For more than 35 years, DrawBridge has provided free expressive arts programs for children across the San Francisco Bay Area. The DrawBridge Community Artist Program, supported by the California Arts Council, builds on this history of service and connects local artists with youth in shelters, affordable housing sites, and community centers throughout the region.
Each year, five Bay Area artists are selected to receive an honorarium of $1,000 each to develop art experiences and site-specific works with children ages 5-18 in Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
Artists are selected by DrawBridge’s Community Engagement Committee and will work closely with program staff to develop community-focused art activities. The program offers artists unique opportunities for authentic dialogue, mentorship, and promotion of their work. DrawBridge will provide all materials and promote participating artists through marketing, press releases, social media, and our website. Established and emerging Bay Area artists are encouraged to apply.
Submissions are now closed for 2025.
2025 DRAWBRIDGE COMMUNITY ARTISTS
Maxine Flasher-Düzgüneş
Maxine Flasher-Düzgüneş is a Turkish-American poet, dance artist, and filmmaker who brings imagination to life through movement, image, and sound. Her creative projects span multiple forms—from the erasure installation Strikethrough 48 in Boise, to the poetry film Only with Marin Poet Laureate Emeritus Rebecca Foust, to her recent cut-up poem A Cerulean Fibonacci featured in Timber Journal.
Maxine will guide DrawBridge youth into eco-poetry explorations, using blackout poetry to spark rhythm, creativity, and play.
Watch: Dance Film Collaboration
Read: A Cerulean Fibonacci – Timber Journal
Maxine will work with DrawBridge youth artists in Marin County Free Library branches.
Olivia Eng
Olivia Eng is a multidisciplinary artist and the creator of S.C.A.R.S.Art (Strength, Courage, and Resilience of the Soul). Her work transforms personal experiences into shared art through movement, poetry, storytelling, and Kintsugi-inspired painting. Drawing on her own journey of healing after spinal surgery, Olivia empowers youth to view their visible and invisible scars as sources of strength and creativity.
Olivia will work with DrawBridge youth artists in Alameda.
Website: scarsart.wixsite.com/scars
Instagram: @scars.art.heals
YouTube: “Let Me Be” Trailer | S.C.A.R.S: “Let Me Be” Preview
Chanel London (@Hella Artsy)
Chanel London is an Oakland-based artist and mentor through Hella Artsy, a platform for youth engagement and community art. She has led over 20 interactive experiences across schools, pop-ups, and libraries. Through DrawBridge, Chanel mentors youth artists in shelters and affordable housing, fostering creative exploration and long-term opportunities for artistic growth.
Chanel will work with DrawBridge youth artists in San Francisco.
Website: hellaartsy510.bigcartel.com
Instagram: @hellaartsy_
Joaquin Tinh
Joaquin Tinh is a visual artist and founder of ActivArtists, blending art and activism to honor overlooked cultural stories while mentoring youth. Rooted in his Mexican, Native (Yaqui), and Vietnamese heritage, he empowers young artists to express themselves and develop pride through mural-making and community projects.
Joaquin will work with youth artists in Berkely.
Instagram | Facebook | ActivArtists
Suman Sharma
Suman Sharma is a San Jose–based self-taught artist specializing in Madhubani art, an Indian folk tradition. She shares cultural stories and artistic techniques with youth, inspiring them to express their own narratives in color while fostering a sense of pride and heritage.
Suman will work with DrawBridge youth artists in San Francisco.
2025 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE
This year, artists will be selected by a committee of representatives from the DrawBridge board and staff as well as the following local arts leaders:
Mariah Parvizi, DrawBridge Program Manager Mariah oversees DrawBridge’s expressive arts programs across the Bay Area and supports facilitators and youth artists. She is the founder of ComeUnity.love, a healing community platform, and works as a community events facilitator, teaching artist, and mindfulness instructor for children.
Leva Zand, Founder and Executive Director of ARTogether
Leva Zand is a dedicated advocate with over 17 years of experience in the field of refugees, human rights, and social justice. Her educational background includes a BA in Sociology and a MA in Feminist and Religious Studies. Before founding ARTogether in 2017, she directed an online school for the Nonviolence Initiative for Democracy (NID). Zand is a board member of Oakland Art Murmur and a regular advisor to cultural organizations.
Rebecca Szeto, Artist and Former DrawBridge Facilitator
Rebecca Szeto is a first generation Chinese American artist living and working in San Francisco. An interdisciplinary artist working in painting, object making and installation, her work highlights the overlooked or marginalized as a reflection of the human condition and post-human political climate. Szeto holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley with extended studies in Italy and South Africa. Rebecca served as a DrawBridge Art Facilitator for over a decade.
2024 DRAWBRIDGE COMMUNITY ARTISTS
Amalee Beattie
Amalee Beattie is a multidisciplinary artist from Los Angeles. Their work spans experimental poetry/prose/nonfiction, painting, multimedia installation, and the curatorial. Amalee holds a B.A. in Comparative Religions, a minor in Ethnic Studies, and a J.D. degree. Amalee’s practice is grounded in her spirituality and actively considers the connections, tensions, and inquiries that arise across the disciplines and fields she works in. Ultimately, their work deals with the question, “how do we get free?” by navigating personal and communal healing and exploring the limits and potentialities of different media. Their poetry has been published in The Ana magazine.
Amalee will work with DrawBridge youth artists at affordable housing sites in Alameda.
