The Department of Art and Art History at San José State University will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the CADRE (Computers in Art, Design, Research, and Education) program with a public symposium at the San José Museum of Art on April 10–11, 2026. Held in conjunction with the opening weekend of Motherboards, the event brings together artists, designers, scholars, alumni, and students to reflect on four decades of digital media art and its evolving cultural impact.

Founded in 1985, CADRE has been a foundational force in shaping media art education— bridging experimental practice, emerging technologies, and critical inquiry. The anniversary symposium traces a lineage from early digital experimentation to today’s conditions of platformization, automation, and networked labor. Through panel discussions, keynote conversations, performance and the CADRE Open house, participates will explore themes of community, authorship, care, infrastructure, preservation.

Open to the public, CADRE 40 positions the museum as a space for critical dialogue - connecting past, present, and future practices of digital media art. The event will be held over two days at the San Jose Museum of Art and on the Campus at SJSU. For details on all events and programming, see the schedule below.

Motherboards SJMA

Opening Celebration | Motherboards and Christine

Howard Sandoval: Move The Plot | Friday, April 10th,

2026 - Opening Celebration: 6 - 9pm | Member

Reception: 6 - 7pm

More info

CADRE Clipper: The Mobile Show

Open Reception | A mobile show and installation out front of the San Jose Museum of Art. A partnership between CADRE’s Art 210 and the CADRE Alumni Organization, presenting the growing CADRE archive. Friday April 10th, 2026 - Opening Celebration: 6 - 9pm

Click on My Mouth: Language and Technology

March 17th - May 22nd at the Thompson Gallery on the SJSU campus features artworks made in the Bay Area by Anxious to Make (Liat Berdugo + Emily Martinez); Ahna Girshick; Asma Kazmi, Jill Miller and Kathy Wang; Judy Malloy, Jenny Odell, Genevieve Quick; Abram Stern; and Christine Tamblyn. Special Open House hours on campus. | Saturday, April 11 9pm - 11pm

More info

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Saturday, April 11th: CADRE 40 Day

The SWITCH Panel (11:30 AM)

Hosted by G. Craig Hobbs. A discussion led by both the past and current participants of CADRE’s SWITCH Journal. Duration: 45 mins.

CADRE Students and the Future (12:30 PM) 

Hosted by Esteban Garcia Bravo, Ashleigh Dong, Damaris Guzman. A panel discussion involving current grad and undergrad students on the future of CADRE. Duration: 45 mins.

The CADRE Archive (2:00 PM) 

Hosted by Rhonda Holberton. A panel conversation that covers the unique challenges and opportunities of archiving Digital Media Art. Duration: 45 mins.

CADRE Digital Swap Meet and CADRE Demos (3:15 PM)

A collection of various projects being shared including a swap meet of digital ephemera. Ends at 4:15pm (15 min break)

The CADRE Keynote (4:30 PM) 

Roger Malina, Joel Slayton, and Andrew Blanton in conversation. Ends at 5:30pm Museum Doors Close @ 6pm

Performance Night At Morris Dailey Auditorium (6:30 PM) 

A collection of interactive performances for audience engagement on the SJSU campus Doors Open @ 6:30pm | Performance start @ 7pm | Ends at 8:45pm. More info. 

CADRE After Hours Open House (9 PM - 11 PM)

Art Building on the SJSU Campus | Art Dept Quad, Room 110, 237, 241 | Artwork and Reception including CADRE Clipper: The Mobile Show The closing social get together with an assortment of student art in the quad and CADRE classrooms. Beverages, snacks, and surprises included! More info.