Dear Friends,
I want to tell you about the San José Museum of Art’s significant impact on my personal and artistic life. I migrated to the United States from Mexico at the age of three years old, and my family settled on the East Side of San José.
I grew up in a neighborhood populated with immigrants, most undocumented. It was at 16 years old when it dawned on me the significance of living in this country with no status. It was a challenging year, but lucky for me, I had an older brother who was fascinated by art. I vividly remember riding the VTA’s bus from the East Side to downtown San José. We would walk through the Museum’s halls and were engulfed in the creative process.
For many young people from my community, art is not always accessible. Because we are busy surviving, often our artistic and creative sides never get explored. So, the Museum was a space where we could pause for a couple of hours and remember that life was more than these structures of power.
I am a writer now. I tell stories about the vivid lives of immigrants. Narratives, if not handled with care, risk the danger of not capturing the joy and power of my community.
Please join me in supporting the Museum’s legacy and inspiring young artists to harness their voices and talents.
Con mucho Corazón,
Yosimar Reyes
Poet and SJMA Community Member
Image: Yosimar Reyes and his grandmother, Mardonia Galena, in front of rafa esparza’s Yosi con Abuela, 2021.
Learn more about this portrait in this video.
PS: If you have any questions about the Museum or your gift, please contact Jessica Kwong at jkwong@sjmusart.org.
The Museum's tax ID number is 23-7062028.
Photos by Frederick Liang.