The Japantown Mural Project is a celebration of the vibrancy of San Jose's historic Japantown neighborhood through artworks by 50 local artists.
The environment is a barren, undeveloped plot of land that once served as the City of San Jose's Maintenance Yard. Chain-link fencing is now covered with more than 60 large mesh panels of color.
It stretches a quarter of a city block along 6th and Jackson Streets in the heart of Japantown.
The subject matter is highly interpretive, including personal and commissioned works, and encompasses a wide variety of mediums and aesthetics. It also includes references to the site's former life; 100 years ago,
it was one of San Jose's very first Chinatown settlements known as 'Heinlenville.' A majority of the artists maintain art studios in Japantown, have displayed their artwork in neighborhood galleries, or consider this wonderful place their home.
The Japantown Mural Project is truly representative of its own unique community and will be enjoyed and appreciated for years to come.
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The Artwork
'The Perfect Blend' is just my way of representing the perfect blending of cultures we have in the downtown area and specifically in Japantown. As an artist, I have always admired the art of all cultures, and when several cultures come together in a community and become one, the result is beautiful!
Biography
Katrina lives just blocks from Japantown and works at LeyVa Middle School in San Jose's Evergreen School District teaching art full-time. She is co-founder of the Luna Park Arts Foundation and chairs the annual Luna Park Chalk Art Festival to be held on September 22nd at Backesto Park.
Katrina works mostly in oils, but enjoys a variety of mediums including acrylics, pencil, and clay. Much of her art is based on her beliefs about this life, and many of her pieces are a response to an injustice or need that she seeks to make a statement about. Otherwise, she enjoys patterns, details, and nature, which she includes in most of her pieces. Her subjects generally include animals or a female figures. Katrina enjoys being a part of San Jose's lively art culture and when she can, she tries to participate in several local art shows throughout the year.
Japantown Community Congress of San Jose · Office of the Consulate General of Japan · Wesley United Methodist Church
Jack's Bar & Lounge · Dr. Stephani Nguyen of Japantown Dental · Kay's Shiseido · Dr. Jerrold Hiura & Lucia Cha
Contemporary Asian Theater Scene · Japantown Neighborhood Association · Union Bank of California · Chris & Minako Tsuji
Japanese American Museum of San Jose · Yu Ai Kai Senior Center · Banana Crepe · Halcrow Partners · Pan Pacific Bank · Alex Alsorady & Darcie Kiyan
Sophie Horiuchi Forrester · Helen Hayashi · Roy & PJ Hirabayashi · Aggie Idemoto · Reiko Iwanaga · Jeanne Katsuro · Tamon Norimoto · Kristin Okimoto
Jeffrey Oldham · John Ristow · Rev. Gerald & Kathy Sakamoto · Victoria Taketa · Leah Toeniskoetter · Joe Yasutake
Japantown Community Congress of San Jose · The City of San Jose Arts Commission · Dr. Jerrold Hiura · The Rast Family
Corinne Okada Takara · Ruth Tunstall-Grant · Cherri Lakey · DJ Ashford
Empire Seven Studios · The Arsenal · Sign-a-Rama of Downtown San Jose
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