Scroll below to learn about the art

Join Mid-City CAN’s Youth Justice Momentum Team for an evening of art, conversation, and community centered on reimagining youth justice in San Diego County.

Thursday, September 10, 2026
Doors open: 5:30 PM | Program: 6:00–8:00 PM
The Fridge Gallery
5591 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92105

🎨 Art Exhibition
🎤 Panel Discussion
🎶 Performance + Art Highlight
🍽️ Food + Community Networking

More details, including panelists and the full program, coming soon.

Please save the date and we hope you’ll join us!

Exposición de arte y panel: "The Youth Are Sacred"

Acompaña al equipo *Youth Justice Momentum* de Mid-City CAN en una velada de arte, conversación y comunidad centrada en reimaginar la justicia juvenil en el condado de San Diego.

LA JUVENTUD ES SAGRADA EXPOSICIÓN DE ARTE  DECLARACIÓN DE PROPÓSITO:
escrita por Maria Elena, Fundadora/Directora Ejecutiva, Homegirlz del Corazon y miembro integral del Equipo de Impulso de la Justicia Juvenil

La exposición de arte La Juventud Es Sagrada crea un espacio donde nuestros jóvenes no solo son incluidos, sino que tienen la oportunidad de liderar, crear, soñar y contar sus propias historias.

En el corazón de esta exposición y de nuestra visión para un Departamento de Desarrollo Juvenil (DYD) está la creencia de que los jóvenes merecen espacios construidos en torno a quiénes son, no solo a lo que han sobrevivido.

Las obras de arte deben demostrar la importancia de:

Liderazgo Juvenil: Los jóvenes deben tener voz para dar forma a los programas, oportunidades y sistemas creados para ellos.

Orientación y Apoyo Basados en la Experiencia Vivida: Debemos valorar la experiencia vivida de los jóvenes y, al mismo tiempo, garantizar que personas con experiencia vivida trabajen junto a nuestros jóvenes, construyendo relaciones auténticas basadas en la comprensión y la confianza.

Informado por el Trauma y Centrado en el Corazón: Debemos mirar más allá de los comportamientos y las etiquetas y ver a la persona joven en su totalidad, su historia, sus fortalezas, sus necesidades y sus posibilidades.

Dejar que los Jóvenes Sean Jóvenes: Nuestros jóvenes merecen oportunidades para crear, reír, soñar, explorar, hacer arte, experimentar alegría y estar llenos de vida.

Vivir, No Solo Sobrevivir: El desarrollo juvenil significa ayudar a los jóvenes a ir más allá de la supervivencia y experimentar pertenencia, conexión, sanación, oportunidades y esperanza.

Nuestros jóvenes son mucho más que aquello que han sobrevivido. Siempre han sido sagrados. Cuando invertimos en su sanación, creatividad, liderazgo y futuro, comenzamos a sanar a todas las comunidades del Condado de San Diego.

Jueves, 10 de septiembre de 2026
Apertura de puertas: 5:30 p. m. | Programa: 6:00–8:00 p. m.
The Fridge Gallery
5591 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92105

🎨 Exposición de arte
🎤 Panel de discusión
🎶 Presentación artística y muestra destacada de arte
🍽️ Comida y convivencia comunitaria

Próximamente se anunciarán más detalles, incluyendo los panelistas y el programa completo.

¡Reserva la fecha; esperamos contar con tu presencia!

Meet the Artists

ARTIST DIRECTORY

FOR ANY SALE INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT THE ARTIST DIRECTLY OR ALEJANDRO, [email protected]

JLY. A piece of art that can show the culture of color not only the things that the world perceives, but a bigger picture of wisdom in lyrics. $150.

JC. This art piece signifies what most of my life has revolved around, both good and bad; though at times I lost hope. A Simple reminder of these valuable things & times in life kept me going. $310.
Progress of Change. Katherine. NOT FOR SALE.

MZ. The art expresses how I feel being in juvenile hall. $150

Primer Vuelo. Ruben Alarcon. Artwork 2 is a Sumi-e painting titled 'Primer Vuelo.' I created this artwork while working as a teaching artist in a prison and we were discussing how childhood trauma led them to where they are. It uses sumi ink to explore the vulnerability of something living and how innocence can be changed or lost from the first flight. $150.

Fragments. Ruben Alarcon. Artwork 1 is mixed media work titled 'Fragments,' which I created while thinking how people that are system impacted are thought of as less than. A fragment of a person. It uses a diversity and richness of color to exemplify how these fragments are more vital to the whole. The blank spaces are simply incomplete triangles. $300.

Look of Love. SM. $20.

Flower of Love. SM. $15.

In Loving Memory. CK. $150.

No title. MMM. $50.

