As Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos draw nearer, some cities are scaling back celebrations. But for San Francisco Bay Area artist Cynthia Tom it’s not only a sacred time of remembering loved ones but the opportunity to stand up to oppression.
In addition to harvest festivals, autumn has been a time for artists with ‘Open Studios’ exhibits and gatherings, encouraging people to engage in the creative aspects of human activities.
For artists like Cynthia, autumn and art merge. It allows Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) as well as Hungry Ghosts & Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and yes even Halloween to express something deep within, harmoniously.
Each year Cynthia participates in some way with Dia de Los Muertos and or Hungry Ghosts celebrations. The ripple effect celebrations like these have is palpable. And, that’s why Cynthia (along with other artists) honor them.
The recent announcement of deployment of Federal agents by the Trump Administration to the San Francisco Bay Area is sparking both fear and resistance in the eclectic culture diversity that is California.
While Cynthia’s career as an artist spans over40 years, and during that time her sense of artist as activist has grown. She established this activist work through A PLACE OF HER OWN™ (an art-based healing program for women of color, and now just beginning to expand into non-binary and male spaces).
“My work as a visual artist (painter, mixed media, found object sculptor, installation, photographer) and curator explores ancestral patterns of trauma,” she said. “I work towards healing, empowerment, spirituality, and feminism through the lens of social justice, community and collective healing.”
Surrealism is complex and often is misunderstood. Yet Cynthia has utilized this art form to such an extent that her work has not only earned a spot locally but nationally.
Cynthia’s work is in The Smithsonian National American Art Archives.
Recently she has been named as one of nine on California Arts Council’s Northern California Legacy Artists.
This was administered by Youth Speaks alongside Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Creative Corp projects.
The aim is to work with Asian American therapists.
Cynthia was also awarded the Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition’s Women Warriors honor for her extraordinary work using the arts to help heal community.
Her achievements wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for community.
Much of Cynthia’s sense of community as artist has been through 1890 Bryant Street Studios.
Once an abandoned/underutilized mayonnaise factory building in San Francisco’s Mission District, 1890 Bryant now stands as a pinnacle of artistry. It houses over 100 passionate artists on all three floors, ready to share their vibrant creations and unique processes.
In addition to its annual fall ‘Open Studios’ 1890 Bryant was featured and celebrated at The Sausalito Center for the Arts in Sausalito (SCA).
