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"Our children are welcome in a safe place here": Salinas artist connects local youth to art

Salinas local, JC Gonzales, founded the Urban Arts Collaborative in 2012.
Janae Sargent
Salinas local, JC Gonzales, founded the Urban Arts Collaborative in 2012.

A Salinas artist is connecting youth to art, healing and community through a grassroots gallery and workshop space.

Every Wednesday night, JC Gonzales, artist and operator of the Urban Arts Collaborative, stands outside of his community gallery in downtown Salinas, welcoming youth as they walk by.

Gonzales is a Salinas local and founded Urban Arts Collaborative in 2012 to create safe and supportive spaces for youth to be celebrated for their passion for art.

“I think that it is important to create a sense of belonging in the community and know how to express ourselves creatively and safely,” said Gonzales. “That inspired me to create these type of programs that are free of charge and that young people can interact with professional artists and have models in their lives so that way they can make the changes that they want, that they need to.”

What started as workshops in the park, engaging youth who were interested in graffiti art, has grown into a holistic program that blends mental health, mentorship, art, and even professional development.

The city now grants permission for the teens to create murals around town.

In 2017, thanks in large part to Gonzales and his team, the city created its first public arts council and gave Urban Arts Collaborative a brick and mortar space, to reach more of their local community.

Today, Urban Arts Collaborative is a community-centered and youth-led space, where the public can attend free workshops, display and sell their art and connect with professional artists.

For Gonzales art has always been a lifeline. Growing up as an LGBTQ person bouncing between homes, art allowed him to express himself and connect with other people.

JC Gonzales and local community member welcome guests into weekly artist workshop.
Janae Sargent
JC Gonzales and local community member welcome guests into weekly artist workshop.

“I grew up with my grandma and I remember very young, like always having like these crayolas and paper and doing art,” said Gonzales. And then I remember when I first came and lived with my biological mom, when I was in middle school, like, you know, I think the way, what helped me create a better relationship with her and, you know, and this community, it was by doing art.”

Through his love for art, Gonzales was able to pursue his Master’s and now a Ph.D, his dream is to share that passion and opportunity with others, especially other queer artists.

At Urban Arts Collaborative, youth are welcomed at weekly workshops - where they create art with different themes and mediums. Gonzales teams up with local businesses and organizations to come in and connect art back to other issues facing Salinas.

One of his most successful programs is a Food Justice Program, which uses art to educate and connect young people to Salinas’s largest industry: Agriculture.

Janae Sargent

In the food justice program, youth are invited to create using fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms… as well as take free food home with them. They also visit a local farm owned by JC’s friend and fellow artist, Rudy Jimenez, to see how food is grown and the impacts of pesticides versus organic food.

Urban Arts Collaborative is all about community, not just amongst the youth, but also amongst the local artists.

While youth are at Jimenez’s farm learning about food, his sister and fellow guest artist Beatriz Jimenez documents the work, as a professional photographer.

Beatriz brings her ten-year-old son to Urban Arts Collaborative Workshops workshops and said, as a Salinas native, she has seen the impacts of the art programs firsthand.

“Growing up with my brothers and seeing how easily influenced it is for someone young if they don't have that attention at home, how easily it is for them to just get into bad things that they shouldn't be,” said Jimenez. “But if there's a place where they can go and be safe at, where they can express their feelings and just express themselves somewhere else where someone can listen. So it feels nice to know that our children are welcome in a safe place here in Salinas.”

The Urban Arts Collective Pride exhibit.
Janae Sargent
The Urban Arts Collective Pride exhibit.

Urban Arts Collaborative just wrapped up its Pride Exhibit, which celebrated LGBTQ+ identities and experiences, and educated the wider Salinas community on LGBTQ issues.

Gonzales said he hopes exhibits like the Pride Exhibit will foster more understanding and acceptance in Salinas, and offer local LGBTQ youth a message of solidarity and healing.

“We believe that if we create the space to create safely and, you know, and start with ourselves like creating peace we can create the ideal world that we want,” he said.

While the Pride workshops have ended, art is still up and available to view year-round at Urban Arts Collaborative. For more information and to learn more about how to support the program, visit urbanartsco.org.

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