I was very pleased to have attended several events at this school of arts and culture that I did…read morenot know existed until a friend took me there for a poetry show. What a fantastic venue for music events of intimate nature. I visited some classrooms where typical Mexican dances were taking place. Everybody was super welcoming and you can tell there was this community building feeling in the air, where it seems that they are all friends and you are part of the crowd. If i had more free time I would definitively take some dance classes there. The series of events they had this summer was fantastic.

Love this wonderful gem in East San Jose. The music classes are as about as professional as you can…read moreget. And for an affordable price. The teacher talent is amazing and the students are nice, respectful and serious about learning. They have events throughout the year to perform for parents and the community. And the parents and families are all so welcoming and involved. And the office staff and Directors are great also. Sounds like I work here or was paid for this review but I wasn't :) Just a really happy and grateful parent. Highly, highly recommend.

This is a great place to host a birthday party. The room had everything set up and looked cheerful…read moreand welcome. They allowed us to bring in extra decorations, gift bags, cake, pizza and drinks. Their art instructors were extremely patient and friendly. This has been one of the easiest most pleasant birthday party planning experiences I've had.

They have been teaching painting/drawing classes since 2000 and they provide the best art classes…read morein the Bay Area with the most reasonable price. The best part is they provide classes for AP Score for students; my friend's daughter has been a student here since she was 5 and now she's 19. The main instructor here is Mr. Chan and he's a professional Artist and very famous in Asia; he was an art professor in many art universities in Asia and I trust his experience and knowledge. Ms. Li is the instructor for younger students and she's always been so patient. The only thing is they focus on mainly Chinese students only because the limited language ability. They know the English wording when teaching but not so much on regular communication. If your kids are Chinese or understand Chinese, I would highly recommend here. They speak both mandarin and Cantonese.

My 5 year old wanted to have an art themed birthday party. I searched around and Hidden Talent got…read moregreat reviews. The staff was very nice and friendly. The studio is clean and easy to get to from our house. I had a couple of issues with the party. First, this was a group of 5 year olds and the teacher chose an art project that was super challenging. My son loved it but I think it could have been a little better chosen for the age group. Secondly, I think that there should be some sort of paper trail after I booked the party. Everything is done verbally. I wanted to pay for the upgraded package or at least thought I told the manager this but when it came time for the party we did not get the upgraded package. It was a bit confusing. Overall, it was a good experience. I would recommend this kind of birthday party to others.

To our surprise, in 3rd grade, my daughter's picture of an oak tree was selected to be the cover of…read morethe school yearbook. Wow!?! As parents, we'd always been impressed with her creativity, but now the world was giving us feedback reinforcing that it wasn't just silly parental pride. What to do? Somehow we came upon the great answer of taking weekly Father-Daughter art classes at Hidden Talent. We've been doing it for 2 years and my daughter and I just love it! The teachers at Hidden Talent are all very caring, talented, friendly, and genuinely interested in teaching the students. We've explored a variety of mediums, techniques, and materials in our projects. We spent last fall working on the human form - something really great for a 5th grader to begin to learn. Too bad we can't post pictures in this Yelp post! If your child is showing that creative spark and you want to foster it, nurture it, and help them really grown that talent, this is a fantastic opportunity. If you sign up for the parent-child class you'll gain triple benefits: each of you will stretch your artistic legs and you'll get that special weekly bonding time you and your child will remember the rest of your lives.

My 4-year-old son has always loved drawing.Back when we lived in San Francisco,he tried a few…read moredifferent art classes, but we recently moved to San Jose and wanted to find something new here. A friend in our community recommended XART,and we thought the free trial class was a great way to test it out. Since my son is still adjusting to a new environment,we tried a few different schools. What really stood out about XART is the teaching style.Unlike other places where the teacher draws a line and the kids just copy it,here the teacher explains first and then lets the children create on their own. This gives them so much more room to be creative. After just one trial class, we decided to enroll. The teacher was wonderful,and my son came out smiling and proud of his work.We're so happy to see him enjoying art again. Honestly,this feels like the best kids art class in San Jose!

My 6-year-old has a hard time sitting still and focusing, so I wasn't sure how he would do in an…read moreart class. But at XART, the projects were broken down step by step, and the teacher knew exactly how to keep the kids engaged. He ended up finishing his lantern project with so much focus! It gave me hope that art might be the key to helping him develop patience.

