SJ26: Where Digital Art Thrives
By Julia Halprin Jackson Photography by Robert C. Bain
Between February and July 2026, the region surrounding San José is hosting Super Bowl LX, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, and six FIFA World Cup matches. San José State University faculty, students, alumni and staff are leading several efforts to engage visitors in local art and culture as part of SJ26, an initiative to light up San José with concerts, watch parties and interactive experiences.
“My secret goal for this project is to share the deep history and unique features of San José State and San José as a region.”
— Rhonda Holberton
For Rhonda Holberton, chair of the Department of Art and Art History and associate professor of digital media at San José State’s CADRE Laboratory for New Media, 2026 offers an extraordinary opportunity to transform the city of San José into an immersive, interactive canvas that celebrates global sports and our region’s unique creative identity.
In other words: Not only are SJSU faculty, students and alumni watching sports and participating in citywide events, but they are designing cutting-edge augmented reality (AR), projection mapping and motion graphics experiences to activate key districts and inspire residents and visitors alike. All of these activities fall under the umbrella of Immersion 2026 and align with SJSU curriculum.
“One thing I love about teaching project-based courses is it gives students professional experience with stakeholders in industry or outside of SJSU,” Holberton says. “But also, when we have a population of 24 or so students in class, they are all essentially prototyping using the same constraints. This means we’ll generate a million great ideas. It’s really fun to see these ideas germinate, come to life and live out in the world.”
As part of the project, the SJSU CADRE Lab and digital media art students are creating digital assets for an augmented reality experience that complements 100 painted sharks along Sharks Way, the pedestrian pathway starting at the corner of West St. John Street and North Alameda Boulevard to the SAP Center at 525 W. Santa Clara St. When visitors see the sharks painted on the ground, they’ll spot accompanying QR codes that direct them to a website displaying interactive images, exhibits and displays created by SJSU students.
Made possible through a partnership with the San José Downtown Association, local artist and SJSU artist Jim Fonseca, '27 BFA Studio Art, also known as Jimmy Paints, the wayfinding project connects San Pedro Square Market, the historic Little Italy neighborhood, and the arena where the San José Sharks hockey team plays.
“What we’re really trying to do is get people out from behind their screens,” Holberton says. “Counterintuitively, we’ll use the screen as a way to cut across different cultures and user groups to create a shared experience. My secret goal for this project is to share the deep history and unique features of San José State and San José as a region.”
Digital media art, and specifically augmented reality, is a natural fit for this project, says Lacey Nein, ’18 BFA, ’21 MFA Digital Media Art, manager of the King Library Experiential Virtual Reality (KLEVR) Lab. Nein is leading a workshop titled “Emerging Technology Lab AR Apps” at the KLEVR Lab that covers how to develop custom AR applications that are tailored for San José public spaces.
“In terms of accessibility, the great thing about using art for this experience is that it does not depend on a specific language,” says Nein. “Anyone can look at a piece of artwork and experience it, which works well with how diverse San José is. Art does not have to be tied to one group of people.”
The KLEVR Lab’s involvement extends beyond workshops. Nein has been co-leading the project alongside Holberton, mentoring students as they develop the AR experience. In addition, her student assistants, Sean Cruz-Colatriano, ’26 Digital Media Art, and Antony Cucina, ’28 Graphic Design, are designing and building the Immersion 26 website, which will be hosted on the King Library’s website. Nein has also worked closely with the team to port the AR experience developed by Ganesh Nagavenkatasai Mohan Kancherla, ’26 MS Computer Science, and Chris Velez, ’26 Computer Engineering, to guide students on UX/UI considerations for immersive environments.
"Soccerman" by Esteban Garcia Bravo and his digital media art students. Photo courtesy of Esteban Garcia Bravo.
"Championship Ring" by Esteban Garcia Bravo and digital media art students. Photo courtesy of Esteban Garcia Bravo.
Digital media art students installed sculptures on City Hall Plaza in February. Photo: Robert C. Bain.
Esteban Garcia Bravo. Photo: Robert C. Bain.
