Award Recipients

Yen Yi Chung is a painter from Taipei, Taiwan, who has shown her love for art since childhood. She wanted to learn more about art, so she came to the United States and entered the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In 2023, she obtained an MFA degree in Fine Art.

Yen Yi’s art is inspired by her surroundings, enabling her to transform her feelings into vivid abstract paintings. For her, her paintings bring an optimistic sense of hope to life. Now, she lives in the Bay Area and continues to work hard to become a great painter.

Alicia M. P. Nelson is an award-winning San Francisco/Bay Area-based actor, clown, and arts educator. Nelson is a graduate of Boston University where she acquired a BFA in Acting, and has trained in both classical theatre and Commedia dell’Arte in Greece and Italy respectively.

She has worked across the country in various theatres including the San Francisco Mime Troupe, WAM Theatre, Bay Area Children’s Theatre,
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, SF Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, and more. Nelson is passionate about all things that spark the imagination. She is an avid believer in playing pretend, diving in head-first, and the power of the arts to build compassionate individuals.

Dr. Petra Persolja, known professionally as the Platinum Pianist, holds a Doctorate of Music in Piano Performance from the University of California Santa Barbara and a performing history that spans the USA and Europe.

As an emerging artist, she is revolutionizing the world of live piano music with her exceptional talent and unique approach to performance. Petra aims to push the boundaries of traditional piano recitals into transformative experiences that connect individuals through the universal language of music. What sets her apart from other performers is her outgoing and energetic personality, as well as her versatility and ability to read any partition on short notice thanks to her classical training.

Bennett Roth-Newell is a jazz pianist, emcee, composer, and music educator. His discography includes his full-length album “Grown,” (2022) the duo album “After You” (2015) alongside guitarist Mason Razavi, “The Bad Ones” (2016) self-titled debut album with 6 of his own compositions, and “Put It Out,” (2019) a 4-song hip-hop and jazz-influenced project. As a music educator, Bennett has taught at Valley Christian High School, San Jose State University, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and currently serves as Music and Creative Arts Director at The Riekes Center in Menlo Park, CA and Adjunct Faculty in Jazz Piano at West Valley Community College.

Bennett’s next album “It’ll Always Work Out” will be released in November 2024 and features all brand new compositions performed in a jazz piano trio setting.

Alycia Adame is a non-binary performing artist and Bay Area native. They began their local theater career in 2015 solely focused on musicals, but have since worked on a variety of projects including straight plays, staged readings, cabarets, and more. Notable credits include Dot/Marie in Sunday in the Park with George (Los Altos Stage Company), Olivia in Miss You Like Hell, Joan in Fun Home, Midge in The Hollow (City Lights Theatre Company), Lydia in American Night: The Ballad of Juan José (Los Altos), and Vanessa and Nina in In the Heights (City Lights and Stage 1 Theatre, respectively). The community and purpose they have found in theater has truly changed their life and empowered them to be their most authentic self.

Peter Colclasure grew up in Merrill, Wisconsin. In high school he won the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association Piano Competition two years running, going on to earn a degree in piano performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He moved to San Jose in 2012.
He currently teaches piano at Evergreen Studio of Music and the Arts, and plays piano for New Ballet School. Since 2016 he has released three albums and one EP of solo instrumental works. His compositions have been used for choreography by New Ballet, eMotion Arts, the Memphis Ballet, and Boise Ballet Academy. In 2022, he was granted an artist residency by the Jack Straw Foundation in Seattle to record an original string quartet with Skyros Quartet.

Working as a contemporary realist, Julie Grantz creates narrative, large-scale, figurative work in charcoal. The narrative in her work is created from her personal experiences of the silent bias against women, and sexist double standards that women face, as well as the traumas women endure which our society normalizes and suppresses. Julie creates to find her voice, and hopes that her work will help others to find, and use their voice.
Julie started drawing when she enrolled in a Mission College class in 2015. She started working with charcoal exclusively two years ago, utilizing a technique called “charcoal sanding.” This technique has allowed her to explore deeper narratives and to develop a body of work.

