Public Arts
Creative Expression for Social Impact
SJSU artists and creators collaborate with communities to transform public spaces
and amplify underrepresented voices through innovative art. Our faculty lead participatory
art, community murals, performance initiatives, and multimedia installations that
address pressing social issues and celebrate innovation and the cultural fabric of
our area. Below is a rotating selection of our standout creative practitioners and
community-engaged artists.
○ Recent News and Highlights
○ Related Strength: Cultural Studies in Action
○ Related Strength: Civic Humanities
○ Related Strength: Public Policy
Selected Publications
Harris, Y. (2020). Sound Is Round: A Waterfall of Falling Sounds That I Catch Dreaming. Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture, 1(2), 121–131.
Luna-Mega, C. (2020). Aural Shores. Edgetone Records.
Mendoza, V. (2020). “Our Agents” from the larger installation "O Custo de Vida". “de Young Open” Juried Exhibition, de Young Museum.
Norris, K. (2022). The Confession of Copeland Cane. Unnamed Press.
Rael, R. & San Fratello, V. (2018). Printing Architecture: Innovative Recipes for 3D Printing. Princeton Architectural Press.
Award Highlights
Harris, Y., "Atmosphere of Sound: Sonic Art in Times of Climate Disruption" — Artist in Residence, Art|Sci Center, UCLA, 2020. With exhibition at Getty Initiatives Southern California PST ART 2024
Holberton, Krishnaswamy, “Hiding in Plain Sight: To Support the Production & Exhibition of Multidisciplinary Interpretative Responses to Historical Archives in Silicon Valley” — National Endowment for the Arts, 2022
Luna-Mega, "Abierto Placemaking Grant" — City of San José, 2022
Rael, San Fratello, “Teeter Totter Wall” at U.S.-Mexico Border, Design of the Year 2020, Design Museum in London
Affiliates
Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies
King Library Digital Humanities Center
Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies
Public Art as Resistance in San José - Public Art Tour
Featured Faculty
Yolande Harris
Lecturer, Art and Art History
Sound, Listening, Environment, Underwater Sound, Ocean, Whales, Sound Art, Digital
Media Art, Video Art
ORCID: 0009-0006-5203-786X
Rhonda Holberton
Associate Professor, Digital Media Arts
Multimedia Installations, Digital and Interactive Technologies, Virtual Reality, AI,
Political Ecology
ORCID: 0000-0001-9147-8998
Robin Lasser
Professor of Art
Photography, Video, Sound, Site-Specific Installations, Public Art, Environment, Health,
Culture
ORCID: 0000-0001-7740-6381
Christopher Luna-Mega
Assistant Professor of Music Theory, Technology, and Composition
Musical Translation of Environmental Sound
ORCID: 0009-0009-4965-7015
Valerie Mendoza
Associate Professor of Art and Art History
Photography, Installation, Artist, Image Maker, Affordable Housing, Social Practice,
Photographer, Narrative, Personally Rooted
ORCID: 0000-0002-3176-3575
Virginia San Fratello
Professor of Design
3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Robotics, Architecture, Interior Design, Design,
Art, Activism, Border Wall
ORCID: 0000-0003-3914-2391
Adam Shiverdecker
Associate Professor of Spatial Art
Art, Ceramics, Sculpture, Militarism, Contemporary Culture
ORCID: 0000-0001-8928-6196
Potential collaborators and members of the media may contact us at officeofresearch@sjsu.edu.