The ultimate group project
San José State Immersion 2026 faculty leaders include:
- David Bayus, digital media art lecturer
- Yoon Chung Han, associate professor of design
- Rhonda Holberton, chair of Art and Art History
- Marjan Khatibi, assistant professor of design
- Lacey Nein, emerging technology lab coordinator
- Althea Rao, assistant professor of digital media art
- Sharesly Rodriguez, ’18 MLIS, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Librarian
- Virginia San Fratello, chair of design
San José State student team:
- Sean Cruz-Colatriano, ’26 Digital Media Art
- Antony Cucina, ’28 Graphic Design
- Ganesh Nagavenkatasai Mohan Kancherla, ’26 MS Computer Science
- Chris Velez, ’26 Computer Engineering
- Phuong-Trang Maria Vu, ’27 BFA Pictorial Art
City of San José partners include:
- Cynthia Cao, ’15 BFA Photography, arts program coordinator for the Office of Cultural Affairs
- Jim Fonseca, ’27 Art Studio, (Jimmy Paints), artist
- Lou Jimenez, ’23 Art History, street life manager for the San José Downtown Association
Sammy Spartan with sharks. Image: Maria Vu.
Sharkie. Image: Maria Vu.
Sammy Spartan. Image: Maria Vu.
“We’re all trying to help each other as artists, especially because we’re living in a generation where technology is always evolving. We have to find some way to coexist, which means helping each other out, rather than being in fear."
— Phuong-Trang Maria Vu
Echoing expressions
When Phuong-Trang Maria Vu, ’27 BFA Pictorial Art, became an intern at the Digital Humanities Center in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library last year, she couldn’t have predicted that her work would soon be viewable to thousands of visitors through their smartphones. During the 2025 Research Week at SJSU, Vu digitized artwork by several fellow SJSU student artists and made them available via Adobe Aero called “Echoes of Expressions: An Augmented Reality Art Exhibit.” When library patrons visited the DHC last April, they could use her app to visualize 3D versions of her classmates’ digital art, and view physical risograph prints made in collaborations with creative writing, English and art majors. The experience awakened a desire not only to create art, but to share it.
“One of my greatest passions is to create storytelling and give representation for a group or program so they can shine,” says Vu. “So having this opportunity to work on a huge project with San José Downtown has taught me how to network, connect and communicate. We all have different sets of skills and experiences; there’s a huge diversity of folks working hand in hand to tackle [Immersion 2026] in a creative manner. We’re all trying to help each other as artists, especially because we’re living in a generation where technology is always evolving. We have to find some way to coexist, which means helping each other out, rather than being in fear.”
This semester, Vu is supporting Holberton and the Immersion 2026 initiative by creating three-dimensional models and animations, including the San José Sharks Sharkie and SJSU Sammy Spartan mascots. The models will be viewable on the AR website, which visitors can access when they click on the QR codes that follow the sharks along Sharks Way downtown.
“I’m working on different poses with three sharks and a Sammy Spartan mascot for visitors to take selfies with, as well as editing the Echoes of Expression AR art exhibition map layout,” Vu adds.
"100 Sharks" painted along Sharks Way by Jimmy Paints.
Artistic immersion
For Christopher Velez, ’26 Computer Engineering, Immersion 2026 offers unique opportunities to explore AR/VR to create accessible immersive experiences for residents and visitors alike. As a student employee at King Library’s KLEVR Lab and a technology assistant at the SJSU School of Information (iSchool), Velez has built and deployed real-world extended reality (XR) experiences, ranging from WebAR installations for public showcases to Unity-based AR navigation systems and games for emerging hardware like Tilt Five. For the uninitiated, Velez is using emerging technologies to support digital equity, education and innovative public-facing experiences.
“As someone who grew up in the Bay Area, I’m used to being immersed in tech,” Velez says. “But for people visiting for the first time, [augmented reality] might feel foreign. [Immersion 2026] offers a natural extension of your body; your phone is your scanner and it pulls you in [to the art]. The AR offers a way to get integrated into the city.”
Vu hopes that visitors will see Immersion 2026 as an invitation to explore and experiment with AR, VR and other new technologies.
