Curated by Mike Alcala
On view
Dec 13, 2024 – April 18, 2025
Open Hours: Saturdays | 12 – 4pm
Obed “El Capitan” Silva – Bienvenidos Amigos (2023)
About the exhibition
Each One, Teach One is a group exhibition celebrating arts educators and community-centered artists who embody the philosophy of sharing knowledge, traditions, and inspiration with others. Through their creative practices, these artists demonstrate the impact of mentorship, teaching, and storytelling.
The phrase “Each One, Teach One” is an African proverb that originated in the U.S. during slavery when Africans were denied education. In this context, learning was an act of resistance and empowerment – when one person learned to read or write, it became their responsibility to teach someone else. This principle has been embraced by communities worldwide as a call to spread knowledge for the betterment of all.
This exhibition showcases the work of 22 local educators and artists, each contributing one or more artworks accompanied by a personal statement. These reflections offer insight into how they carry forward the “Each One, Teach One” philosophy – whether by sharing knowledge through their craft, preserving cultural traditions, or inspiring others to explore their creativity.
This exhibition also includes a micro-gallery showcasing artworks by students (ages 4–12) from our Stay Young! Youth Art Program, highlighting the role of creative education across generations.
About the curator
Mike Alcala is a visual artist and educator originally from Maywood, CA, now residing in Long Beach. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from California State University, Long Beach, and currently teaches with Stay Arts in the Downey Unified School District.
Deeply influenced by his upbringing in Southeast Los Angeles, Alcala’s work reflects the region’s fusion of grit, culture, and contradictions. His work blends everyday experiences and surreal elements, layering symbols and textures to explore themes of identity and contemporary life.
Alcala’s artwork has been exhibited at venues including the South Gate Museum, Stay Gallery, Munzon Gallery, and in numerous group shows across Long Beach and Los Angeles.
Featured artists and educators
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Adrian Culverson is interested in the infinite space that exists between two defined spaces. The crevice between cheap and shiny. She is drawn to the spaces between painting and sculpture, acceptance and denial, and use and non-use. Most importantly, Adrian is attracted to the splices that occur between the real and the imagined structures that are both evanescent and never-ending. The pieces she creates are part sculpture and part painting. Her work and intentions are devoted to the top layer of seeing, the sticky surface of frosting and first impressions. In order to have a first impression you have to be seen.
Adrian grew up in Claremont, CA. She holds a BFA from Art Center and an MFA from CGU. She currently teaches at Citrus College and maintains her own studio.
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Carrie Molinaor is an illustrator and teaching artist based in Downey, California. She graduated with a BFA in Illustration at California State University, Long Beach. She is currently instructor of arts programming at the Downey City Library Workshop and a teaching artist for Stay Arts. Her past exhibitions include Wayward: Illustration BFA Senior Showcase, and Plein Éire at Bó Studios in Dundalk, Ireland. She recently curated Made in the Workshop, an exhibition of community artwork currently on view in the Downey City Library.
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cindy “cindita” macias is an interdisciplinary artist, multimedia maker and after school art teacher. she uses assemblage to explore her thoughts and to process difficult, often deeply repressed emotions about the ever-changing world. Using found objects, magazine clippings, and textiles, she combines seemingly unrelated pieces to make something strange and new, yet familiar. Her distinctive style emanates her inner struggles with the complexities of the human condition and her expressions are brought to life with contrasting, harmonious colors, bold compositions, and intuitive inclinations.
cindita began collaging as a means of coping with community violence to envision new possibilities beyond violence, trauma, and capitalist consumption. cindita pays homage to the younger self and asks the viewer, to explore, to dream, to be. The collage process is a cultural strategy we depend on to adapt to the inevitable changes of the sociopolitical landscape within and beyond the U.S context.
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Daisy Velasco (b. 1998, La Puente, CA) is a first-generation Mexican-American painter. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from California State University, Long Beach, where she specialized in drawing and painting. Her work explores the intersections of family, tradition, and psychological drama. In her narrative paintings, she draws from the emotions evoked by a chaotic home environment where disruption and male dominance are common. This lens shapes her experience and interaction with generational trauma. In response to these feelings, her compositions often feature disembodied figures.
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Derick Edwards is a Santa Maria, California-based artist whose creative journey began in childhood, inspired by watching his father draw. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree from California State University, Long Beach, and has since exhibited his work in prominent locations, including the Central Coast, Los Angeles, and New York City. Notably, he was selected as one of ten artists for the LA Lakers' 2024-2025 "In the Paint" program. In addition to his artistic practice, he has over four years of experience teaching drawing and painting to a diverse range of students, from kindergarten to adults. Driven by a lifelong passion for art, Derick is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and inspiring the next generation of artists. His work continues to evolve, reflecting his deep commitment to both his craft and his community.
