San Jose Museum of Art Celebrates Bay Area Arts Scene at Annual Gala

The San Jose Museum of Art (SJMA) hosted its 2024 Gala + Auction on September 21. The gorgeous event was staged both inside the museum and outside on the Circle of Palms Plaza. Lucky partygoers were treated to a full program featuring cutting-edge contemporary art, cocktails, fine dining, live and silent auctions and entertainment by Chalé Brown, who DJ’d the reception. Throughout the night, guests had access to museum galleries, which they perused while enjoying specialty drinks and delectable small bites. 

While feasting on a three-course supper catered by Signia by Hilton Hotels, the assembled guests took time to honor two special awardees. The inaugural SJMA Visionary Award was bestowed to SJMA Trustee and past Board President Glenda Dorchak, in appreciation for her leadership and dedication to the Museum. Glenda and her husband Gary Dorchak have been strong supporters of SJMA for over two decades. 

Chitra Ganesh was also celebrated as the night’s honoree. Her twenty-five-year oeuvre spans across South Asia, North America and Europe, and her works’ inclusion helps realize SJMA’s vision to be a borderless museum. The Museum recently acquired Ganesh’s work She the Question, a suite of 25 pieces generously donated to the Museum by Brook Hartzell and Tad Freese.

To cap off the Gala program, a dynamic auction brought in strong community support and raised critical funds to support the Museum’s education, exhibition and equity initiatives.