Exposing students to the arts in San Mateo County

“The cool thing about this mentorship is it lasts the whole year with the same small group of kids and it’s in-depth and hopefully very life-changing,” Art Bias Executive Director Terra Fuller said. “Basically the idea is to give them access to professionals in the art world to help them cultivate their creative confidence and to put them in touch with a creative and supportive diverse community of artists.”

The program has taken students to San Francisco’s Chinatown where they were guided through a tour of the historic district’s murals and Stanford University’s Cantor Museum, known for its sculpture collection. Students have also visited exhibits at the Chan Zuckerberg Community Space, the Seniors International Baccalaureate art exhibition at Sequoia High School, the Redwood City Art Kiosk, and the Commercial Way Corridor Murals, also in Redwood City.

When not on trips, students spend their day-to-day in workshops, studying various techniques and styles like Chinese brush painting, cold wax painting, figure drawing, still life, color mixing and needle felting and weaving. Studying in the same studio where professionals work also exposes students to mediums they may not have considered.

And like many of the professionals in their vicinity, the students will eventually begin curating a collection that will be on display at an end-of-year exhibition. Meanwhile, Fuller said she’s already thinking about the selection process for the program’s second year, noting she hopes the program will return annually.

Its early success has already led to additional opportunities for participating students. During the summer they were paid $17 an hour — funded by the Sequoia Union High School District — for a six-week internship with Art Bias designing a window display that will be digitally transferred to the nonprofit’s studio building at 1700 Industrial Road in San Carlos.

“The exposure the youth will receive to our local creative community is truly a life-changing experience for these kids,” Christal Waters, Sequoia High School department chair and art teacher, said in a press release about the Art Bias Youth Mentorship Program.

Marlene Lopez, a junior at Sequoia High School, is one of the seven students selected to participate in the youth mentorship program. She initially found her way into the arts during the pandemic when she would spend time sketching with pens and painting with cheap acrylics.

Her interest in the craft grew when she took her first art class in her sophomore year of high school. At first, Lopez took the class to fulfill graduation credit requirements but soon a teacher began to encourage her to continue exploring and practicing. Once news of the program broke at her school, Lopez was one of the many students to be recommended for a spot.

“I remember feeling very grateful. I walked out of the art classroom with the biggest smile on my face,” Lopez said, calling the art classroom her “safe space.”

Initially, the program plan called for pairing six students with six mentors. Lopez learned in an email that she didn’t make the cut but a day before the program began, Lopez received a call informing her that a seventh position was available and organizers wanted her to fill it.

Lopez said she feels lucky to have been selected. Mentors have been greatly supportive, she said, and she’s learned to work with mediums she’s never considered dabbling in before. Speaking on the course on charcoal drawing, Lopez said she initially disliked the “messy” utensils but after a little encouragement and perseverance, she came to really like it.

Once the program comes to a close later in the year, Lopez said she hopes those who view her work see the progress she’s made in her craft. As for her future beyond the exhibition, Lopez said she now hopes to one day work with children and to continue encouraging young people to explore the arts.

“It feels still so unreal,” Lopez said.

Not all of the students will enter careers in the arts, said Taryn Curiel, a mixed media artist and fashion designer of more than 20 years and program mentor. But she and Fuller agreed the skills the students will acquire through the program — creativity, adaptability, attention to detail and collaboration — will be useful in any career field.

Curiel noted artistic hobbies are also vital outlets for anyone to express their inner feelings and thoughts. That’s especially true for teens, she said, who often grapple with an influx of hormones and insecurities that have only heightened living in a digital world.

Since the start of the program, Curiel said the students have begun to open up and share more, both through their art and in conversations with one another. Some have also begun to connect more with the adults running the program, Curiel said, noting the experience has also been deeply enriching for her.

“That’s the good thing about art, you can do it, but you have to go deep inside yourself, be honest with yourself to discover who you are. The other part is you have to realize you are unique in your own way. If you find those little pieces that are you, that’s your own secret recipe,” Curiel said. “The creativity is there and they’re opening their minds to a new world, a different way of thinking.”