Saturday, June 19, 2021 • 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Art Object Gallery
592 N. Fifth Street, San Jose, CA 95112
with a Self-Guided Tour on the streets of San Jose Japantown
Hidden Histories is a live experience that connects you to the underlying beauty and historic riches of this remarkable neighborhood of Japantown San Jose! Through Augmented Reality (AR) technology, your mobile device becomes a gateway to visions inspired by the three communities that made it what it is today. You will see and interact with the art, which is overlaid on current-day Japantown.
Join us as we celebrate the unveiling of our first set of commissioned AR art pieces. Visit our display at Art Object Gallery to learn the origins of the project. Enjoy a self-guided walking tour of the artwork on the streets of Japantown. Stick around to shop at our J-Town merchants and dine at one of our J-Town restaurants!
This event is free and open to the public, however donations are welcome.
Please Note: Admission to the Art Object Gallery will be limited in accordance with Santa Clara County COVID-19 capacity restrictions.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR VISIT
To optimize your enjoyment of our Augmented Reality (AR) artwork we recommend the following:
- Download the AR-vos app to your mobile phone. It’s easier to do over your home WiFi, and will save you some time when you arrive. The app can be found both in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Visit this site for more information: ar-vos.com.
- Bring a portable battery charger and your charging cable, as well as earphones/earbuds (some pieces have audio tracks).
- Prepare for the heat! Remember to bring your sunscreen, hat, and water bottle.
- Wear good walking shoes. The AR artwork is scattered all across Japantown. There is a lot to see and you will probably not see everything in one day. Please plan for a return visit!
Please remember that Hidden Histories is a community art experiment. More-recent smartphones (three years old or newer) should have no problem viewing the exhibit. Some older phones will also work. For best results, we are recommending that you come with family and friends and be sure that someone in your party has a newer phone. On the day of the exhibit, we will also have roaming docents available with devices that can see the AR art.