Salazar, founder and executive director of Local Color, has spent the last decade building pathways for artists in a region where rising costs<\/a> have pushed out many people whose livelihood comes from art, music, theater and other crafts.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat inspires me to continue this work is seeing the real world outcome of the work happen kind of in real time,\u201d Salazar told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cI\u2019m actively seeing how the work the organization does affects and impacts and continues to empower the lives of local creatives.\u201d<\/p>\n Originally from California\u2019s Mojave Desert, Salazar moved to San Jose to attend San Jose State University, where she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in drawing and painting. She later earned a master\u2019s degree in nonprofit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n Before Local Color became one of San Jose\u2019s most visible arts organizations, Salazar was a muralist trying to figure out how to bring more public art to the city. She said the idea crystallized during a conversation with a Knight Foundation program director at a networking event.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we got a lot of artists. I think that we need more murals,\u201d Salazar recalled telling the program director. \u201cWe have a lot of blank walls.\u201d<\/p>\n The conversation resulted in a $10,000 grant to create three murals. Salazar had never managed a grant before and turned to the San Jose Downtown Association for help to administer\u00a0the funding.<\/p>\n Former San Jose Downtown Association CEO Scott Knies said he remembers seeing Salazar\u2019s vision long before Local Color became a fixture in downtown San Jose.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was fun to be there at the beginning of our Local Color journey and to be part of the growth and to see it still prospering and still vibrant,\u201d Knies told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n One of Local Color\u2019s earliest projects transformed a vacant former Ross department store on South First Street into artist studios and community gathering space. What began as a temporary activation eventually helped shape the organization\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get these spaces in partnership with a developer and we\u2019re able to do some work inside of them that makes them adequate for artist studios,\u201d Salazar said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to build a community.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Kurtz, CEO of the San Jose Downtown Association, said Salazar\u2019s persistence has been key to Local Color\u2019s success.<\/p>\n \u201cErin herself and the team she has built have a rare quality: gumption, stick-to-it-iveness and a refusal to take \u2018no\u2019 for an answer,\u201d Kurtz told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n For fellow artist and friend Jorge Camacho, one of Local Color\u2019s earliest members, Salazar\u2019s impact is personal.<\/p>\n Camacho met Salazar while helping clean out the former Ross building. What started as volunteer work turned into a studio space, mentorship and eventually a career as a full-time artist.<\/p>\n \u201cShe gave me my first mural job,\u201d Camacho told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cShe taught me how to write an invoice. She taught me what an art studio was. She showed me a path that felt more productive and something I could be proud to share with my family. I don\u2019t think I could honestly say I would have been a full-time artist in San Jose for the past almost 10 years if it wasn\u2019t for Local Color.\u201d<\/p>\n Camacho said Salazar made a choice many artists never do.<\/p>\n \u201cI see this split in the road where I can either remain an artist, or I can serve artists,\u201d he said. \u201cI really respect and commend Erin for using the serving artists path.\u201d<\/p>\n As Local Color continues to expand, Salazar is focused on securing long-term creative spaces and building sustainable opportunities for artists in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n She\u2019ll also represent San Jose later this month at Harvard Business School\u2019s Young American Leadership Program, joining civic leaders from across the country to discuss community challenges and solutions. Still, Salazar said the organization\u2019s mission remains unchanged.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are more than an arts organization,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are an artists organization.\u201d<\/p>\n For Salazar, success isn\u2019t measured only by murals or square footage. It\u2019s measured by the artists who are able to stay in San Jose and continue creating.<\/p>\n \u201cAny support of Local Color is the support of artists,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_1090-1024x768.jpeg\")
Erin Salazar, founder and executive director of Local Color, has spent the last decade helping artists access studio space in San Jose. A mural at 300 S. First St. is the work of 100 local artists. Photo by Maryanne Casas-Perez.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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