First Thursdays (2012-2013)
Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6, Feb. 7, March 7, May 2 and June 6
5:00-7:00pm, Euphrat Museum of Art

First Thursdays, hosted by the Black Student Union and the Institute of Community and Civic Engagement, is a poetry, spoken word, and open mic event featuring DJ Chris Styles. A $3 donation is requested. Coordinated by McTate M. Stroman II.


The Randoms singing at the BSU hosted First Thursdays.
Photo: Nick Girard


Unveiling: "made in usa: Paul Fong" created by artist Flo Oy Wong
Friday, March 11, 5-7pm
Euphrat Museum of Art

Presentation included remarks by historian Connie Young Yu, artist Flo Oy Wong, and Assemblymember Paul Fong.

Historian Connie Young Yu:
What better launching pad for “made in the usa” than the Euphrat Musuem of Art at De Anza? We are at the confluence of the arts, of history, education and civic engagement. This event is about more than unveiling of an art piece: It provides a forum for the history of Chinese Exclusion laws and the struggle for civil rights, the current issue of saving marine life, and the inspiring narrative of our own Honorable Assembly Paul Fong and his family...

The complete transcript of Connie Young Yu's presentation can be found here.


Photo: Bob Hsiang

Artist Flo Oy Wong:
The Honorable Paul Fong, Chancellor Thor, Jan, and those of you who are assembled here today to witness the unveiling of made in usa: Paul Fong I thank you for coming. We are here to honor Paul whose maternal grandfather, Chan Share, came to this country from China in 1939. That was 47 years after the passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Law...

The complete transcript of Flo Oy Wong's presentation can be found here.


Photo: Bob Hsiang


Photo: Bob Hsiang


Visit the Design2Market website for an interactive version of the map!


EVENT CO-SPONSORS: Chinese Historical Society of America, Distinguished Citizens Society International - Silicon Valley, and Phi Theta Kappa (De Anza)
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Arts Council Silicon Valley, Asian Americans For Community Involvement, Asian American Women Artists Association, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, California History Center, Foothill-De Anza Foundation, and Kearny Street Workshop.

Please visit Euphrat's "Past Highlights," this event's Facebook page for more details,
          and Bob Hsiang's photo album of the event.
Read the Mercury News and Cupertino Patch review of the event.



First Thursday, January 6, February 3, March 3, and April 7
5:00-7:30pm, Euphrat Museum of Art
For more information, read the La Voz Weekly article about past First Thursdays.

First Thursdays, hosted by the Black Student Union and the Institute of Community and Civic Engagement, is a poetry, spoken word, and open mic event featuring DJ Chris Styles. A $3 donation is requested. Began November 5 (2009). McTate M. Stroman II and Thomasina Russaw, Coordinators.





April Banks "We Love To Watch"
Monday, February 14, 9:00am
AT120, Advanced Technology Center, near Euphrat Museum of Art
(Check back to this webpage for possible room change.)

Conceptual artist April Banks speaks about her art, including her provocative photographic series We Love To Watch, her installations, such as The Price of Rice (Let's Talk of a System), and her activist cross-country travel blog. For her photograph Milk Bath, Banks worked with DeQawn Mobley, a former collegiate and NFL player. Mobley is shown putting on his gear amid stereotypic symbols of milk and watermelon. The photo calls attention to the commodified image of the hyper-masculine black athletic body as violent and sexual — a ubiquitous "game piece," putting on his game face. Using the historically racially charged symbol of the watermelon, this work explores Mobley’s experience as a collegiate and NFL player and its well-debated parallels to the slave trade. Going beyond a first-person narrative, Banks and Mobley explore what it means to be reduced to a game time object on the field, watched and "loved" by millions. Questions and discussion to follow.

Co-sponsors: Euphrat Museum of Art, CADRE Laboratory for New Media, De Anza College Psychology Department, Women’s History Month, Visiting Speakers Series, City of Cupertino, De Anza Associated Student Body, Applied Materials Excellence in the Arts Grants, Arts Council Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations, ZER01





Brenda Brathwaite "Games Like Photographs: Capturing Emotions"
Wednesday, February 16, 6:30pm
Forum 1, next to Administration Building in the center of campus
(Check back to this webpage for possible room change.)

