Clockwise from top left: Mel Day, Painting Cathedral Rock (still), 2016-. Courtesy of the artist; Kathy Aoki, The Gwen Stefani Grand Burial Exhibition (Trailer) (still). Courtesy of the artist; Michelle Frey, Gravity (still), 2025. Courtesy of the artist; Robin Lasser, Ghost Ship and Mourning Dove (still), 2025. Courtesy of the artist; Justin Tran, Shoujo Rei (still), 2024. Courtesy of the artist; Mitch Truong, Dawn of the Skates (still), 2023. Courtesy of the artist.
FILM ART/ART FILM
First Friday: Film Art/Art Film is an evening of short films by artists and filmmakers whose individual practice ranges from the avant-garde to the deeply personal.
Featuring Kathy Aoki, Mel Day, Michelle Frey, Robin Lasser, Justin Tran, and Mitch Truong.
Register in advance for fast check-in.
PROGRAM
Dawn of Skates / Mitch Truong; run time ~17 minutes
Doxology, 10 years later / Mel Day; run time ~5 minutes
Produced and edited by Mel Day in collaboration with Justin Edwards and Paul DeLong.
The Gwen Stefani Grand Burial Exhibition (Trailer) / Kathy Aoki; run time ~4 minutes
Shoujo Rei / Justin Tran; run time ~5 minutes
Starring Carissa Ratanaphanyarat & Stephanie Zhong. Original song by MikitoP, covered by KT. Directed by Justin Tran.
Ghost Ships and Mourning Doves / Robin Lasser; run time ~14 minutes
Ghost Ship and Mourning Dove. Credits: Film by Robin Lasser; music by Gustavo Lorenzatti; Crossing in a Sea of Flame. Credits: Film by Robin Lasser; music by Gustavo Lorenzatti; sound engineering by Alberto Cagliero; I Long to Feel the Shiver in a Once Struck Bell. Credits: Film by Robin Lasser; music by Gustavo Lorenzatti; Sea Shanty: What of Us Remains? Credits: Film by Robin Lasser; original score by Gil Guillermo; vocals by Alie Halla.
Black Cherry / Mitch Truong; run time ~7 minutes
Painting Cathedral Rock / Mel Day; run time ~3 minutes
Produced with the support of the Sedona Artist Residency, Sedona Arts Center and Verde Valley School; Filmed at the Gretchen Warren Interfaith Chapel, Verde Valley School, Arizona. Directed, performed, and edited by Mel Day; Cinematography and sound by James Kelley; Video Editing Assistance: Justin Edwards.
Gravity / Michelle Frey; run time ~11 minutes
Created by Michelle Frey. Produced in collaboration with director of photography, Florian Pilsl.
Music credits: Steve Reich and Timo Krantz.
Hater Girl (at Hello Kitty Monument) / Kathy Aoki; run time ~5 minutes
By Kathy Aoki, featuring Mel Prest.
Convenience / Justin Tran; run time ~13 minutes
Starring Hannah Kwon & Polina Shrayber. Created by Justin Tran & Sharon Tsang.
Wall of Song’s ‘Feeling Good’ / Mel Day; run time ~4 minutes
Directed and produced by Mel Day; Motion graphics and 3D modeling by Kiki Wu. Video editing and sound by Justin Edwards; Soprano: Danielle Marie; Musical Arrangement: Dr. Craig McKenzie.
Forever / Mitch Truong; run time ~4 minutes
BIOS
Kathy Aoki
Kathy Aoki is a multi-disciplinary conceptual artist who uses satire to critique the absurd value systems that dominate gendered expectations, pop culture, and the art market. Her work can be found in major collections across the U.S. including the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She is currently a 2025 Creative Capital Awardee and has completed commissions for institutions such as the San Jose Museum of Art and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Aoki lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is a Professor of Studio Art at Santa Clara University.
Website: kaoki.com | Instagram: @kathy_aoki_artist
Mel Day
Mel Day is an interdisciplinary Canadian artist working in San Francisco. She creates large-scale video, performance, social practice, and hybrid installations focused on the role of doubt, the uncertain, and the unseen. Day often invites public participation and collaboration in projects over years and even decades. Her work has been shared at venues including Grace Cathedral, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), San José Museum of Art (virtually), San José Institute of Contemporary Art, Berkeley Art Museum, and internationally. She holds an MFA from UC Berkeley and teaches at San José State University.
Website: mmd.ca | Instagram: @mel_m_day
Michelle Frey
Michelle Frey is an interdisciplinary artist based in San José, California. Educated in France, she recently earned her MFA in Pictorial Art from San José State University. Frey’s practice moves fluidly between figuration, observation, and abstraction. Working across paint, metal, paper, and film, she explores their emotional and material intersections through site-specific installations. Her work engages grief as a collective and ongoing experience shaped by environmental and social conditions.
Website: atelierfrey.com | Instagram: @boule_miche
Robin Lasser
Robin Lasser is a Professor of Art at San José State University. She produces photographs, video, site-specific installations, and public art dealing with public health, environmental issues, and social justice. Lasser often works in a collaborative mode with other artists, writers, students, public agencies, community organizations, and international coalitions to produce public art and promote public dialogue.
Lasser exhibits her work nationally and internationally. Asian Art Museum, San Jose´ Museum of Art, National Gallery of Modern Art Bangalore India, the Museum of Goa India, Exploratorium Observation Gallery in San Francisco, Kohler Museum of Art, The Metenkov Museum of Photography, Yekaterinburg, Russia, The Recoleta Cultural Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and The Caixa Cultural Center in Rio De Janeiro.
Lasser also participates in international biennials such as ZERO1: Global Art on the Edge, San Jose, California, Nuit Blanche, Toronto, Canada and the Pingyao International Photography Festival in Pingyao, China.
Website: robinlasser.com | Instagram: @robin.lasser
Justin Tran
Justin Tran is a San José filmmaker who started No Friends Productions in 2015 with his group of friends after realizing the fun times they had making films in high school. Together, he and his team bring forth a wide range of genres and visual storytelling to the big screen
Website: nofriendsproductions.com | Instagram: no.friendsclub
Mitch Truong
Mitch Truong is a first-generation Vietnamese American from East Side San José. Her specialty lies in creating bold, colorful worlds that are pleasing to both the eye and the soul. On set, she draws from her acting background to foster a safe space for actors to take risks and have fun doing so. She’s learned to fully embrace her chaotic upbringing and use it as colors for the painting she creates in her stories.
Website: mitchtruong.com | Instagram: @mitchtruong
FIRST FRIDAYS
Everyone at First Fridays can enjoy an inviting atmosphere with open galleries and live entertainment.
MUSEUM CAFÉ
Grab your late-night bites and cash bar at El Cafecito, by Mezcal Restaurant
Member benefit: Receive a 10% discount with every purchase at the Café!
MUSEUM STORE
Shop local! The Museum Store is also open late.
Member special: During the First Friday of every month, Museum members receive a 20% discount with every purchase at the Store!
This offer does not apply to items that are on sale.
Support
San José Museum of Art First Fridays are made possible in part by major support from the Jay Paul Company.
Operations and programs at the San José Museum of Art are made possible by principal support from SJMA’s Board of Trustees, and a Cultural Affairs Grant from the City of San José and the Skyline Foundation; by lead support from the Lipman Family Foundation, the Adobe Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Toby and Barry Fernald, Tammy and Tom Kiely, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Teiger Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the SJMA Director's Council and Council of 100; and with significant endowment support from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the San José Museum of Art Endowment Fund established by the Knight Foundation at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
