New Fremont Creative Hub, Cassa Jam, Serves As Connection Point For Local Artists

FREMONT, CA — Unfamiliar with the art scene when he first moved to Fremont, Justin Metoyer Mullon felt isolated.

Bay Area cities, such as Oakland and San Francisco, have long been known for their art and cultural impact. But traveling an hour to be a part of those art communities often felt like an entry barrier, Mullon recalled.

Eventually, he found out about a series of draw and dine meetups hosted by Art of the Bay, a Hayward-based art collective. There, Mullon said, he found a community where he could cultivate relationships with fellow artists.

There, he met fellow artists Fernando Escobar, Jared Gochuico and Ben Vose. Vose owned Galerie Artax, a local art business, at the time.

But when Vose decided to part ways with the business, Mullon said he and other artists wanted to figure out a way to keep it open and create a sustainable community space that supported East Bay artists.

That's how Cassa Jam came to be, Mullon said.

"We wanted to build Cassa Jam largely because there did not seem to be a hub for artists in the area," Mullon told Patch. "We want to create a space that folks in the area can get to that breathes new life and creativity into our neighborhood. "

The name Cassa Jam is a fusion of Jared Gochuico's Studio Cassava and Mullon's studio JAMM the Artist.

"We shortened both and put them together to get our name," Mullon said. "It's also a play on 'Casa,' the Spanish word for House and in that way represents the combination of the three of us and our cultural roots from South America, the American South and the Philippines."

Cassa Jam, located at 37729 Niles Blvd. in Fremont, opened on Oct. 4. Some residential artists use the studio space to create.

But there is also a gift shop featuring several goods created by local artists, including custom keyboards, comic books, art prints, original paintings and handmade soaps, Mullon said.

For Mullon, Cassa Jam is more than a workshop or resource center for artists. He said it's a place to make human connections and be with community while exploring artistic passions.

"Art is the heart and soul of a community," Mullon said. "It connects our imaginations and preserves our collective memory; it is that which makes us human and Cassa Jam is our home for art here in Niles."