Downtown Doors will showcase more S.J. student art.
Museums and galleries have been forced to shut their doors again because of the spike in coronavirus cases, which makes San Jose’s Downtown Doors program more special. Initially, its goal was to beautify the downtown core by covering blank utility boxes and doors with artwork created by high school students. But during this unprecedented time, it has become a vital part of of our cultural landscape — an urban street gallery that can’t be closed and is available to see 24/7.
The San Jose Downtown Foundation recently installed 10 new pieces, replacing older ones, that join a collection on 110 sites at places like the Fairmont Hotel, the Hammer Theatre Center and Plaza de César Chávez. This batch is actually the second group from 2020,
selected from 98 submissions made early last year, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to shut their doors. The previous 10 were installed in late spring, and you can get a walking map of this year’s locations at sjdowntown.com/ foundation.
Amazingly, despite being
made before the world turned upside down, many of the photographs and paintings seem to reflect themes of isolation — but that might just be in the eye of the beholder. Students currently are working on art for the 2021 program, and I’d imagine those submissions will be even more reflective of the
past year.
Ramona Snyder, president of the San Jose Downtown Foundation board, was thrilled the group could add 20 pieces to the collection despite COVID-19 restrictions.
“We want downtown to look vibrant with art, and Downtown Doors does a great job of welcoming people into our creative environment,” she said.
Unfortunately, potential tagging is one of the challenges of having a street gallery available to anyone anytime, and sure enough, some of the pieces already have been scrawled on. Fortunately, the vinyl coating that the digitized art is printed on is usually able to be cleaned.
HAIR-RAISING PLAN >> Barbers and hair salons also are closed again, but that’s not a problem for Mary Buxton of Monte Sereno. During the pandemic, she has been growing her hair out to donate the tresses to
create wigs for kids with cancer. “My hair is growing out anyway due to COVID, and this gives me a sense of purpose and joy,” said Buxton, who got the idea from Pamela Knowlton, a family member who lives in San Mateo
Buxton is making her donation to Children With Hair Loss (childrenwithhairloss.us), which prefers strands of 10 inches or longer, but other organizations like Locks of Love provide the same service. It would be great if others with plenty of hair and compassion follow her example.
JUMPING INTO 2021 >> Los Gatos brothers Shane and Josh Rogers started RPM Training in 2012, becoming known for their premium jump-ropes and apparel and launching a nonprofit initiative, the Iron Compass. That led to the
brand’s annual charity event, the 10K Challenge, which asks participants to complete 10,000 jumprope jumps in 30 days.
Maybe people have a lot of pent-up energy from being stuck at home, but by midday Monday — the opening day of this year’s challenge — RPM reported raising more than $100,000 for its charitable partner, Steve’s Club National. Program. You still can register for the challenge, which runs through Feb. 2, at 10k.rpmtraining.com.
“Launching the Iron Compass and turning the 10K into a global fundraiser back 2017 was certainly a ‘ here goes nothing’ moment, something my brother and I always proclaim any time we embark on a new endeavor,” Shane Rogers said, noting that having thousands of people jumping for charity “feels like it’s becoming something special.”