You're invited to a special San José Museum of Art Creative Minds event on Feb. 12th from 4-6 p.m. in the Digital Humanities Center 113 at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. 

Register today at Creative Minds: Pao Houa Her and Book Launch - Free for everyone! 

Join the SJSU King Library and the San José Museum of Art to experience a special satellite exhibit that explores the intersection between art and advertising.  

On display and integrated among campus advertising on the 4th and 5th floor digital screens of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in addition to various locations in downtown San José, is the first major exhibition of Pao Houa Her’s photographic practice, Pao Houa Her: The Imaginative Landscape. The exhibit traces the artist’s deepening exploration of diasporic constructions of homeland among her Hmong American community.

Imagine yourself in unexpected landscapes and join our selfie contest! 
⁠Take a selfie with any one of Pao Houa Her’s “The Imaginative Landscape” artworks in Downtown SJ and share it as part of a selfie contest! Make Pao’s imagery in downtown as part of your backdrop and enter a chance to win the ultimate SJ gift basket!⁠
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✨ How to Enter the Contest✨ ⁠
1. Find the art: Visit Downtown San José and take a selfie with one of the “Pao Houa Her: The Imaginative Landscape” installations. ⁠
2. Post your photo: Share it on Instagram starting on Museum Selfie Day, Jan. 21, through the end of the exhibition on Feb. 22.
3. Tag & hashtag: Use #discoversjart and tag & DM @sanjosemuseumofart, @sjsulibrary, @sjdowntown, @mezcalrestaurant, and @visitsanjose so we see your entry. ⁠
4. Engage: Follow our account(s) to stay updated and see if you’re featured! ⁠
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📌 Contest Rules ⁠
1. Each selfie = one entry. Multiple entries allowed (different artwork locations encouraged). 
2. Entries must be original photos taken by the participant. 
3. By entering, you grant SJMA, SJSU Library, San José Downtown Association, Mezcal Restaurant, and Team San José permission to repost your photo on our social media channels (with credit). 
4. Inappropriate, offensive, or unrelated content will be disqualified.  ⁠
5. Winners will be chosen by a panel of staff based on creativity, originality, and community spirit.⁠
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Learn more at: https://sjmusart.org/discoversjart

Visit the San José Museum of Art between July 11, 2025- February 22, 2026 to experience the full exhibit. Pao Houa Her: The Imaginative Landscape is an unconventional survey of over 20 years. Seen through the expansive titular series, it traces conceptual ties between past series, new work, and work still under development, connecting California agricultural landscapes to the jungles of Laos, poppy fields in Minnesota, and beyond. The exhibition is co-organized by Lauren Schell Dickens, chief curator at SJMA, and Jodi Throckmorton, chief curator at John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and will be presented at both organizations simultaneously.

Pao Houa Her’s practice engages with the legacies, potentials, and aesthetics of landscape and portrait photography traditions, examining the complex intertwining of desire, homeland, and artifice. Rooted in the experience of her Hmong community and shaped by family experiences and lore passed down by her elders, Her’s work centers women as the knowledge bearers of both past and future. Using a formally rigorous photographic approach, Her explores constructions of homeland that resonate across diasporas.