2008 01SJ Biennial

Held June 4-8, the 5-day Biennial was hailed as a huge success drawing even larger crowds than the 2006 Biennial.

View footage.

Here are a few highlights:

• 25,000+ people visited 100 art installations, 25+ performances, workshops, and public talks by 100+ artists from more than a dozen countries at exhibitions held at cultural institutions throughout downtown San Jose
• Student from seven continents participated in a global youth digital arts initiative/exhibition designed to enable them to examine critical community issues, share their views, and take action
• Over 19 new works, of which three were the result of a FUSE: CADRE/Montalvo Artist Research Residency Initiative, were commissioned and an additional 29 projects supported at levels ranging from $500 – $75,000
• Worldwide media coverage included print publications ranging from Art Forum to Taiwan’s Artist Magazine , broadcast media including segments on the internationally syndicated Tech Close-up and Art Rocks Radio as well as online forums that spanned sites focusing on new media such as Rhizome and Networked Performance to the arts and Silicon Valley such as ArtDaily and Silicon Valley Watcher. Overall, there were 107 print stories, 10 broadcasts, and 40 online stories plus 300 blog entries
• Starting with the 2nd 01SJ Biennial, the San Jose hotel occupancy rate for June was up 72% according to the San Jose Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• More than 35 corporations and foundations and 29 individuals, giving at the Major Donor level, provided support for the Biennial, which had a budget of $1.8 million
• The first-ever 01SJ Biennial catalog, covering both the 2008 and 2006 Biennials, was produced. The publication, a 300+ page beauty, was made possible by support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Visit the 2008 01SJ Site.