2026 Creative Youth Celebration
Thank you for joining us!
Thank you for joining us and making the 2026 Creative Youth Celebration such a memorable event!
Whether you were an artist, performer, family member, or community guest, we value your opinion and would appreciate your feedback. Your input will help us make next year’s event even better.
Complete the survey by Friday, July 10, and you'll be automatically entered into a raffle to win a $100 gift certificate to ARCH Art Supplies. The winner will be notified via email.
About the 2026 CYC
WHEN:
Saturday, June 27, 2026
12:00pm - 5:00pm (main stage program begins at 3:00pm)
WHY:
The CYC offers a public platform for emerging artists at one of SF’s leading arts institutions
It is a free, family friendly arts experience open to all during SF Pride Weekend
The Celebration connects arts, leadership, and community at a time when original acts of creation and arts education faces increasing pressure and creates a high-visibility cultural moment led by young voices
WHAT:
The Creative Youth Celebration (CYC) is a free, public exhibition and performance event spotlighting the next generation of Bay Area creatives. For one day, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will feature award-winning student art installations, live performances, as well as youth and professional speakers. Open to the public, the event invites the broader community to experience the work, ideas, and creative voices shaping the future of the Bay Area.
WHERE:
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94103
WHO:
All are welcome! We anticipate hundreds of youth artists, their families and supporters, as well as educators, CYA Review Panelists, community partners, civic leaders and invited special guests.
Schedule
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Explore hundreds of award winning creative works
Catch live music and dance performances
Live screen printing of limited edition tote bags
Participate in a hands-on arts workshop
and so much more!
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Living Creatively: Practice, Purpose, and Practical Power
Creativity isn’t just for artists, it’s a strength everyone can build. Hear about the creative journeys of our panelists and how they apply creativity to the professional and personal aspects of their lives. The discussion will explore how creative practice and thinking can fuel not only the creation of remarkable artwork but also drive problem-solving and innovation. From turning mistakes into breakthroughs to speaking up with original ideas, this conversation will explore creativity as more than imagination, how it is a practical, powerful life skill.
See below for panelist details!
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A special program to introduce some of the artists who received top awards.
Hear live performances from:
Original Music Creative Artist Review Panel Awardee, Kairo Lucaz
Creative Writing Creative Artist Review Panel Awardee, Ava Perez
and more!
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Hear from keynote speaker Ruby Ibarra, enjoy incredible student performances, and - of course - celebrate the 2026 Creative Youth Awardees!
Meet our Keynote
Ruby Ibarra
Ruby Ibarra is a Bay Area–based rapper, spoken word artist, and director who has toured across the United States, Canada, and the Philippines. Her work has been featured in major outlets including Rolling Stone, NPR, The New York Times, Vogue Philippines, and The Today Show, and her music appears in video games such as NBA2K23, NBA2K24, and NASCAR25. In 2025, she won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest with her song “Bakunawa,” later performing a Tiny Desk Concert and embarking on a sold-out national tour.
A longtime supporter of the Creative Youth Awards, Ruby generously served as a review panelist from 2023–2025, mentoring and encouraging the next generation of creatives even as her own career gained national momentum. We’re honored to welcome Ruby as the keynote speaker for the 2026 Creative Youth Celebration, where her journey, artistry, and voice will inspire students to imagine what’s possible for their own creative futures.
Panelists & Performers
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Antonio López is San Mateo County’s 2025-2027 Poet Laureate. He holds degrees from Duke University, Rutgers-Newark, and the University of Oxford as a 2018 Marshall Scholar. His poetry and essays have appeared in numerous publications, anthologies and podcasts including Poetry Foundation, Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, The Slowdown, Poetry Daily, among others. Antonio served his hometown of East Palo Alto, as a council member and mayor from 2020 to 2024. He is currently finishing his PhD in the Modern Thought and Literature program at Stanford University.
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Raissa Simpson is an award-winning choreographer, artistic director of PUSH Dance Company, and an arts educator at Stanford University. Her choreography has toured to over 50 venues across the United States including Ferst Center for the Arts, Aspen Fringe Festival, Joyce SoHo and many more. As an administrator, Raissa operates the Sanctuary, a dance studio in downtown San Francisco.
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Andrew is an artist who makes paintings about the stillness, and video about the moving. He has been the digital imaging and video instructor at Pixar Animation Studios, made set videos for Butoh dance, created animation for Rob Epstein’s “The Battle of Amfar” (Sundance 2012), produced all animation and effects for “The Sea Ranch Songs” with Alexandra Vrebalov for the Kronos Quartet (2015), produced an animated tour stage background with Nick Francis for Fantastic Negrito (2017), was the animation and effects director for the animated Doc short “Brother” (ITVS 2021) and had a painting included in "The de Young Open 2023". Most recently he made animation for two Amelia Rudoph (Bandaloop) dances; “The Tipping” (2025), and “Water Moves” (2026).