Noted indie game developer Brenda Brathwaite speaks about "Difficult History," periods such as the Holocaust, Middle Passage, Trail of Tears, and the Irish experience. With a focus on her provocative games, such as Train, Brathwaite challenges academic learning/knowing about difficult histories, pushing you to experience strong emotions then reflection, during game-play and long afterward. These artful games are intriguing and compelling complements to narrative, poetry, photography, video, and film. Questions and discussion to follow.

Co-sponsors: Euphrat Museum of Art, CADRE Laboratory for New Media, De Anza College Psychology Department, Women’s History Month, Visiting Speakers Series, City of Cupertino, De Anza Associated Student Body, Applied Materials Excellence in the Arts Grants, Arts Council Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations, ZER01





Susana Ruiz "Take Action Games"
Tuesday, February 22, 9:30am, 10:30am
Admin 109, Administration Building in the center of campus
(Check back to this webpage for possible room change.)

Noted game developer Susana Ruiz speaks about Take Action Games (TAG) and creating games as Finding Zoe, Darfur is Dying, and In the Balance, an ongoing trans-media project. TAG is also wrapping up a quiz-based game for the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Ruiz and TAG worked with Toronto's METRAC (Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children) to create Finding Zoe. METRAC was interested in a game for youth, ages 8-14, addressing abusive dating relationships and gender stereotyping. TAG specializes in casual games for change, addressing social/political content, traversing the intersections of computational art, narrative, journalism, activism, ethics, history and documentary. Questions and discussion to follow.

Take Action Games: Interview with Co-Founder Susana Ruiz
Video by Fernando Julian Perez

Co-sponsors: Euphrat Museum of Art, CADRE Laboratory for New Media, De Anza College Sociology Department, Women’s History Month, Visiting Speakers Series, City of Cupertino, De Anza Associated Student Body, Applied Materials Excellence in the Arts Grants, Arts Council Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations, ZER01





DARE (De Anza Restoring Education)
Student Activist Art Show: The Student Movement Exhibit, June 10, 2010
5:30-8:30pm, Visual Performing Arts Center (VAPC) Courtyard,
with additional exhibition in Euphrat Museum of Art, ongoing into summer

The story of 2010 student organizing at De Anza, through a display of photography, articles, film, and art. Focusing on the Educational Movement and how a group of diverse and concerned students at De Anza created awareness about the constant reductions of funding for education within and outside of the campus. "We are students who have our stories of change… We need to fight for our right to an affordable and great education."

"The goal is to empower students to become motivated to do something (through photos, spoken word, art pieces, literature) and create a better understanding of the importance of student involvement at their schools and in their community. We really cannot do that without education."

Exhibition Coordinator: Joseph Certeza, with Clifford Dodd, Matthew Wrightsman, Kelsey Lynne Lester-Perry, and many more DARE participants







First Thursday, April 8, May 6, June 3, June 17, November 4, and December 2, 2010
5:00-7:00pm, Euphrat Museum of Art
For more information, read the La Voz Weekly article about this event.

First Thursdays, hosted by the Black Student Union and the Institute of Community and Civic Engagement, is a poetry, spoken word, and open mic event featuring DJ Chris Styles. A $3 donation is requested. Began November 5 (2009). The next event will be June 17. McTate M. Stroman II and Thomasina Russaw, Coordinators.


The Randoms singing at the BSU hosted First Thursdays.
Photo: Nick Girard



Sam Hernandez, March 17, 2010
"Counting Lives Lost, Making Tangible an Abstract Measure of Grief"
8:45 -10:15, Euphrat Museum of Art
Presentation

Sam Hernandez, longtime professor of sculpture at Santa Clara University, will speak in front of his work and relate how his art changed from when he started to now. Hernandez will also bring small works and shed some light on exhibition artworks: the wall piece Dichos y Bichos, with a long list of folk wisdom in Spanish and Homage, a free-standing totemic Chinese scholar-stone work ("awkward stone," Northern style), with inlaid pool balls in the base for nodules. For more information about Hernandez, visit www.samhernandezart.com.