Katie Nealon
Katie Nealon is a poet, artist, and commercial letterpress printer. She has been printing and making books since 2009, was a studio printer, board member, and the president of the North Bay Letterpress Arts nonprofit organization from 2015 to 2020. She currently works as a printer and educator based in Sebastopol, California. As an intern at 826 Valencia in San Francisco, she helped kids and teenagers write their own short stories and poetry, create collaborative chapbooks, and share their work with the world through celebratory readings.
Katie will work with DrawBridge youth artists at Marin County Free Library branches in Marin County.
Richa Priyanka
Richa Priyanka is a Fremont resident and freelance artist specializing in Indian folk art. With an MBA in Human Resources from IBS, Mumbai, India, she’s shifted her career to focus on expressive art. Richa’s creations burst with intricate details and lively colors, showcasing her artistic passion. Her artistic practice is focused on self-discovery and creative expression, creating a nurturing and inclusive environment that celebrates acceptance, communication, and the value of community.
Richa will work with DrawBridge youth artists residing in affordable housing in San Jose.
Zachary Sweet
Zachary Sweet, a storyteller from Oakland, brings his creative expertise to diverse projects. As an independent animator and illustrator, he currently shares his passion as an animation instructor at the non-profit “Youth Beat,” focusing on empowering BIPOC youth in the creative arts. With a degree from the Art Institute of San Francisco and 14 years of professional experience, Zachary adds vibrancy to the public space through mural painting and active participation in Bay Area art shows. Sweet quietly contributes to the creative community, leaving an impact through his visual narratives and dedication to nurturing the next generation of artists.
Zachary will work with DrawBridge youth artists at shelters and transitional housing in San Francisco.
Patanisha Williams
Patanisha Williams is a fourth generation Oaklander and co-founder of Pata Ali Love Club, a creative enterprise fostering a culture of love. With over 20 years of experience in community development, she has collaborated with schools, community-based organizations, and mental health institutions. A cultural curator, Williams has worked in both traditional and non-traditional art spaces including the Joyce Gordon Gallery, African American Museum and Library, and the Camron-Stanford House and Museum. Patanisha sees creative expression and wisdom as the fabric that binds generations, transmits culture, and restores communities. Her programming, rooted in arts and crafts, prioritizes cross-generational connections for individual and community healing.
Patanisha will work with DrawBridge youth artists in transitional housing in Oakland.
2023 DRAWBRIDGE COMMUNITY ARTISTS
Ashanté J. Ford
Ashanté (Ash) Ford is a queer interdisciplinary artist residing in Oakland, California. In her writing she focuses on themes of healing, growth, and community. Within her artistic practice, she weaves digital media with her words and has been featured at the Multicultural Center, Berkley and the Drawing Room Annex, San Francisco. They were recently named a 2022 Rooted & Written Fellow with the Writer’s Grotto in San Francisco. Learn more at spirituallyajar.blog
Ashante worked with DrawBridge youth artists residing at affordable housing sites in Alameda.
Jasmine Liang
Jasmine Liang is a multidisciplinary artist, student organizer, and resident of Visitacion Valley. Through printmaking and digital and alternative photographic processes, Jasmine documents and archives personal and ancestral histories connecting to their hometown of San Francisco. As a co-founder of the Art Student Union at San Francisco State University, Jasmine is committed to connecting community to youth arts organizations and local artists. Learn more at jasmineliang.myportfolio.com
Jasmine worked with DrawBridge youth artists in transitional housing in San Francisco.
Keena Romano
Keena Azania Romano exercises her creative mind through the exploration of diverse artistic mediums as a way to engage and understand individual and collective purpose. Romano received her BFA from Pomona College then returned to her native Bay Area to pursue a career in the arts. Her murals can be spotted from Sacramento, California to Oaxaca, Mexico. Inspired by cultural rituals and practices, Romano combines spirituality with urban experience to produce work that draws upon the quest for a greater understanding of intersectional beauty in this world. Learn more at facebook.com/KeeNaRomano
Keena worked with DrawBridge youth artists in Oakland.
Eduardo Valadez Arenas
Eduardo Valadez Arenas is a Mexican-American artist from Mexico City by way of the Coachella Valley. He currently resides and works in the Bay Area. Eduardo’s artworks echo diaspora, his Mexican-American heritage, and influences of California pop culture. His mixed-media works on paper and handmade panels contain elements of cartoon illustrations, sign painting, traditional printmaking techniques, and street art. Learn more at instagram.com/lacocinaloca
Eduardo worked with DrawBridge youth artists in Alameda.
Sharon Virtue
Sharon Virtue is a British artist of Jamaican and Irish heritage, living in Fairfax, California, while working internationally in arts and creative community development. She is a multimedia artist, with a BA in Fine art and a Masters in Community arts from Goldsmiths University in London. She has a strong social practice and believes artists are agents of transformation. Learn more at virtuevision.org
Sharon worked with DrawBridge youth artists in Marin City.
ELIGIBILITY
DrawBridge expressive arts programming is built on a firm foundation of cultural awareness and sensitivity that reflects and celebrates the creative power of the children and diverse communities we serve. Recognizing that homelessness and housing insecurity disproportionately impacts communities of color, DrawBridge provides a welcome and nurturing space for all, and seeks to employ artists, staff, and volunteers with deep connections to these communities. Learn more at drawbridge.org/about-us/equity.
Funding for the DrawBridge Community Artist Program is provided by the California Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and the generosity of DrawBridge supporters.
