Emerging Artist

Oakland Art Murmur’s Emerging Artist Program supports early-career visual artists at a pivotal moment in their practice.

Through networking opportunities, professional development, and public exhibition during East Bay Open Studios, the program provides access, visibility, and community—helping artists grow sustainable creative lives and shape the future of East Bay visual culture. Designed for artists at the beginning of their careers with limited experience exhibiting and selling their work, the program reduces barriers to participation and opens pathways into the local arts ecosystem.

Selected artists will receive a discounted or waived EBOS participation fee (depending on their need), support finding exhibition space if needed, will be featured prominently in EBOS’ marketing, access to professional development opportunities designed to support their growth as artists, and connection to a supportive community of peers and arts leaders.

summer 2026 cohort

Finn Jordan

artogether

Finn Jordan was born in Portland, Oregon and lives in Oakland, California. He is an artist coming back to his practice after undergoing a variety of life transitions in 2020. 

In Fall 2024, Finn took his first printmaking and painting classes at Laney College. He has been focused on drawing for a number of years. He feels painting and printmaking has brought his drawings to life. He draws all of his line work by hand even in his digital work, so there was a natural translation of his illustrations to etching. For painting, Finn has been enjoying playing with ink in mixed media to incorporate his line work. They also make “mini zines,” which intersect their poems and short form essays with illustrations. This year they also had the pleasure of finishing their first paper animation short, parts of which you can find on their website portfolio.

@finnfinnfinn1122

Donny Phan

artogether

Donny Phan’s craft is a love letter to his nonhumans: past and present. The dried plant is central to his practice as it holds memory, transformation, and temporality. He is influenced by the concepts of otherness and universal impermanence. 

He was a comic-loving kid who dreamt of becoming a mutant with superpowers. The X-Men narrative was an allegory to his own experience of being different and marginalized. To stay out of trouble, his parents gave him tools to create his own superheroes. Imagination is a superpower. 

Plant-tecture is his experimental playground to arrange, edit, add, subtract, cut, paste, and illustrate an otherworldly utopia of metamorphosed flora and fauna. Freed from anthropocentrism, they reclaim agency over their environments. His work explores a reversal of power (not as revenge but as rebalancing) and process is through play, unexpected materials, juxtapositions, and subtle absurdity.

@planttecure

Hanah goldov

2227 Stuart st, berkeley

Hanah Goldov began working with clay as a college student in 2010, drawn to the medium as a meditative outlet. It wasn’t until studying landscape architecture and working in the design profession that she was inspired to develop a more consistent art practice, one that allowed for creative freedom. Her design training has deeply influenced her work, providing structure, vision, and follow-through, as well as confidence in her creative process. As a lifelong dancer and mover, for Hanah, working with clay is as much about the embodied experience as it is about the finished piece.

@goldovgoods

Mark romero

makers workspace

Mark Romero is a first-generation Nicaraguan-American artist and educator based in the Bay Area, California. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and later a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. His formal training in fine art, combined with years of experience in education, deeply informs his creative practice.

Rooted in his Nicaraguan heritage, he seeks to highlight the connections between Mexico and Central America, revealing shared symbols, histories, and traditions that transcend borders. By drawing these links, he aims to foster a deeper sense of unity and collective pride while honoring the distinct identities within each culture.Through collaborations and teaching, he continues to create work that connects past and present while inspiring others to explore their own cultural narratives.

@el_chiquito__

qi han

the grand gallery

Based in the East Bay, Qi Han is a primarily self-taught oil painter whose practice is rooted in observation, curiosity, and a deep respect for craftsmanship. Her artistic journey has unfolded alongside a professional background in public relations and service-oriented work—a career that profoundly shaped how she reads people, stories, and the subtle shifts in human connection.

Recently, Qi has begun transitioning from a private studio practice into a more public artistic presence, sharing her work through exhibitions and sales for the first time. Guided by a belief in lifelong learning, her work reflects a desire to capture light not only as a visual element but as a metaphor for presence and hope. As she grows her practice, Qi is eager to engage with the local East Bay art community and contribute work that feels both deeply personal and welcomingly familiar.