Co-sponsors: Euphrat Museum of Art, De Anza Associated Student Body, Creative Arts Division

Sam Hernandez, Sculptor, Professor at Santa Clara University



Dr. Matthew Looper, March 1, 2010
"Interpreting Ancient Maya Glyphs"
2:00 - 3:00pm, Euphrat Museum of Art
Presentation and Workshop

As part of a visiting scholar sequence, Looper showed how to interpret the form, meaning, and social significance of ancient Maya glyphs and suggested ways contemporary artists can use these in their art. Looper’s specialty is the study of ancient Maya art and writing. He has worked with the current Mayan communities in Guatemala and is an expert on Maya weaving and dance. His book, To Be Like Gods: Dance in Ancient Maya Civilization (2009) was given the College Art Association award for best new publication in Latin American arts.

Co-sponsors: Women’s History Month, Euphrat Museum of Art, De Anza Associated Student Body, Creative Arts Division, ¡LEAD!

Dr. Matthew Looper, Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at California State University



Imin Yeh, February 23, 2010
11:30 – 12:20pm, Admin 101
1:30 – 3:00pm, L-66
Lecture and Discussion

Yeh’s woodblock prints utilize history, subtle humor, exchange and generosity, social intervention and technical craft," opening lively dialog on cultural understanding, playing with subjects such as "good imports" and "student loans." "I am interested in American and Chinese history and in the many ways both cultures and economies are entangled today." After addressing social commentary in her art, Yeh led creative brainstorming sessions on changing "popular" representations of groups or ideas, even disciplines, such as the arts, that have been burdened by stereotypes. Yeh’s work is featured in the Euphrat In Between exhibition.

Co-sponsors: Women’s History Month, Euphrat Museum of Art, De Anza Associated Student Body

Imin Yeh, Artist



Kathleen Crocetti, June 2, 2009
"Counting Lives Lost, Making Tangible an Abstract Measure of Grief"
1:30 pm, Euphrat Museum of Art
Lecture and Discussion

Crocetti’s Counting Lives Lost traveling installation breaks through the numbness generated by the increasing numbers of US and Iraq fatalities from the war in Iraq. Her work required many students to help install. The process encourages discussion, crossing barriers, offering a way to heal and respect this tremendous loss. Her installation is in the campus Main Quad. A symbolic portion of the installation plus student responses are on display in the Euphrat. Read the Mercury News article about Crocetti's exhibit.

Co-sponsors: De Anza Associated Student Body, De Anza Health Services, Intercultural and International Studies Division, Euphrat Museum of Art, Creative Arts Division

Kathleen Crocetti, Sculptor, Member of Blue Star Mothers with a son serving in the Air Force



Shorty Fatz, May 21, 2009
"Custom Bikes: Cartooning, Individualized Design and Community"
12:30 pm, Euphrat Museum of Art
Presentation and Conversation with Artist Sam Rodriguez about Bike Culture, Public Art, and Creating a Small Business

Samuel Rodriguez and Matthew Rodriguez create unique bikes that speak to individual dreams. "Our goals are to create a stylish cruise with comfort and durability." The ubiquitous Shorty Fatz cartoon character has a story of its own. This is a new Silicon Valley story – reaching youth with graphics and bike workshops, building an art company. Shorty Fatz is featured in a Euphrat "Front View" window installation with a signature bike and cartoon mural.

Co-sponsors: Arts Council Silicon Valley, Applied Materials, Euphrat Museum of Art, Creative Arts Division.

Samuel Rodriguez, Artist, Co-Owner of Shorty Fatz



Euphrat Participatory Session in
Debugging the Silicon Dream: Real Life in a Virtual World
California Studies Conference, April 24, 2009
"Euphrat Museum of Art Perspectives on Silicon Valley"
2–3:20pm, Euphrat Museum of Art
1-4pm, exhibition open for viewing

The Euphrat Museum is participating in the California Studies Conference on the De Anza College campus April 24. A number of sessions relate to the arts and complement our current exhibition Looking Back, Looking Ahead. One of those sessions is in the Euphrat Museum and features artists in our exhibition, including Angela Filo and Consuelo Underwood. "Euphrat Museum of Art Perspectives on Silicon Valley," 2-3:20. See the Program on their web site. Except for the Euphrat session, all sessions are held in the Campus Center Conference Rooms A & B.