Mama’s House. Milan DelVecchio. Living Rooms is a series of three meta-biographical portraits that imagine the human body as a kind of architecture. Using scaffolding and structural forms, each drawing explores the inner world of its subject, translating their thoughts, experiences, and emotional landscapes into physical space. The resulting portraits serve as both representations of the individual and reflections of the environments, memories, and experiences that have shaped them. My submission, "Mama’s House," a graphite drawing, is a portrait of my mother. In the lower right corner, a small baby elephant looks toward her in awe. The elephant serves as a cameo of myself - her daughter - and represents the perspective of a child looking to a parent and their surrounding environment for cues about how to understand and move through the world. I submitted this work in response to the theme “Youth Are Sacred” because it reflects the profound influence that our earliest environments have on who we become. Like the baby elephant looking toward its mother, young people are shaped by the people and spaces around them. The work speaks to the importance of providing children with healthy, caring, and creative environments that can nurture those qualities into adulthood. While I am not personally systems-impacted, my experience teaching art with VISTA (Valuing Incarcerated Students Through Academia) and the Prison Arts Collective has deepened my understanding of how profoundly our environments and systems shape our lives, as well as the transformative power of education and creative expression. I hope to continue the series Living Rooms as a collaborative practice with systems-impacted individuals, using visual reflection to support storytelling, healing, and positive transformation. $1,000 or best offer. Funds donated to Homegirlz del Corazon.

Love in Heaven. Kat Pan. "Love in Heaven" is a piece inspired by the loss of my friend to suicide. The angel reaching toward the sky represents my love and connection to someone who is no longer here. It reflects the complicated experience of grief—the longing to reach someone you cannot bring back. $250.

Love Carries Us. Kat Pan. "Love Carries Us" explores youth as a time of connection, imagination, freedom, and possibility. Their embrace represents the importance of having someone beside you as you grow, dream, and move forward. $225.
ESN. It brings comfort, peace, and happiness $90.

SV. My painting is for schizophrenia awareness. My mother and father have it. I also had a cousin that had it, but he unfortunately committed suicide. My goal is to show that a person with this mental illness should not be categorized as a “crazy person”; but they should be supported and their illness she be taken more seriously. $100.

Louis R. 

AP. My painting represents a place I like to go to when the pain I feel inside begins to overwhelm me. Listening to the water and feeling the wind blow against my face is a gentle reminder that things will get better and I will be ok. $100.

TR. To spread mental health awareness. $100.

Sakura Sweets. GB. I love art and making art and I’ve been making art my whole life. This is a painting of my original character, Sakura and she represents my girl sparkle. $350.

Cupids Bow. GB. This is my second piece of artworks, another original character, cupid, she represents my love aspect and I love her very much. $350.

The Plane. Moss Arend. My art is a digital piece that was created as a book cover to celebrate the collaborative book my friends and I had been writing together. We all use art and writing as a way to express and work through the difficulties in our lives through our characters. It is a colorful scene of three fantasy figures in a forest in front of a crystal cave. The world is called The Plane, which they work together to escape from. I hold this artwork close to my heart and hope others can enjoy its whimsical and unique portrayal of our creations. $20.

La Virgin. Katherine Campos. $100.

Sacred Resilience. Ivan Fonseca Jr. Created While Incarcerated. A skeletal revolutionary rises from smoke and struggle — a symbol of endurance shaped inside the walls meant to confine him. Made during incarceration, this piece reflects the reality that young people often discover their voice, creativity, and leadership in the harshest environments. The figure stands as a reminder that youth-led wisdom is born from lived experience, and that healing begins when we see the whole young person — their story, their strength, and their possibility. Rooted in Tulare County’s rural truth, this artwork honors the resilience of youth who carry both survival and sacredness in their bones. $100.

Dreams Beyond Survival. Ivan Fonseca Jr. Created While Incarcerated. “Dreams Beyond Survival” was created during incarceration as a letter of hope and gratitude for someone who offered steady support through confinement. The artwork imagines a world beyond the walls — cranes rising toward freedom, a tiger standing guard with courage, and a woman emerging from the clouds in quiet strength. These symbols reflect the journey of young people who carry both struggle and possibility: the desire to grow, to be protected, and to be seen with compassion. The piece embodies the belief that healing often begins with relationships rooted in understanding and trust, especially for youth navigating systems that limit their futures. Grounded in Tulare County’s truth, “Dreams Beyond Survival” affirms that young people deserve more than endurance — they deserve belonging, joy, creativity, and the chance to dream boldly. When communities invest in youth healing and the connections that sustain them, transformation becomes possible.
Maison Cause. Maison Cause is an indigenous artist located in San Diego CA. She made this piece to put the true experience of being a youth in the mental health system on display.

Our children are watching: Police brutality. Caitlin Radigan. My pieces represent the violence our children are witnessing in their day to day lives or on their phone screens as we see police brutality and genocide carried out by governments across the world. $1500.

Awaken. Strengthen. Become. Louis R. & Saul E. B. 

Our children are watching: Genocide. Caitlin Radigan. My pieces represent the violence our children are witnessing in their day to day lives or on their phone screens as we see police brutality and genocide carried out by governments across the world. $1500.