Date Thursday, April 15th | 5-6pm PDT via ZOOM
Cost FREE for Los Gatos Residents & NUMU Members, join today!
$10 Suggested Donation*
*NUMU's mission is to make programming accessible to all, please contribute whatever you are able. Donations directly support the museum’s exhibitions and educational programs, whether virtual or in-person.
Let’s unpack “Good Trouble”, the theme of this year’s ArtNow 2021 Exhibition. As we commemorate the tenth year of ArtNow, we have a unique opportunity to dive deeper into how the arts can function as a vector for anti-racism in Santa Clara County and beyond. What special role can youth play in activism, arts, and social justice? How can institutions, such as Art Museums, support the efforts of youth and activists? The program will include time for breakout conversations led by each panelist, and will conclude with a Q&A.
Featured Panelists: Sofia Fojas, Ron P. Muriera, Usha Srinivasan
Sofia Fojas
Sofia Fojas is a leader for cultural equity and social justice in the arts. She was born in Honolulu and grew up in San Jose, California. A classroom music teacher and high school music director for 20 years, she taught orchestra, band, IB Music, and mariachi. In the last 6 years, she has served as a district arts leader in San Francisco and Elk Grove school districts. Ms. Fojas is the Arts Coordinator for the Santa Clara County Office of Education in San Jose, California. She was a member of the California Alliance for Arts Education and is currently a member of the board of directors for the National Guild for Community Arts Education and serves on its Racial Equity Committee.
Ms. Fojas started her musical career as a violinist in the pit orchestra of the San Jose Children’s Musical Theater and continues to play violin and viola with SF Bay Area choirs and orchestras. She has also performed with Mariachi Cali, Mariachi Atzlan and as a guest in a performance with Mariachi Sol de Mexico. She performed with Los Cenzontles and recorded with them on an album of the Chieftans. She has played in backup orchestras behind Natalie Cole, Dionne Warwick, Andy Williams, Smokey Robinson, and Johnny Mathis. Contact: sfojas@sccoe.org
Ron P. Muriera
Ron P. Muriera (Pronouns: he/his) has over 20-years of experience and knowledge as an arts and culture administrator, performing artist, community activist, educator, historian, consultant, and advocate for underrepresented communities locally, regionally, and nationally. He has dedicated his life’s work to addressing racial, social, and economic justice, access to the arts, cultural representation, and inclusion of marginalized groups.
Ron is owner of RPM Consulting based in San José and works with arts & cultural nonprofit organizations to help them fulfill their mission. He recently completed his 8-year term on the San José Arts Commission, and presently serves the community in various roles: Board Vice President of two statewide advocacy organizations: Californians for the Arts and California Arts Advocates; founding Board President of Red Ladder Theatre Company, co-founder of San José Arts Advocates, and board member of the Japanese American Museum of San José.
He is a former trustee for the California History Center Foundation at De Anza College, and a national trustee representing Northern California on the board of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS). Ron has been recognized for his work across multicultural communities and is often invited to speak on the topic of the arts and social justice.
Usha Srinivasan
Usha Srinivasan (Pronouns: She/her/hers) is the co-founder and president of Mosaic America (formerly Sangam Arts). Using her extensive management experience in Silicon Valley hi-tech, Usha has led the organization for the past seven years and helped establish it as a key player in the Silicon Valley arts and culture landscape. Under her leadership, Mosaic has delivered high quality intercultural programming in 6 Bay Area cities featuring over 250 artists from over 30 artistic traditions and reached an audience of over 25,000.
A trained Classical Indian dancer, Usha has served on the Santa Clara City Cultural Commission and on the Board of World Arts West, the producer of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. An alumna of Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute, she was selected by Knight Foundation as a Creative Community Fellow in 2016. She has served on grants panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, SVCreates, City of San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs and others.
Prior to founding Sangam Arts, Usha worked in the hi-tech industry for nearly fifteen years. She holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Unpacking Good Trouble: A Thoughtful Conversation
Major Support for the ArtNow exhibition and program is provided by the Michael and Alyce Parsons Foundation.
With additional support from The Town of Los Gatos, The Flick Family, Los Gatos Morning Rotary, The Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Badger Meter, University Art, The Cilker School of Art & Design, Saratoga Rotary, The Waitte Foundation, Ginger & Jon McDonald, The Linda Smythe Young Artists Fund, Jillian Troftgruben, John & Valerie Hopkins, Heritage Bank of Commerce, California College of the Arts and KCAT TV 15.
Major support for NUMU's virtual programs and events provided by Badger Meter, Inc. With additional program support from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