Paul Hau, April 23, 2009
"Paul Hau: Painting, China, and Silicon Valley"
10am–3pm, Euphrat Museum open for viewing Paul Hau’s paintings
3:10-4:10pm, Paul Hau, in conversation with Jianhua Shu
Comments by Prof. Arthur Kao, San Jose State University
Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC) Performance Hall, De Anza College

World-renowned painter Paul Pei-Jen Hau has a museum named after him in eastern China. Opened in 2002, it contains many of his artworks and art from his personal collection. Hau’s bold watercolor and ink paintings bridge cultures of East and West, with references from the Ming dynasty to the vanguard of Western abstraction. Born in 1917 in Liaoning Province, Hau studied in both China and Japan. In 1956 he moved to California. He has taught locally for over 50 years. At age 92, he still paints. Hau is featured in the Euphrat Museum of Art’s inaugural exhibition, Looking Back, Looking Ahead.

Co-sponsors: Visiting Speakers Series, Euphrat Museum of Art, Creative Arts Division, De Anza Associated Student Body. Partial funding provided by DASB.

Paul Hau, Artist, Author (three novels, a history of sociology, a book on Chinese art)



Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, March 17, 2009
10am - 1pm, Mini Artist-in-Residence in the Euphrat
Conversation with the Artist about Art, Education, Labor, and Community
A project with Women's History Month

Whether hand woven or stitched from tortilla cloths, Underwood's art vividly evokes border issues, indigenous communities, and the immigrant experience. "I find myself still navigating between three cultures on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border." With looms, works in process, favorite materials, and an assortment of literature and objects, Underwood speaks about her art and life, including observations on challenges and successes of Latino/a Education. Underwood is part of Euphrat 's inaugural exhibition Looking Back, Looking Ahead.

Co-sponsors: Women's History Month, Euphrat Museum of Art, De Anza Associated Student Body, ¡LEAD!, Creative Arts Division

Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, Professor of Textile Art at San Jose State University



Charisse Domingo, Gail Noble, March 9, 2009
"Silicon Valley De-Bug's Community Advocacy Criminal Justice Project"
12:30 -1:20 pm, Conference Rooms A and B, Hinson Campus Center
A project with Women's History Month

Domingo and Noble speak about Silicon Valley De-Bug, its Community Advocacy Criminal Justice Project, in particular the experience of mothers who are fighting the criminal justice system. Domingo is part of the Euphrat's inaugural exhibition Looking Back, Looking Ahead. Photos from her photo essay on this mothers project are on display. The mothers face problems with the criminal justice system, juvenile hall, and deportation. De-Bug is a collective of writers, artists, organizers, and workers based in San José. They are a project of Pacific News Service.

Co-sponsors: Women's History Month, Euphrat Museum of Art, De Anza Associated Student Body, Puente

Charisse Domingo, Photographer, and Gail Noble, Community Organizer



Favianna Rodriguez, March 5, 2008
10:30 -11:20, 11:30 – 12:20, Presentations in MCC10
12:30 Gathering at Building Together collaborative art fence project, north side of MCC
3:30 -4:00, Presentation, California History Center
A project with Women’s History Month

Favianna Rodriguez’s art reflects "national and international grassroots struggles, and tells a history of social justice through graphics." Rodriguez is a founding member of the EastSide Arts Alliance (ESAA), an Oakland-based collective of third world artists and community organizers. Her art is part of the Euphrat exhibition Graphic Storytelling as Activism. Her silkscreen Designs on Democracy: Communication for Liberation shows the intersection between being a designer and an activist. Rodriguez was schooled in East Oakland by Chicano political-poster artists. www.favianna.com. She has been featured on KQED’s SPARK.

Favianna Rodriguez, Artist, Activist



Keith Knight, February 21, 2008
Multi-media presentation 2:30 p.m. in Classroom S-32
Reception at the Euphrat Museum of Art, 4:00 p.m.

Keith Knight is part of the Euphrat exhibition Graphic Storytelling as Activism. Some cartoons are from the book Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts, which features graphic stories about artists, educators, and activists across the U.S. Other images are from his nationally syndicated comic strips, "The K Chronicles" and "(th)ink." Knight is part of a new generation of talented young African-American artists who infuse their work with urgency, edge, humor, satire, politics and race. www.kchronicles.com He has been featured on KQED’s SPARK.

Co-sponsors: African Ancestry Faculty, Staff & Student Assoc., Visiting Speakers Series, The Euphrat Museum of Art, with funding provided by the DASB.

