Cultivating community one mural at a time.
Originating in Hawaii in 2010 as POW! WOW! Worldwide, Worldwide Walls festivals happen in over a dozen cities around the world. In 2017, seeing an opportunity to build community and raise the profile of contemporary public art in San Jose, Empire Seven Studios, Universal Grammar, and Mighty Design, came together to bring the movement to our city. And so POW! WOW! San Jose was born. In 2021, out of respect for the indigenous community, we updated our name to San Jose Walls.
Our goal is to highlight the cultural diversity that San Jose has to offer through a festival gathering contemporary artists to engage the broader community in the process and creation of live art and music. For one week each year, we bring together local and visiting artists to learn about our city and then set them free to turn the streets of San Jose into a public art gallery available to all. Along with the murals, our festival features live music events, educational programming, artist talks, and more.
To date our team has produced over 100 murals and other public art installations across San Jose. We live here, create here, and serve our community as locals who are passionate about enhancing the artistic and cultural experience ini our city. We know that at the core of a city’s identity lies it’s art and culture and take great pride in creating public art accessible to everyone in our community.
The Team
Juan Carlos Araujo - Co-Founder / Lead Director
San Jose-native and painter who grew up doing graffiti, Juan Carlos established Empire Seven Studios over 12 years ago and has been advocating for local/global artists by creating opportunities and providing a place to elevate and highlight emerging talents on a grand scale. Wearing various hats, Juan Carlos is a independent business owner, curator, and most recently was appointed as District 3's Art Commission/Vice Chair for the City of San Jose.
Jennifer Ahn - Co-Lead Director
Originally from Chicago, Jennifer moved to California in the late 80’s. Graduated from SJSU with a BFA in Photography/minor in Graphic Design and loves everything art. Co-curator and gallery manager for Empire Seven Studios, Jennifer provides much of those same skill sets of curation, planning and administrative/logistics support for San Jose Walls.
Stacey Kellogg - Director of Strategy & Development
An attorney and program manager by trade but an art lover and community builder by heart. Stacey focuses on strategic partnership development and social impact for San Jose Walls. Born and raised in San Jose, she is passionate about creating a legacy of impactful public art in her hometown.
Lanny Nguyen/Ian Lundie - Photographer
Kevin Nguyen - Videographer Soni Dhanjal/Jorge Camacho - Graphic Designer
Rasteroids - Web and Design
Marc Wallace - Operations Support
Stephen Longoria - Operations Support
Jasper Wong - Worldwide Walls Founder
Kamea Hadar - Worldwide Walls Co-Lead Director
Jeff Gress - Worldwide Walls Operations Director