Biographies: AAWAA Arts Instructors
Project Director 2011, 2012
Cynthia Tom - Visual Artist. Cynthia Tom is a multi-media artist, passionate about social justice, women’s issues and playing with the accepted norm. Painting, mixed media, art installation, and curatorial projects are her means of expression. She is a seeker and philosopher about issues in our lives, her ancestors and the community of women. Cynthia is a third generation Chinese American and native San Franciscan. She has been a professional artist for over sixteen years and a curator for eight years. As curator of A Place of Her Own, Cynthia has worked very closely with the artists in developing their artwork by conducting orientation meetings, works-in-progress workshops and individual consultations. She has encouraged and supported the artists' work from conception to final installation of their work. Cynthia is a strong women’s advocate in the community and has participated in arts and women's advocacy organizations over the years. Cynthia has curated several of AAWAA’s major exhibitions including the recent AAWAA 20th Anniversary Exhibition and Cheers to Muses at the Chinese Cultural Center.
Project Manager 2012
Khay Hembrador
Project Manager 2011
Elizabeth Travelslight -Visual New Media Artist. Elizabeth de Leon Travelslight is mixed-race of Pilipina and Euro-American descent. An alumna of Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, Elizabeth graduated in 2010 from the Digital Arts & New Media MFA Program at the University of California Santa Cruz where she also received her BA in Mathematics with an emphasis in feminist histories of mathematics and science in 1999. In 2008, she completed her MA in Communication with an emphasis in poetry and contemporary philosophy through the European Graduate School, Saas Fee, Switzerland. Her new and mixed media installation practice reflects an ongoing exploration of play, technology, and knowledge production. In her continuing collaborations with AAWAA and the A PLACE Social Service Initiative in particular, Elizabeth is pleased to offer several years of community organizing, curriculum development, non-profit and and studio art experience. More at http://www.elizabethtravelslight.com.
Elizabeth Travelslight -Visual New Media Artist. Elizabeth de Leon Travelslight is mixed-race of Pilipina and Euro-American descent. An alumna of Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, Elizabeth graduated in 2010 from the Digital Arts & New Media MFA Program at the University of California Santa Cruz where she also received her BA in Mathematics with an emphasis in feminist histories of mathematics and science in 1999. In 2008, she completed her MA in Communication with an emphasis in poetry and contemporary philosophy through the European Graduate School, Saas Fee, Switzerland. Her new and mixed media installation practice reflects an ongoing exploration of play, technology, and knowledge production. In her continuing collaborations with AAWAA and the A PLACE Social Service Initiative in particular, Elizabeth is pleased to offer several years of community organizing, curriculum development, non-profit and and studio art experience. More at http://www.elizabethtravelslight.com.
Project Coordinator 2011
Kelsay Elizabeth Myers - Literary and Visual Arts. Kelsay Myers is a Korean adoptee from West Michigan. She studied English with an emphasis in writing and philosophy at Kalamazoo College and is currently a candidate for an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Saint Mary’s College of California. She is a member of the Asian American Women Artists Association. Her work can be found in the Asian adoptee anthology, More Voices, and she has a column on the Lantern Review blog called, “Becoming Realer: Identity, Craft, and the MFA.” She contributes to the blog on Refuse the Silence about women of color’s experiences in elite liberal arts institutions and created an art installation for her essay, "The Red Frame," as part of the A Place of Her Own exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco. Her interests are in pushing the boundaries of identity construction, myth and reality, poetry and prose, and theory and form. Her background is in writing poetry, creative nonfiction, essays and journalism; teaching, public speaking and lecturing; leadership; and art. http://about.me/kelsay
Social Service Initiative
"If you had a place of your own, what would it be?"
A PLACE OF HER OWN
More about A PLACE Social Service Initiative
AAWAA Art Instructor Bios
Full Description of A PLACE OF HER OWN Social Service Initiative
San Francisco Arts Commission Arts and Communities Innovative Partnership Grants
Workshop Syllabus
Download a Workbook
Cynthia Tom during installation, 2010
Elizabeth Travelslight in front of her Blanket-fort
Joan O works on A PLACE OF
HER OWN, photo Jen-lee O
Celeste working on her book as part
of the Social Service Initiative