Isabella King is a San Francisco Bay Area based textile artist and painter originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. King maintains an engaged studio practice in Sunnyvale while working as a philanthropy professional raising vital funds for Bay Area nonprofits.
King earned BFA degrees with honors in Studio Art and English from Wellesley College for the successful presentation of her thesis show, Woven in Paint and collection of short stories, Down Hullbeck.
In 2022 King participated in Art Builds Community’s Downtown San Jose residency and public art initiative, “The Womanhood Project: Anonymous No More.”

(Ema) is an artist originally from Romania whose work is informed by the relationship of her identity to her sense of displacement, and the ways she has devised to reconcile these incongruous elements. Her intricate yet expansive drawings tackle the dichotomy between containment and liberation by infusing a static diagram with a charge that propels it into motion. She received her MFA in Printmaking from the University of Delaware (2002), and her MFA in Painting from San Jose Sate University (2005). Ema is an Adjunct Instructor at San Jose State University and San Jose City College.

Kiana Honarmand is an artist born and raised in Iran. Her work addresses issues related to her cultural identity, violation of women’s rights in Iran, censorship, surveillance, and the Western perception of the Middle East. Derived from her interest in different materials and processes, Kiana’s interdisciplinary practice features the use of digital fabrication tools as well as traditional methods of craft. In 2012, Kiana moved to the United States to pursue and complete her Master of Fine Arts degree. She currently lives and works in the Bay Area. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues in the United States as well as Germany and Iran.

The soulful, effortless sounds of vocalist and songwriter Tori Paul describes her music as “Soulful Psychedelia”. Her music has a background in and takes influence from Jazz, Blues, Latin, Rock, Indian Classical and Soul genres. Using harmonious melodies, powerful vocals, groovy basslines, world music tones and rhythms and experimental percussion, Tori creates a mindful and meditative vibe that is contemporary with spiritual elements. She believes that music has the power to heal and creates music that promotes wellness to the listener. With her background in psychology and music she attempts to incorporate melody and musical healing in her work. She is currently working on her debut album and spends her time writing and teaching music and meditating.

Mason Razavi is a jazz guitarist with a growing profile in the SF Bay Area and beyond. Based in San Jose, CA, Razavi’s groups have performed at SF Jazz and San Jose Jazz as well as many Bay Area jazz clubs and concert series. His albums have often featured ambitious original music that has been warmly received by jazz radio worldwide. An avid educator, Razavi is an adjunct music professor at West Valley College, where he is a lecturer and jazz guitar instructor, and maintains a private studio. Razavi holds holds a M.A. in music with a concentration in Jazz Studies from San Jose State University and a B.M. from the Berklee College of Music where he majored in Contemporary Writing and Production.

Alex Arango is a Colombian American multi-instrumentalist living in San Jose. Born in a small town outside of Medellín, Colombia, his early musical influences included Cumbia, Vallenato, and Salsa music. After immigrating to the United States, he became drawn to Hip-Hop, Jazz, and Rock music. This eclectic palate of sounds developed his ear and musical taste, enabling him to collaborate with Folk, R&B, Latin, Jazz, and Tango bands. Alex graduated from UC San Diego, where he studied Music Technology as well as Jazz piano and composition under the tutelage of 2-time Grammy award-winning producer, Kamau Kenyatta. Currently, Alex works as a music educator, composer and producer and enjoys collaborating with musicians from a wide range of backgrounds. He enjoys meshing cultural influences and different musical experiences to create a unique sound.

Lydia Rae Black was born in Neshoba County, Mississippi, and moved to the Bay Area with her family at a young age, growing up in Morgan Hill. She graduated from San Jose State University in 2009 with a BFA in painting. With family still in the south, she has documented various features of their locale as part of her work, which has been focused on the consequences of materialism and time, as well as associations of possessions and identity. She has been active as an artist since 1999, and now works in the Art Department of SJSU, facilitating the use of the labs and graduate spaces. Lydia has also maintained a home studio, and has had a small space at The Alameda Artworks in San Jose for more than a decade.