Emma and her team are the best!!…read more It's been a few years since we started attending the art studio during the summer break. Initially, we attended the Union City location and chose certain weeks with themes that grabbed our child's interest. Later on, we wanted to do a 12th birthday party celebration and Emma was willing to accommodate us for the weekend that we wanted. My daughter and her friends got to pick one art project that they'll do together for the session with 2 teachers supervising and helping them along. When we arrived, the room was already decorated festively for the party. As expected, the girls had a fun bonding time during the event and we also brought our own food and cake at the end. The teachers, Carla and Vivian were helpful and patient with the pre-teens! They were friendly and considerate and made everyone feel comfortable. The girls were able to finish their painting beautifully and within the designated time frame. No one struggled or felt out of place as both teachers were super helpful and supportive. Thank you for making this day happened seamlessly for our family. XOXO

My Son truly enjoyed their Fall Camp. He came home very extremely excited to show us his many many…read moreart pieces from paintings to sculptures! I was grateful that the instructor truly engaged with him.

Our daughter has been taking art classes with Elaine for the past few months and it has been a…read moregreat experience. She looks forward to every class and comes home excited to show what she created. Elaine is patient, encouraging, and clearly knows how to work with younger kids in a way that builds confidence rather than pressure. The instruction and environment were consistently positive. Communication was easy, and she was flexible and accommodating whenever conflicts came up. If you are local and looking for a supportive place for a child to explore art and creativity, I would strongly recommend her classes.

I've been a student at Ichen Art Academy for over 4 years now, and needless to say, I've grown a…read morelot within my passion because of the instruction I received at this school. I came in with a love for art, but little knowledge in the technical aspects. Through Ichen's summer programs, I got to explore many different media including charcoal, oil painting, and digital. The academy's instructors are very well educated in the arts and provide a plethora of resources and materials to help me succeed. They provided guidance in composition, technique, color, etc. while motivating me to enter my art into competitions... ultimately which I won a few! Ryan, Ichen Art Academy's Artist in Residence, has provided me with fantastic support over the years. I got a perfect balance of instruction and freedom to allow for the full expression of my artistry. I never felt bored or unmotivated because the instructors constantly provide me with ideas and recommendations when I'm stuck. My AP and college application portfolios both contributed largely to my successful MIT application process, and I am forever indebted to my time at Ichen for this accomplishment.

Our two daughters have been taking art lessons at Ichen Art Academy for the last 7+ years (since…read moreelementary grade level). Initially, many years ago, we researched several art schools in the Bay Area, specifically in the South Bay, and even tried out a local one near our home for a year (and discovered the instruction was limited). Then we came upon Ichen Art Academy in Fremont, CA. Both our girls have always been creative but needed more instruction on art techniques and development. A major attraction to their art program was the variety of lessons provided to enrich one's mind to the world of art. Ichen Art provided classes on Sketching, Charcoal Drawing, Watercolor, Oil Painting, Chinese Calligraphy and Painting, and Digital Art. Our daughters took the foundational sketching class, which provided a very good opportunity to build one's art skills. The classes and programs offered are very structured and well organized. Their Fremont office manager, Jessica, has been very helpful with scheduling and class registration questions. In addition, not only is Ms. Ichen Wu (founder and principal) one of the instructors, Ichen Art also provides various specialized instructors for the art class offerings, from sketching to watercolor painting to oil painting to digital art to Chinese calligraphy, etc. It was very beneficial to see and learn art from various forms and perspectives. Besides providing art classes, Ichen Art also provides other opportunities for students to enrich their art potential and personal development. They work closely with the Youth Art Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps provide art students leadership training and development (in which our oldest daughter is the student Director of Art). Ichen Art also invites art models to come in and pose for live body art sculpture drawing lessons. Ichen Art has also helped students participate and submit their work of art to various local and national art competitions, where several students have earned top awards, including our oldest daughter. Their various instructors also act as counselors/consultants to help with questions and guidance for the students. Our daughter's oil painting instructor, Ryan, has shared some great advice and guidance on painting perspectives and creating a portfolio. The academy also host seminars and webinars for students and parents that cover topics on developing art portfolios and college preparation. Our oldest daughter in high school developed an interest in fashion design and Ms. Wu set up fashion design lessons with a local instructor, which eventually led to the development of a summer fashion design program at the academy (and our daughter became a teacher assistant/co-instructor for the program). The time invested in the Ichen Art Academy lessons and classes for our daughters have been very positive. Our oldest daughter's interest in fashion design has led to her college pursuits having been accepted to the #1 fashion school in the US. Overall, if you are looking for a great comprehensive art program with very positive results, check out Ichen Art Academy.

My daughter has a unique personality, and I've had a great experience with Cici. I'm especially…read moreimpressed with how she gives my daughter the freedom to express herself and inspires her artistic side. Many other teachers told me they couldn't even get my daughter's attention, so this is truly remarkable.

The best art studio for my daughter for 3 years and it continues to be…read more The teacher Chen always encourage students to draw their own ideas and style while patiently coaching different skills.