CEYA Professional Artist Instructors
Jessica
McCracken
Coordinator
IOA's Center for Elders and Youth in the Arts
Jessica holds a Masters in Public Administration from San Francisco State University. She emphasized in nonprofits arts management and cultural policy. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater from Adrian College, with Minors in Art and English Literature. Jessica is the founding member and Artistic Director of Trash Mash-Up (TMU), a community arts program. Trash Mash-Up has received national recognition from American’s for the Arts as an outstanding eco-arts program. Ms. McCracken brings to the IOA a breadth of understanding in arts education in addition to expertise with intergenerational programming.
Kelvin
Young
Visual Artist
Kelvin was born in Taiwan and raised in San Diego, California. Mr. Young
received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, BA from the University
of California at Berkeley, and Post-Bacc. from the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago. He has an accomplished teaching background including UC Berkeley
and the San Francisco Art Institute. Mr. Young’s recent exhibits include
group shows at Togonon Gallery in San Francisco (2009) and a solo show
at June Steingart Gallery in Oakland, CA (2006). He was featured in Open
Studios Press out of Boston, MA (2008). His work has received honorable
mention in the Expressions West 2007 exhibit at the Coos Art Museum, Coos
Bay, Oregon (2007).
Marika Brussel
Movement, Dance
Marika most recently choreographed “Twillight” for Berkeley Ballet Theatre
(2011). She performed in the 2008
San Francisco Black Choreographers Festival.
Since moving to the Bay Area in 2007 she has
performed with the San Francisco Youth Ballet,
Moving Arts Dance, and the Alameda Ballet
where she also teaches (2008-2011). She studied
dance at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York,
New York. Prior to her work in the Bay Area
she was a company member with Ballet Theater
of New Mexico. Since 2006, Ms. Brussel has been a ballet instructor with
the National Dance
Institute. In 2007, she choreographed, Cutthroat, for the Ballet Theatre
of New Mexico.
Silvi
Alcivar
Writing, Poetry
Silvi received her MFA in Creative Nonfiction writing from The Pennsylvania State University and earned a BA in English and Women's Studies, with a focus on fine art, from the College Scholar program at Cornell University. She has performed her work, on stage and radio, throughout the San Francisco Bay area, where she's been living since 2007. Currently, she is the owner of a small business, The Poetry Store, in which she writes and sells custom poetry in three forms: on-demand, as jewelry, and as art. Her artwork has been exhibited at the Femina Potens Gallery, SOMArts Ramp Gallery, Live Worms, The Goods Gallery, and Secession Art & Design. In 2010, her work with The Poetry Store was featured in The San Francisco Chronicle and Daily Candy SF named The Poetry Store on of the top ten best new finds of the year. Since 2006, Silvi has taught poetry classes for the elderly and currently teaches for The Institute on Aging. She was honored with an Artist Residencey from Steelgrass Fams, Kauai, HI (2011). Received the Editor’s Choise Blue Ribbon at the Bay Area Maker Faire (2010). Her gallery shows include the Orange County Center for California Contemporary Art, “You First” (2011) and in San Francisco at La Boutique with “City Speak to Me” (2011).
Nadine
Gay
Visual Arts
Nadine graduated from Pratt University with a BFA in sculpture. She has
been actively showing her work around the world. Most recently in a group
show at Mythos Fine Arts Gallery in Berkeley, CA (2011) and a solo show
with the San Francisco Bar Association (2011). She has received several
California Arts Council grants as a teaching artist. She has been commissioned
to work on several community based projects involving mosaic murals. Most
recently she has worked at Laurel Dell Elementary in San Rafael (2010)
and Lynwood Elementary, Novato (2009).
Nanilee
Robarge
Textiles
Nanilee received her MFA with emphasis in textiles in 1994 from San Francisco
State University, Summa Cum Laude. Her quilts have been shown across the
United States and she has been cited in numerous publications commending
her textiles imagery. A solo exhibition of her quilts and mixed media
art took place in Minnesota in 2010. Ms. Robarge had Residency at the
de Young Art Center in 2004 and served for two years as a Board Member
of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Textile Arts Council.
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