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Felix Quintana is a visual artist and educator. Quintana’s art practice spans photography, drawing, digital media, collage, and installation. Quintana received his MFA in Photography from San Jose State University and BA from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Solo exhibitions include Donde Nace El Agua at Wende Museum, Fantasma Paraiso presented by Los Angeles Nomadic Division, and Cruising Below Sunset at Residency Art. Select group exhibitions include Vincent Price Art Museum, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Chinese Culture Center San Francisco, and Center for Photography Woodstock, among others. Awards include California Community Foundation Fellowship for Visual Arts, Lucas Artist Fellowship at Montalvo Art Center, Mohn LAND Grant by LA Nomadic Division, and LACE Lightning Fund Grant. His work is included in the public collections of Oakland Museum of California, Altamed Art Collection, and Los Angeles Civic Art Collection. Quintana lives, works, and teaches in Los Angeles.
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Isis Jazmin is a multidisciplinary artist who works across various mediums to create personal heartfelt pieces. She embraces a resourceful approach to her art, often using whatever materials she can find to avoid waste. Capturing moments and creating serve as therapeutic outlets for Isis, allowing her to express her appreciation for life.
Drawing inspiration from the beauty of daily life, motherhood, her family, and the natural wonders provided by Mother Earth, Isis crafts meaningful works that reflect her perspective on the world. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Fullerton, and is currently pursuing a teaching credential in both English and Art at CSUF.
For the past three years, Isis has had the honor of teaching art through Stay Arts, sharing her passion and knowledge with young artists. Her goal is to continue exploring her creativity, honing her craft, and inspiring others through her art..
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Israel Campos graduated with a bachelors from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2011 and acquired an MFA from the University of Wisconsin‐Madison in 2015. His work is in the permanent collections of the Kohler Art Library, the UCSC Digital Art Research Center, the Zuckerman Museum of Art, and the Oregon College of Art and Craft. He has exhibited in venues across the country, including the ArtHelix Gallery in New York City, the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art in Portland and is an active member of the Vox Pop printmaking artist collective and the California Society of Printmakers. He also runs and operates Chayote Press.
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Jacqueline Valenzuela (b. 1997 East Los Angeles, CA) received a BFA in Drawing and Painting from California States University Long Beach (2019). She has a forthcoming MFA in Painting from UCLA (2027). Her work has been exhibited nationally, including the South Gate Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, The Mexican Center for Culture and Cinematic Arts of the Mexican Consulate, The Cheech – Riverside Art Museum and at the Brand Library & Art Center for “RAIZ”, a group show, curated by Thinkspace and Tlaloc Studios. Her solo, “Con Safos, Con Fuerzas”, is currently on view with the Bakersfield Museum of Art.
Valenzuela is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice is centered around her personal experiences as a woman within the Chicano world of lowriding. Her art practice reflects the deep roots she has planted in the lowrider community by bridging the gap between fine art and this underrepresented community
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Jesse Fregozo is a native Angeleno who primarily works as a painter and teaching artist with Homeboy Art Academy. He vocalizes the struggles of marginalized communities through the representation of identity and culture as a primary focus. Fregozo uses locations around his community as symbols of identity and a cultural lifestyle that has been carried down generation after generation. Fregozo straddles the line between design and pop culture in the development of his work. His intense works on paper, photography, and design are mediums for the development of his artwork on murals and canvas.
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José M. Loza (b. 1983, Cuernavaca, Mor., Mex.) is a first-generation Mexican-American artist from Long Beach, CA. Loza works in drawing, painting, printmaking, and mixed media. He often collaborates with other artists and activists on installations and community-based art projects. His work explores who is centered and who is on the periphery of our social framework. Loza is interested in visualizing the American immigrant experience and the systems that shape it, while also exploring the shifting nature of memory, history and cultural myths that we inherit, challenge and reshape ourselves through.
Loza is a graduate of California State University Long Beach with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and an Art Education Single Subject Teaching Credential. He is also a recipient of the 2019 Nuestra Imagen Excellence in Arts and Culture Award, 2019 United States House of Representatives Recognition, 2018 Arts Council for Long Beach Professional Artist Fellow, and a 2023-24 California Arts Council Creative Corps Fellow.
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Julia Vartan is a freelance illustrator, mixed media artist, and art educator, born and raised in Paramount, California. Utilizing collage, bold color, and text, her work allows the viewer to become immersed in the worlds she creates on canvas or paper. Graduating from Life Pacific University in 2021 with a BA in Human Development and Psychology , her art practice is informed by the ever evolving study of the human psyche and the subconscious mind. She takes a process-based approach, leaning into the notion that art-making is a healing tool that all people can participate in and experience.
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Katie Marshall’s paintings stem from impressions and memories of long drives, often made alone: experiences tinged with wonderment, beauty, boredom, neuroses, and sometimes fear. Her lyrical, semi-abstracted landscapes incorporate text, roadside iconography, and bold uses of color, gesture, and materiality to explore the open road as a complex emotional and psychic space.