@hanqiart

Niko alexander

the grand gallery

Niko Alexander has always gravitated towards the arts. But it took him a long time to fully accept himself as an artist. A lot of insecurity and doubt had to be overcome before he felt his art was not only worth sharing, but worth devoting his entire being to. The summer before Niko went away to college is where everything clicked, his passion for art and interest in his subject matter finally merged and he was proud of what he was painting like never before. Niko studied painting at the College of Creative Studies within UCSB. There he began to refine his talent and learn about what it meant to make a great painting, studying the great artists that came before him and trying to mold himself in their likeness. 

Niko was encouraged to pursue his interest in painting sport and capturing basketball in painting. He began to see parallels between the devotion to sport and religion, exploring what it would mean to make mythological or religious art that centered basketball. He really feel that this is a calling and that he can make his name giving life to the myths and history that surround sport and basketball.

@nik0alexander

Laura wasserman

Dictée Art Gallery

Laura Wasserman is a fiber artist and narrative weaver based in Alameda, CA, whose bold, abstract weavings and notably feminist compositions explore the power of fiber to both comfort and evoke. Her mixed media pieces are maximalist in nature, use explosive color, experiment with found and recycled materials, and incorporate her own small-batch handspun yarns. Personal narratives highlighted in her work include loss and healing, motherhood, the female experience, disability visibility, and meditations on family history. With formal degrees in creative writing, her weavings are mostly self-taught explorations.

@radcraftstudios

Pam Jue

Gray loft gallery

Pam Jue is a Berkeley based artist whose work explores the thoughts and emotions that manifest in the body as we grapple with impermanence, uncertainty, and acceptance. She was inspired to create this body of work as a way to sit with the many emotions that arose from the COVID pandemic. From this process, her intricate, abstract technique started to emerge when she started to listen to her internal state to help guide her drawings.

Her love of art started when she was young and continued while attending New York University’s Studio Art program where she experimented with painting, photography, and digital art. After graduating, she put a pause on her art to pursue a career designing products and services for others, focused on health. It was after breaking her 10-year hiatus of making art that she remembered how healing art can be on one’s health. 

Since showing at the de Young Open in 2020, she has invested more time in exploring and making personal and commissioned art. She also hosts workshops to teach others how to use art to process their own emotions.

@pamjueart 

former Emerging Artists

Learn more about our inaugural Summer 2025 Emerging Artist Cohort.

  • Shreya Sankar

  • Nadir Wright

  • ren chanel patrick

  • Ngoc nguyen

  • Laurie caird

  • Guillermo Navarrete Davis

  • Sheilby Macena

  • Derick Davies

    Emerging Artist & Spotlight Artist Summer 2025

  • Roland martin

  • Noah Johnson

  • Cameron Redd

  • Trisha Mah

  • Chloe Wanaselja

  • Melanie Tiongson

  • Michela Colognese

about our emerging artist program

Oakland Art Murmur is proud to introduce the Emerging Artist Program as part of our biannual East Bay Open Studios. The new Emerging Artist Program reflects Oakland Art Murmur’s commitment to cultivating creativity, diversity, and inclusivity within the East Bay’s vibrant arts community. The program is designed to support emerging visual artists who are at the beginning of their careers and have limited experience exhibiting and selling their work.

Through the pilot phase of the program, we aim to reduce barriers to entry and provide critical resources that empower new artists to grow and thrive. Up to ten emerging artists will receive a discounted or waived participation fee (depending on their need), ensuring greater accessibility to East Bay Open Studios. Additionally, they will be featured prominently in marketing campaigns and materials, connecting them with audiences and collectors across the region. Participants will also have access to professional development opportunities designed to support their growth as artists.

By creating opportunities for emerging artists to showcase their talent and connect with the local arts community, this program reflects Oakland Art Murmur’s mission to support and strengthen artistic vibrancy in the East Bay. After the successful launch of our pilot program, we hope to expand this program to provide even greater support for emerging artists and deepen its impact on the community.

Studio of Meghan Shimeck