Likening the murals to journalism, Artist Sam Rodriquez says, “When I think of murals, I think of outdoor books. This recent wall marks the first of many that I plan to do, which would depict the cultural landscape of San Jose through observations and interviews of its residents. This will result in pieces that could only be found in San Jose.”

Rodriquez was assisted in the execution of the wall by community volunteers, which freed up Rodriquez to focus on the portraits and more technical aspects of the mural. “A lot of the people who helped out cared as much, if not more, about the painting than I did,” the artist says. “They held up the standards as I would for my own paintings.” Some of the youth involved in an intervention program (Teaching Adolescents Skills in the Community), who worked on the mural, came back after the mural was finished and proudly showed family members their work.

Friday, August 11 from 7:00-10:00pm, come celebrate the City of San Jose with the unveiling of its latest mural! Additionally, we will be featuring a solo exhibit of Sam's work within our gallery space!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
7:00 – 7:30pm: Mural viewing and artist talk at the wall located on Kiem Laundromat (8th & Empire Street, one block from E7S)

7:30-10:00pm Celebration and Art Exhibit at Empire Seven Studios, 525 N 7th Street, San Jose, CA

Blvd Bombs - Lowriders
Music by Akro1 & Ambitious Outsider
El Taco Loco food truck
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NOTE FROM E7S:
Our original moving date was delayed and we are still actively pushing our Go Fund Me campaign as we will have to move this fall. Significant funds are still needed to maintain the E7S mission and secure a permanent artists’ space. Please help spread the word https://www.gofundme.com/save-empire-seven