Courtesy of Kyle Galimba

San Jose-based organizations EM Collective and 10Fam Collective are hosting “Iso-Power Hour,” a two weekend art show hosted on Instagram Live beginning March 27 at 9 p.m.

There will be six virtual shows featuring different expressions of art March 27 – 29 and April 3-5.

Select artists have been chosen to showcase different genres every day and will include acoustic performances from singers, stand-up comedians, poets, hip hop musicians, DJ mixing and dancing.

The March 27 show will include acoustic musicians, while March 28 is comedy and March 29 is poetry.

ISO-Power Hour will start their second round of live stream shows on April 3 with hip hop artists. The April 4 show will have DJs, and the April 5 show will have dancers. Instagram users can tune in on Em Collective’s Instagram page @emcollectve where the livestream will start.

Instagram Live is a feature on Instagram that allows users to interact with their followers in real time. Since artists are currently not able to perform at public venues, Instagram Live has become a virtual venue for them to share their talents and connect with audiences.

10Fam is a Bay Area collective based in San Jose and Milpitas and founded by Kyle Dacallos and his friends. They are a collection of creatives who strive to establish a safe place for self expression for artists all over the Bay Area. For the last year, 10Fam has held events to showcase singers, dancers and other artists.

Brian Dublin is a photographer and graphic designer for 10Fam who also writes his own music and performs at their events.

“I’m glad I can still give artists an opportunity to perform,” Dublin said. “It’s sad seeing all my friend’s events getting canceled and knowing that the people who signed up for the open mic didn’t get the chance to perform.”

He has been hosting monthly open mics in Milpitas and had to cancel the event for the first time in three years because of the recent shelter-in-place order.

Dublin’s open mic was held virtually on Instagram Live @bdubzopenmic early on March 27. Dublin will also perform at ISO-Power Hour during the acoustic showcase starting at 9 p.m.

“By putting on a live stream on IG, it allows us to be more connected with people and check in to see how everyone is feeling during this time,” Said Jennilynn Nguyen, Founder of EM Collective. “It also encourages cultural awareness by showcasing Asian American creatives.”

EM Collective is a community driven organization whose goal is to educate millennials and younger generations about traditional Asian culture through events and media production. Jennilynn Nguyen started the collective to use modern day storytelling to pass down the stories and histories of her ancestors.

EM Collective and 10Fam decided to collaborate to host ISO-Power Hour to offer a platform for artists to express their talents and to connect people in this time of social distancing and isolation.