Marshall has a BA in Russian from Reed College and an MFA from Cal State Long Beach (CSULB). Prior to getting her MFA she worked as a Russian translator; she is now a painter and a Lecturer in the CSULB School of Art. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, including at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, and at In Lieu, Peripheral Space, and Magdalene galleries in Los Angeles. Her work is held in the SGCI Print Archive of the Zuckerman Museum of Art at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
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Marcus Gonzalo Bañuelos was born in Long Beach, California, in 1993. He earned his undergraduate degree from California State University, Fullerton, before completing his Master of Fine Arts at the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Bañuelos has a rich background in arts education, having taught at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. He currently serves as an instructor at his alma mater, California State University, Fullerton, where he continues to inspire and mentor emerging artists.
Bañuelos resides in La Puente, California, with his wife, Katie, and their two beloved cats, Toulouse and Manteca.
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Mimi Doyo is a Filipino-American artist based in Norwalk, California. A 2023 graduate of California State University, Long Beach School of Art, she earned her Bachelor's in Drawing and Painting and also holds an Associate’s Degree in Studio Arts from Rio Hondo College. Mimi is an an alumna of Ryman Arts and currently an instructor at Stay Gallery in Downey, where she teaches art to students in the Downey Unified School District’s after-school program. Her acrylic and oil paintings delve into themes of memory and cultural identity, creating introspective works that connect personal and shared experiences.
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Nia Simone, a Compton native who spent her formative years in Columbus, Ohio, is a visual artist driven by storytelling and emotion. From childhood, she found solace in art, using it to explore her identity and connect with others when personal relationships fell short. Inspired by Frida Kahlo, poetry, and hip-hop culture, her work transforms words and emotions into textured, thought-provoking canvases.
Her art tackles themes like beauty, self-esteem, Blackness, womanhood, and inner-city life, sparking meaningful conversations. By sharing her personal journey with vulnerability, Nia creates a space for dialogue and understanding, even for those unfamiliar with the experiences she depicts.
Formally trained at Fort Hayes High School and El Camino Community College (AA in Visual Art), she is now pursuing her BA in Art at UC Irvine. Working primarily in oil and acrylic, Nia’s paintings offer depth, richness, and a gateway into deeper social and cultural discussions.
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Obed is a self-taught artist whose paintings are mostly representations of the Latino and Chicano experience in the United States. His works have been exhibited at Art Share LA, The dA Center for the Arts, Brea Gallery, amongst other major art venues.
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Priscilla Sandra Flores is a first-generation Mexican-American painter born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Gabriel Valley. Storytelling plays a central role in her work. At an early age, Priscilla became interested in narration after feeling a connection with her family's stories of their southern Mexican Catholic life. She frequently uses self-portraiture to discuss the relationship to the body and sensuality that has shaped her Mexican upbringing within a homogenized American culture. Her current work explores themes of identity and sexuality.
Priscilla earned a BFA in Drawing and Painting from the School of Art at California State University, Long Beach, in 2019. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as Munzón Gallery, Thinkspace Projects, Tlaloc Studios, Stay Gallery, Open Gallery Long Beach, and the STRAAT Museum in Amsterdam.
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Sofia Carrillo is a teaching artist and illustrator, born and raised in Downey, California, and daughter to two educators. She studied art in the Pre-Production BFA program at Cal State Long Beach, and loves learning. While her personal work is mostly digital, being a teaching artist gives her the perfect excuse to pry herself from the screen to try new hands-on projects and explore a variety of mediums with her students. She currently works as a teaching artist for Stay Gallery in Downey.
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Yaileen Zamora is a dynamic artist and educator from Compton, California, whose creative journey spans a variety of mediums, including digital illustration, acrylics, paint markers, poetry, and photography. Through her business, Yay Designz, Yaileen brings her artistic vision to life, creating innovative visual designs. She also serves as an art teacher with DFEO and Stay Gallery, where she helps students connect through art, fostering their creativity and self-expression.
Yaileen has curated three exhibitions with Stay Gallery, providing students with opportunities to showcase their art work. Additionally, she curated the exhibition “Where There’s Treasure, There’s Rubble” at the Compton Art & History Museum, highlighting the resilience and strength of the local community through visual storytelling.
In 2023, she participated in the Gallery of What’s Good South LA, showcasing how Total Health and Well-being can manifest in the community. Yaileen's work invites viewers to reflect, engage, and celebrate diverse experiences and voices.
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Yvette Trujillo is a Los Angeles-based Chicana artist and ceramicist whose work explores themes of labor, resilience, and heritage. A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, Yvette draws inspiration from her family’s immigrant journey, particularly her parents, who worked tirelessly as artisans in construction and textiles. Through her ceramics, she captures the rich narratives of immigrant families, highlighting their daily struggles and triumphs. Her pieces incorporate vivid Mexican motifs and earthy, organic hues that honor her roots and celebrate the hardworking spirit of her community. Yvette’s work has been exhibited in local galleries, standing as a vibrant testament to the strength, beauty, and complexity of immigrant stories.
Win a painting!
To raise funds for our Stay Young! Youth Art Program in 2025, we are thrilled to partner with featured artist Jacqueline Valenzuela to host an artwork raffle of her painting JUNTOS. 100% of proceeds will help us lower tuition costs and provide financial aid opportunities for families.