SVCreates, a regional nonprofit devoted to promoting and improving access to the arts, will celebrate dozens of 2023 California Arts Council Artist Fellows at an Aug. 10 event in Gilroy.
The event will recognize 29 artist fellows from San Benito, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Clara and San Mateo. Honorees include Legacy Artists Roy Hirabayashi and Dr. Osa T. Hidalgo de la Riva, according to SVCreates.
A total of $660,000 was awarded to 71 individual artists for fellowships through the 2023 CAC program. The 17-county region ranges from Fresno through Santa Clara counties and everywhere in between.
“The program is designed to recognize, uplift, and celebrate the excellence of California artists practicing any art form,” says a statement from SVCreates. “In funding this program the CAC is showcasing the centrality of artists’ leadership in guiding the evolution of our traditional and contemporary cultures. The fellows were selected from 512 artists that applied within the region.”
At the Aug. 10 event, artists from the immediate five-county region will be honored. They include:
• Pilar Agüero-Esparza, Ivan Del Acordeon, Amy Hibbs, Alice Hur, Anh Le, Siana Smith and Roy Hirabayashi from Santa Clara County
• Kirti Bassendine, Aidet Maupomé and Vanecia Prudencio from San Benito County
• Nathan Aurellano, Katerina Eng Beckman, Shari Bryant, Eva Chen, Barbara Mumby, Farah Yasmeen Shaikh and Na Omi Judy from San Mateo County
• JC Gonzalez, Ava Homa, Natalia Corazza and Jerry Takigawa from Monterey County
• Nina Barzegar, RogueViolin, Farnaz Fatemi, Winsor Kinkade, Moze, Adela Najarro, Sylvia Valentine, Dr. Osa T. Hidalgo de la Riva from Santa Cruz County.
Bassendine is a fine art photographer and documentarian, says SVCreates website.
“Her work weaves together still photography and short films to tell cultural stories,” says a short biography on the site. “She has always been intrigued by human relationships and how they interweave with different social and cultural contexts—especially how these complexities impact the discovery of one’s sense of identity and belonging within one’s culture and in the wider world.”
The SVCreates website says of Maupomé, “Her professional experience focuses on the planning and development of projects and activities in communicative, educational, and emotional processes for resilience, inclusion, transformation and social justice through the arts, mainly theater.”
Prudencio is a multimedia artist “who loves serving and representing their community through the arts,” says the SVCreates site.
“Venecia has a passion for social justice, and recognizes that the arts cross ethnic and cultural barriers and celebrate diversity.”
The Aug. 10 event will take place at 1202 Contemporary Art Gallery, 7397 Monterey Road in Gilroy, from 4-6pm.