“When it comes to the Super Bowl, we will get the chance to witness athletes doing amazing things,” she says. “I feel like [sports are] a core part of a city’s identity, and getting to connect that through art, which is also an expression of identity, is a way to explore culture while bridging connections between different aspects of downtown San José. It’s a good opportunity for people to witness the beauty of San José and diversity as a whole through the focus on arts and the humanities as they coexist with the Super Bowl, March Madness and other sports.”
“I’ve always known that the talent is there, and now we’re pushing it to its full potential.”
— Lou Jimenez
Celebrating San José culture through art
The ingenuity, expertise and hard work of artists is impossible without an infrastructure to support it. That’s where leaders like Kerry Adams Hapner, director of cultural affairs and deputy director of the Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs for the City of San José, come in.
A civic leader with nearly 20 years of experience championing San José arts and culture, Adams Hapner looks to CADRE at San José State as a critical partner, especially during major events like the Super Bowl, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament and the FIFA World Cup. Adams Hapner was particularly drawn to Craig Hobbs and Esteban Garcia Bravo’s work because of their innovative approaches to combining technology, interactivity and cultural significance.
“When people come to San José for a major sporting event or activity, they’re spending a very small percentage of their time actually at that event,” she says. “The rest of the time, they’re enjoying their destination. What we really want to showcase is San José’s unique cultural identity, both to build civic pride for locals, as well as our visitors. That’s why we wanted to engage local artists like the CADRE professors, who are leaders in their industry and are also teaching the next generation of artists.”
Stitching communities together
Speaking of artists: Lou Jimenez, ’23 Art History, is creating opportunities for artists to participate in SJ26 through her role as the street life manager for the San José Downtown Association. Jimenez manages everything from the urban tree canopy, landscaping, capital projects and public art downtown. She leads Stitching Districts, an initiative designed to bring projects, public space enhancements and cultural activations together to celebrate the vibrancy of downtown.
“We work with businesses, property owners and city folks to improve neighborhoods using the tools that fall in our scope,” Jimenez says, adding that San José State is a critical partner in many of these projects, especially during SJ26.
One of the best parts of her work is commissioning local artists to support these initiatives with public art — a throughline from her days as a student, when she led Public Art as Resistance tours of downtown with the College of Humanities and the Arts. Jimenez hired Jimmy Paints to paint the sharks along Sharks Way that SJSU faculty and students are enhancing with AR and VR components.
“Every vendor we’re working with on this project is local, which means I’m putting money directly in the artists’ pockets,” Jimenez says. “We are providing between $50-$150,000 into the local art economy, which to me is really cool, and the best way to demand that talent. The artists need the money to do what they do best.”
Though the Super Bowl, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament and the FIFA World Cup celebrate athletic achievements, for Jimenez these events offer equally important platforms for artists to demonstrate their skills. It’s especially gratifying for the native San Josean.
“This has a direct impact on my hometown,” she says. “This is literally my dream job. I’m really grateful for San José State University; working with them is a full-circle moment. What excites me most about Stitching Districts in general is that I feel for once, we’re going to give San José what it deserves. I’ve always known that the talent is there, and now we’re pushing it to its full potential.”
Rhonda Holberton Named 2026 Knights Arts + Tech Fellow
Rhonda Holberton, chair of the Art and Art History Department at SJSU, was named a 2026 Knight Arts + Tech Fellow, a $50,000 award that supports artists innovating with new media and technologies. Artists are also featured in an accompanying online publication, Shift Space, which explores new media landscapes and seeks to build a network of practitioners in the field.
“This fellowship amplifies a pivotal moment in my creative practice during my spring 2026 sabbatical to support three ambitious projects connecting art, technology and collaboration,” Holberton says. “These include a work for the San José Museum of Art’s Motherboards exhibition (which opened April 10), a cross-disciplinary art, AI, and neuroscience project with UC San Diego and the San Diego Museum of Art, and a Knight Foundation–funded digital preservation initiative with SJMA, Leonardo, and UC Irvine. Together, these projects deepen my studio practice while expanding partnerships that strengthen San José’ State's creative and technological community.”
SJSU Magazine © 2026. All Rights Reserved | Land Acknowledgement