Keith Knight, Cartoonist, Rapper, Hip-Hop Musician



Oliver Chin, January 30, 2008
Lecture and slide show 3:30-4:30, Room 119, Administration Building
Reception and Q&A, 4:30-5:00, Euphrat Museum of Art
A project with the Visiting Artist Series sponsored by the Creative Arts Division

Oliver Chin's diverse range of work includes The Tao of Yao: Insights from Basketball's Brightest Big Man, and children's books such as Julie Black Belt. His graphic novel 9 of 1: A Window to the World received a 2003 Honorable Mention for the Gustavus Myers Award. Drawings from this novel are on display at the Euphrat Museum of Art as part of the exhibition Graphic Storytelling as Activism. Images and words deal with perspectives of many people around the time of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The format is of nine members of an eleventh grade class interviewing various members of their diverse community.

Oliver Chin, Author, Illustrator, Publisher



Michael Arcega, November 19, 2007
Presentation 11:30-1:00 in Conference Room B, Hinson Campus Center,
A project with the Institute of Community and Civic Engagement

Michael Arcega is in the forefront of creating artworks that challenge our cultural and academic institutions. He uses language and humor to discuss serious subjects, such as issues of globalization. By working with history and historic icons, he draws attention to implements of power like military strength, organized religion, and trade. His art, primarily sculpture and installations, is often about previous events that are currently being repeated. Born in Manila, Philippines, Arcega immigrated to Los Angeles as a youth. He has appeared on SPARK*, KQED, and his art has been widely exhibited. Some of his galleon-trade series is in the Moving Cultures exhibition at the Euphrat.

Co-Sponsoring Organizations: Office of Diversity, Intercultural/International Studies Division, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FAHNS, Santa Clara Valley Chapter), and the California History Center.

Michael Arcega, Interdisciplinary Artist



Norma E. Cantú, October 1, 2007
Reading, 12:30-1:20, in the WRC, AT309
Reception with the author, 4 pm, Euphrat Museum of Art

The Euphrat Museum in conjunction with the Puente Project, the Writing and Reading Center, and Intercultural/International Studies, arranged a day on campus with Norma Cantú. The Euphrat exhibition Moving Cultures contains collaborative prints of artist Marta Sanchez and poet Norma Cantú, including the colorful print R cigarro R barril, featured on the announcement. Cantú is the author of the award -winning Canícula Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera and co-editor of Chicana Traditions: Continuity and Change. She has been a major force in Chicana/o studies for more than 30 years.

Norma E. Cantú, author



Hector Dio Mendoza, May 30, 2007
"Art, Leadership, and Cultural Citizenship"

Mendoza will give several presentations, one specifically for a class in Emerging Latina/o Leadership. He will include visuals related to his current public art project in San José. He has also created public art as part of Project Row Houses in Houston. He was a Norcal Artist-in-Residence in 2005. Mendoza is a recipient of a Eureka Fellowship and a Ford Foundation Fellowship. The latter was in collaboration with MACLA as part of the Intersections project for the Williams Reed neighborhood in downtown San José. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and Mexico.

Hector Dio Mendoza, Public Artist



Nazanin Shenasa, March 15 and April 12, 2007
"Material Culture exhibition: Arts and Leadership"

Shenaza presented concepts of Arts and Leadership in connection with the Material Culture exhibition, which she assisted in curating. She called attention to exhibiting artists' lives as leaders, e.g. Chike Nwoffiah, Director of Oriki Theater and former board member of Arts Council Silicon Valley; and Reneé Billingslea, who led her photography students at Santa Clara University on a recent multifaceted project involving the homeless in the county.

Nazanin Shenaza, Instructor at De Anza College, Programming Director for Works Gallery, San José



Eugene Rodriguez, November 22, 2006
"Before, During and After FLOOD"

Presentation includes his film, FLOOD, which recently won first place at the Tribes New York Film Festival.

In a multimedia presentation, Eugene Rodriguez will speak to the topic of "Arts, Community and the Public Purpose." Using his latest film, FLOOD, as a jumping-off point, Rodriguez will address the need for a national conversation on the rewriting of contemporary arts programs/training to accommodate a more democratic practice and to broaden the definition of "artist" beyond its current confines.

Eugene Rodriguez, Instructor at De Anza College



Susan Cervantes, October 18, 2006
"Precita Eyes and Mural Development in the Mission District"

Presentation and slide show, including how one develops a community program and develops social consciousness.

Susan Cervantes, Founder of Precita Eyes mural program