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Trisha Lagaso Goldberg is an artist, public art consultant, and independent curator who served as the founding gallery director of thirtyninehotel in Honolulu (2006–2010). She is currently Director of Programming & Engagement at the Anderson Collection at Stanford University and is developing Remittance for Independent Curators International (premiering at the Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Fall 2026) and Noguchi + Hawai‘i for the Honolulu Museum of Art (Spring 2027). Her work centers artists and histories often excluded from dominant narratives, with a focus on diasporic and transpacific contexts.
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Nataan Hong is a Bay Area–based songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer whose work spans pop, rock, R&B, funk, jazz, and classical. He is currently a composer for the Pokémon series on Netflix, with credits including the theme song for Pokémon Horizons, “Becoming Me,” as well as “My Favorite Pokémon” and “Evolving Again.” A past Creative Youth Awardee - earning a 2023 Presidential Award in Music Performance and Superior Awards in 2024 (Original Music) and 2025 (Music Performance) - Nataan is known for his musical intuition and emotionally resonant compositions. His talent has earned him multiple local, national, and international awards, along with prestigious scholarships in songwriting and production, and he continues to collaborate with emerging artists as he expands his creative portfolio.
Location.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (701 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103) is located in downtown San Francisco and easily walkable from multiple transit lines (MUNI & BART).
PARKING: The Fifth & Mission / Yerba Buena Parking Garage is located one block from the venue.
ACCESSIBILITY: Please view YBCA’s Visitors page for accessibility information.
We couldn’t do it alone.
Our community partners come together to share their strengths and resources in various disciplines by offering pop-up activities that our students and visitors can participate in. This year we’re excited to invite a variety of organizations that are experts in their own respected field and also share the value in innovation, creativity, and empowerment.
Activities, Workshops, and Hands-On Experiences
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TAKING PLACE OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING.
City Studio is an intergenerational art project fostering creativity, curiosity, and conversation.
Run by Amy Berk and Chris Treggiari, City Studio nurtures a sense of self, encouraging young artists to find their voice, strengthening their conceptual thinking and foundational skills and inspiring investment in a holistic creative life. Now in its 21st year, the award-winning City Studio program, taught by working artists who create alongside the students, extends its reach and impact through a range of organizational and community partnerships creating large-scale public activations and working with various communities.
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PARTICIPATION IN THIS WORKSHOP IS FIRST COME-FIRST SERVED. NO ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
What If? Story as a Creative Superpower
Step into a creative studio and explore the question that starts every great idea: What if?
Created by Pixar Animation Studios alum and inspired by the storytelling process used at Pixar, this hands-on experience shows how story is a critical skill across all creative fields from design to entrepreneurship to media. You’ll turn something you care about into a “What if?” idea, share it, and see how it evolves through feedback and iteration.
No experience needed, just curiosity.
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What are you a master in? Or what are you trying to master? Becoming an expert in any field is no easy task. It is commonly said that it takes up to 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to achieve this goal. Mastery can be anything: a skill, a hobby, a subject in school, or even a personal strength like communication or leadership.
In this activity, you’ll reflect on your own journey toward mastery and share what makes you passionate about it. What drives you? And what challenges have you faced in this journey, and more importantly what keeps you going?
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The East Bay Photo Collective will be leading a hands-on Cyanotype Printing activation. Cyanotype is a historical printing process that uses a light sensitive emulsion, sunlight, and water to produce a blue photographic print.
Join us to experiment with this dynamic process and make your own cyanotype photogram!
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Join Root Division artists for a hands-on button making activity! Participants will design and create their own custom buttons using provided materials, exploring personal expression through art and design. This fun, drop-in activity is open to all skill levels and offers a creative way to connect with the community.
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Come contribute your wit, humor, creativity, and enthusiasm (or maybe discontent) to a collective writing game led by Writopia Lab Bay Area.
FAQs.
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Tickets to this public event are FREE, though there is a suggested donation of $20 to help cover event costs. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Please bring your friends, family and creative supporters to this all-ages event. Each registered person may access up to 4 tickets under their name, but multiple people may register.
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The Creative Youth Celebration is free and open to the public, but we strongly encourage registering in advance so we can plan for attendance and ensure the best experience for everyone. If space allows, walk-ins may be accommodated, but advance registration is recommended.
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Yes. You’re welcome to drop in for part of the day or stay for the full program. Exhibitions, performances, discussions, and activities will take place throughout the event, so guests are free to explore and participate at their own pace.
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The event will feature the work of the 2026 Creative Youth Awards awardees, showcasing exceptional creativity from young artists across multiple disciplines, including visual art, film, music, writing, dance, and more.
If you can’t attend in person, you can explore the work anytime through our 2026 Virtual Gallery.
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Not at all. The Creative Youth Celebration is open to everyone — students, families, educators, artists, and members of the public who want to experience and support youth creativity in the Bay Area.
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No. The artwork on display is presented as part of the 2026 Creative Youth Awards exhibition and is not available for purchase.
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Yes! Volunteers play an important role in helping make the Creative Youth Celebration possible. If you're interested in supporting the event, please CLICK HERE to submit an interest form.
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Yes. We partner with organizations that share our commitment to supporting young creatives and expanding access to the arts. If your organization is interested in sponsoring the event or partnering with us, please visit our Sponsors page to learn more.