genARTS Silicon Valley presents a panel of LGBTQIA+ arts and creative professionals to SJMA's Third Thursdays— providing an informative discussion of equity, representation, and empowerment in Silicon Valley. Moderated by Sera Fernando, Chief Diversity Officer of Silicon Valley Pride, this panel features Arely Cardenas, ASHA, Jesus Armando Ortiz, and Tyler Holmes, artists of diverse disciplines whose practice and intersectional perspectives engage with the ongoing dialogue of critical consciousness. Learn more about the panelists and moderator down below.
The panel is produced by Saldy Suriben, Chief Marketing Officer at Silicon Valley Pride.
Arely Cardenas (She/Her): I am a first-generation Mexican American female artist who was born and raised in San José, CA. Two words that describe my artwork: vibrant and detailed. My paintings are influenced by my culture, all that I admire about Mother Nature and female anatomy. Today, I am painting with a heavy focus around empowering women. Latina women particularly heavily influence the woman I am becoming. I want to create sublime pieces that speak to the soul and evoke emotions that lie in the depths of our subconscious. More importantly, I want passion and pride to spread like wildfire across my community.
ASHA (She/Her) is an artist, educator, and revolutionary. Originally from Los Angeles, Asha has been a public-school teacher for the last 10 years in the Bay Area. She is an international poet, striving to use art to create radical change. ASHA was featured on the cover of Content Magazine, and KQED Arts produced a documentary on her intention and process as an artist. She has showcased her work at many prominent poetry events in the Bay Area, as well as being an active speaker, emcee, and performer at numerous rallies and marches for civil and human rights. Her TedX Talk tells her personal story of identity through poetry. She was given the Hank Hutchins Award by the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators for supporting Black youth. Her dream is to establish her own K-12 school rooted in restorative practices, art, and social justice-based standards. ASHA consistently uses her platform to voice out against injustice and to speak up for those who have been marginalized and silenced for centuries.
Jesus Armando Ortiz (She/He/Him): I am a co-director assistant for Grupo Folklorico Viva Mi Tierra. I was born in Mexico City in 1994 and have lived in Santa Clara County since 2005. I am a Certified Medical Assistant and my role is to provide Primary Care to our LGBTQ+ Community. I have been dancing for about four years and have been working to promote a free and open space to our Trans, gay, straight, and others who have been rejected for who they are in the art of dance.
Tyler Holmes (They/Them) is a music producer, singer-songwriter, composer, writer, visual and performance artist who uses music as a therapeutic device. Holmes creates a manic digital age take on soul singing by blending a variety of vocal genres including R&B, Folk, Goth and Gospel. Autobiographical and absurd, their writing is alluring and uncomfortable. Both brutal and beautiful, bringing the audience into a shared space of healing and catharsis. They perform with constantly changing electro-acoustic arrangement, always finding new ways to showcase an intimate horror. Exploring the remaining human element in an increasingly technological society. Winter 2019/2020, they curated and hosted a performance series for Trans, Black and Brown, Femme and Queer performers to showcase new acoustic arrangements entitled FemTV Unplugged at 2727 California Street Gallery in Berkeley. This summer, they released a new two song EP Nothing in anticipation of their forthcoming LP Nightmare In Paradise to be released this fall on vinyl via Ratskin Records.
Sera Fernando (She/Her) is a Senior Management Analyst for the Santa Clara Office of LGBTQ Affairs. As an independent D&I communications consultant and social activist, she also serves as Chief Diversity Officer for Silicon Valley Pride, Council Member for Women's Equality 2020, Community Engagement Director for the Human Rights Campaign San Francisco, and proud Microsoft GLEAM Alumni. Leveraging her platforms to lift the voice of intersectional Queer and Trans People of Color, Fernando believes that celebrating our differences and providing access to the most marginalized communities of society empowers us to achieve more.
