger and Yori Seeger - Artists and Cofounders of the School of Visual Philosophy

Both accomplished artists, Dana's practices include painting, printmaking, and interactive installation, while Yori can be classified as a sculptor working with blacksmithing, bladesmithing, metal casting, and 3D printing — it would be a disservice to limited either of them to one genre.

Their passion for art and community lead them to launch the School of Visual Philosophy in 2013. Their vision was to provide a place for artists to learn, create, and develop a new pedagogy for creative craftsmanship and art.

Despite many changes, from expanding their family to changing locations, the Seegers have continued to apply the innovative skills to establish the School of Visual Philosophy as a landmark arts space in the South Bay.

In our conversation, we discuss their vision, transitions, and the new opportunities they've developed during COVID-19, which includes a new interactive "Online Atelier" featuring in-depth art courses in a range of techniques and subjects.

https://www.schoolofvisualphilosophy.com/

Instagram: schoolofvp (https://www.instagram.com/schoolofvp/)

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: @MildMonkMusic

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 

#43 Sinjin Jones - Transmedia artist and Artistic Director at Pear Theatre

Sinjin Jones is a multimedia jack of all trades. He loves experimenting with and practicing directing, choreography, creative writing, slam poetry, painting, lighting design, and sound design (to name a few). His passion for the arts led him to found the Otherworld Collective in Colorado as a way to experiment with storytelling through different media, and to serve as Artistic Director and Board Vice President of A Theatre Group in Silverton, Colorado.

In 2019, Sinjin moved from Colorado to the Bay Area and is currently rounding up his first year as the Artistic Director at Pear Theatre in Mountain View, California. Sinjin has been able to use his skills in multiple medias to innovate creative solutions to keep Pear Theatre running during the global pandemic.

In this conversation, Sinjin shares with us how humans have always told stories from the beginning of time, how connection is made through storytelling, and how storytelling is the cornerstone of humanity.

https://www.thepear.org/

http://www.sinjinjones.com/

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: @MildMonkMusic

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0 

#42 Juan Sanchez - Founder and Creative Director of Baunfire Digital Agency

Juan founded Baunfire in 2003 to provide "great work" for his clients and soon realized that a "great team" is the key to the quality of Baunfire's service. As a digital design agency based in the heart of Silicon Valley, downtown San Jose, they have partnered with leading global brands and forward-thinking startups to design and develop elevated platforms on the web. Baunfire has partnered with a diverse group of high-profile clients including Nike, Netgear, Honda, Cisco, The Walt Disney Company, and more.

In our conversation, Juan talks about his recent challenges, the expansion of his team and team-building culture, and working remotely during COVID-19. Which was surprisingly seamless since his team had already had moved to a cloud-based work environment.

Baunfire was featured in Issue 8.3 "Show" and is the agency that designed our current website.

www.baunfire.com 

Instagram: baunfire 

Twitter: baunfire

Facebook: wearebaunfire

Baunfire was featured in issue 8.3 "Show" 2016. (https://www.content-magazine.com/articles/baunfire/)

Music for this episode is "Time Alone" by Mild Monk

Follow him at:

IG: @MildMonkMusic

Spotify: Mild Monk http://bit.ly/MildMonkMusicSpotify

Read interview with Mild Monk in issue 12.0