The soulful, effortless sounds of vocalist and songwriter Amy D. envelop listeners in a dream-like fusion of jazz, soul, world, and R&B styles, bridging genres and generations alike. Combined with inspiring lyrics and heartfelt storytelling, her music is a timeless soundscape inviting reflection, healing, and growth. In a time where the world invites innovation and diverse influence, Amy D.’s songs imbue a multitude of juxtapositions: nostalgia with modern themes, powerful purpose with soft sophistication, lightness and warmth with cool, blue depths. First creating a stir in the San Francisco Bay Area and now beyond, Amy D. partnered with producer and master keyboardist Michael Aaberg (Goapele, Lalah Hathaway, Derrick Hodge) for her debut portrait album, LIKE YOU.

Justin Keyes is an actor, singer, former dancer, and private teacher born and raised in downtown San Jose. He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with degrees in Musical Theatre Performance and Spanish Language and Literature. After 14 years in New York, he moved back to the Bay during the pandemic with a new found interest in dedicating his creative energies to service. In response to the pandemic, Justin Keyes, along with his collaborator, John Campione, created a commercial jingle podcast, POD HELP THE OUTCASTS, dedicated to creating musical content that is gifted to small businesses affected by the pandemic. Justin and John hope the jingles they create will help boost the online presences of the businesses they love and generate more traffic and revenue for them at a time when they need our help more than ever.

Tasi Alabastro is an actor, online content creator, and multi-disciplinary digital artist whose work focuses on creating impact through visual storytelling. His latest project is a YouTube episodic vlog series which serve as research and development for a web show called Somewhere Street. The show will utilize dynamic storytelling with local artists to amplify the often marginalized people in the community. He is a proud member of the Red Ladder Theatre Company and is currently working with inmates in state prisons as part of the Arts-in-Corrections program; The program hopes to re-engage participants with their creativity and imagination. To find ways to support the journey, reach out by tweeting him at @tasialabastro. Huzzahs are always appreciated.

Isabel Bowen is an illustrator based in San Jose, California. She draws slice of life scenes in colored pencil often inspired by her day job as a tool technician at a major hardware store. At work, she fixes broken tools such as lawnmowers and chainsaws. Industrial settings like this have informed her illustrations since her first job in a wood and metal shop at her alma mater, the School of Visual Arts in NYC, where she drew still lifes of tools on slow days. Her work has been shown in the Society of Illustrators Student Competition 2016, “Alphabet Soup” at the Studio Gallery in San Francisco, and The Sanchez Art Center’s 50/50 show this year.

Victor Ruiz started his musical journey around age 10 sharing the same dream with a lot of people of becoming a famous rock star. And thus, he started learning classical guitar around 2011. Around his junior year in high school, a friend invited him to join a youth orchestra group called YMCO. And it was here where he started his musical journey as a classical bassists and decided to pursue music as his career in college. Today, Victor is one of the two classical bassists currently studying at San Jose State University under the instruction of Bruce Moyer. In addition, he has started expanding his musical knowledge by studying pipe organ with Harold Stuart and also performs music with his duet partner, Morgan Sonnenfeld.

Harumo Sato is a Japanese visual artist and has lived in Mountain View, California. After traveling and living in Japan, France, Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, Spain, she earned a BA from University in Buffalo, NY 2015. Through experiencing sudden sickness and severe natural disasters in her early life, her work aims to seek coexistence with nature and to create peace in viewers’ minds by combining psychology and the spirit of prehistoric to medieval artifacts in the Mediterranean Sea and Japan. Her painting and hand-pulled screen prints are in public and private collections and have been exhibited California and New York. She was commissioned to make a mural/ installation by Pow! Wow! San Jose, Superfine! Fair in LA, Facebook Air Program in Fremont, and so on. Photo by: Arabela Espinoza