Mission & Vision
We champion young creatives.
The Bay Area Creative Foundation celebrates, cultivates, and inspires creativity in youth and young adults.
We believe in fostering a society that embodies creative spirit, art, and innovation.
What is the Bay Area Creative Foundation?
The Bay Area Creative Foundation was established to celebrate the importance of creativity in all our lives.
As part of the larger efforts to support culture, artistic growth and innovation in the Bay Area, we believe there is an uplifting and important intergenerational story to share about the creative work our local teens are making.
There has never been a more important time to support the next generation of Bay Area culture workers, storytellers, changemakers and innovators.
Life is not a multiple-choice test,
it's a blank sheet of paper.”
CYA founder Dr. Emil Kakkis is a renowned geneticist and biotech entrepreneur, best known for developing breakthrough treatments for rare diseases. But long before his career in science, he was a creative high school student who—like many—felt that the value of creative thinking was often overlooked and underestimated. Years later, as a parent watching his own children navigate school, he saw the same imbalance: originality and innovation taking a backseat to test scores and athletics. "Life is not a multiple-choice test," he says. "It's a blank sheet of paper."
Inspired by this disconnect, and by the need for young people to build confidence in navigating the unknown, Dr. Kakkis founded the Bay Area Creative Foundation—not as an artist himself, but as someone who deeply understands the power of creativity in every field. In science, innovation comes not from memorization, but from bold thinking and imagination. By recognizing and celebrating creative students, the foundation aims to nurture the very skills—curiosity, resilience, risk-taking—that drive meaningful progress in any profession.
Hear from our community.
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![A young woman with short black hair, dressed in a gray shirt, black pants, and white Adidas sneakers, sitting on a black armchair and writing in a notebook in a library with tall bookshelves filled with books in the background.]()
Chloe Chou
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![A man with glasses and tattoos, wearing a beanie and a denim jacket, examining a vinyl record in an art gallery.]()
Simon Tran
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![A man with curly brown hair wearing a pink and white striped shirt, looking down and holding a Nikon camera indoors.]()
Hannes Gerber
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![A woman playing a grand piano and singing into a microphone on a stage inside a building.]()
Calvin Ray Shawler
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![Young woman working on a dress pattern on a dress form, wearing a black leather jacket and braid hairstyle.]()
Ashlyn So
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![Two women with surprised or shocked expressions looking at something off-screen, sitting indoors in front of a painting of a forest scene.]()
Kiara & Sophia Bromberg
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![An elderly woman with long white hair, wearing glasses, writing in a notebook at a table.]()
Maw Shein Win
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![A woman with dark hair and tattoos on her arms stands conducting or speaking in front of a music ensemble, with a man wearing a painted Native American headdress, sitting and holding a musical instrument, possibly a cello, in a room with sheet music.]()
Jessica Bejarano
