This month, we're honored to feature a guest blog from Demone Carter, an award-winning Hip-Hop artist, podcaster, creative catalyst, and non-profit leader who fosters inclusion within San José’s arts and cultural ecosystem.

The recently released Silicon Valley Pain Index, a project of San José State’s Institute of Human Rights, puts a statistically fine point on the bleak situation we see and feel around us. According to the 2024 iteration of this report, Silicon Valley ranks first​ among major American cities in societal pain. The Pain Index notes that San José is the nation's #1 most expensive large city, with average monthly expenses at $3,504. The amount a household needs to make to buy a house in the San José metro area is $468,252, making it the least affordable metro area in the nation. 

Simply stated: living here hurts. 

This pain is often multiplied for creatives working at the margins of our local economy, especially BIPOC-led/serving artists and arts organizations. Artists and culture bearers are living increasingly precarious lives in an under-resourced arts ecosystem, where health care and retirement savings are rare and precious commodities. 

So what do we, as the Silicon Valley arts community, have to offer in this moment? 

Click here to read and share Demone’s full piece on Medium >>