For some time now, I’ve been wondering what the future will hold for performing artists. We are at a critical point in the arts in which we must rely on the community to help each other achieve our goals. The time of altruism in the arts is over, and it is up to us to sustain each other. I’ve been shocked recently by the way in which some organizations have raised funds for causes that are a bit harrowing and problematic, but one thing that astounded me was that this demographic has community. It made me wonder what my community would be willing to do for me and for each other.

It made me wonder what is my community and how can I give back as a performer, educator, and artist. There is a paradigm shift happening in the performing arts currently, and I seek to be at the forefront of what performance is and how it is moving away from the current system. I’m wondering how I can use my skills and education, which I’ve had to fight very hard for, and transform them into something that serves my communities and fuels my passions so that I can give back to artists.

My dream is this plot of land.

There is nothing on it now, but envision it as a space for creativity, for a laboratory, for innovation, for sustaining what feels like a very fragile part of our human history facing the new world of automation and AI technology. How can the performing arts survive?

Envision a space in which artists come to drink from the well of creativity, in which I steward that land and give space to the community to learn and develop their forms to meet the 21st century.

This plot of land as the seed of creativity. There’s nothing there, but my hope is to use it to its utmost potential to plant an organization that will outlast me and form part of a new legacy of Californian artists.

I have been blessed with hardworking parents, but my background is humble. So many arts organizations have had their seed money from the generosity of someone else—unfortunately, that is not my case, but it’s not something that I’m willing to let deter me from achieving my goals.

My dream is this plot of land.

This plot where I will plant trees of creativity, nourish my community with the harvest, and sustain the performing arts through stewardship of the land.

Please consider this an invitation to participate in the community and give back to the visions and dreams of those artists who will carry society into the future.