WORKS will hold a catalog-release party on Aug. 22. San Jose Councilwoman Cindy Chavez will be on hand to toast the arts organization and its first 25 years.

WORKS is an artist-run, nonprofit center for the visual and performing arts that has not only offered the community a venue in which to explore new and fresh ideas in art, but has become an institution in downtown San Jose and a unique voice in the city's culture. Exhibits are known for offering both thought-provoking social commentary and a provocative aesthetic sensibility (in both form and materials).

Performance nights at WORKS can range from concerts by up-and-coming local bands to experimental performance art.

The 56-page silver anniversary catalog features color photos of some of the highlights of these exhibits and performances, as well as a year-by-year listing of all artists featured both on the walls and on the stage of WORKS. Also included in the catalog will be stories about the four different locations that WORKS has occupied over the span of its 25 years, from its first spot in a former market at Vine and Auzerais streets to its current location on N. Third Street.

Guests at the catalog-release celebration will also get a taste of what's to come in WORKS' next 25 years, with a reception taking place later in the evening of Aug. 22 to mark the opening of the newest exhibit at WORKS, with art by Shannon Wright. The evening will also feature open studios for WORKS' new artists-in-residence program, which provides local artists with studio space for three months--a tenure which--who knows?--may lead to some creations that will contribute to another bold and unique quarter-century.

WORKS/San José celebrates the release of its silver anniversary catalog Aug. 22. Catalog-release party 5 p.m.­7 p.m.; exhibit reception 7 p.m.­9 p.m. 30 N. Third St., San Jose, 408.295.8378.