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5TH ANNUAL
BAY AREA ART STARS
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2023, 2:30-5:00pm
868 Kearny Street, San Francisco

Connect with luminaries from the Bay Area arts scene at NCWCA's 5th annual Bay Area Art Stars Women’s Networking Event. Join us for an inspiring day of art and mentorship! This exciting in-person gathering gives women in the arts a unique chance to meet with established gallerists, curators, artists, and representatives from major arts organizations. If you are interested in pursuing a career in the arts, whether as an artist, art educator, curator, gallerist, or museum/nonprofit professional, reserve your space today!
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

2023 ART STAR BIOGRAPHIES

RENÉE DECARLO
Artist & Founder | The Drawing Room 

LUZ MARINA RUIZ
​Artist & Educator | California College of the Arts​
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​Renée DeCarlo is an abstract painter and process based artist. Originally from the Northwest, Renée has lived all across the US, landing in San Francisco in 2003 where she married and raised her two boys. She holds an BFA (SDSU) & MFA (U of O) in Ceramic Sculpture, though has worked primarily in drawing and self-taught mark/printmaking since finishing her degree. Renée has exhibited her work in galleries, museums, corporate and healthcare environments, and has a number of commissions and large works in private residences and corporate headquarters. Renée currently works out of her studio and gallery space, The Drawing Room, located in the Inner Richmond District in San Francisco. Simultaneous to this space, she is also the founder the Drawing Room’s ANNEX space where her focus is to bring dormant space back to life through thoughtfully curated exhibitions of local artists.  These all-inclusive shows aim to demonstrate the Bay Area Arts movement - centered around climate and social justice related topics. These spaces are temporary and work in partnership with building owners actively looking for long term tenants. Currently, Renée is working to develop an exhibition and larger artist residency program. 

ELISE DEMARZO
​Director of Public Art | City of Palo Alto​

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Elise DeMarzo moved to Palo Alto in 2008 from New York, where she was the Curator of Public Art for the City of New York’s Parks & Recreation Department, and Co-Director of Jack Shainman Gallery. After hopping coasts, she served on and chaired the Palo Alto Public Art Commission before being hired as city staff to oversee public art in 2010. She holds a BA in art history from Mills College and an MA in arts administration from New York University.

As the Director of Public Art for the City of Palo Alto, Elise DeMarzo oversees all aspects of both temporary and permanent public art installations, manages the Public Art in Private Development Program, oversees the Cubberley Artist Studio Program, and acts as the liaison to the Public Art Commission. She is also the current co-chair of the Northern California Public Art Administrators Network (NorCalPAAN) and on the steering committee for California Public Art Administrators (CAPAA).

DIANA LI
Artist & Director | Asian American Women Artists Association

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​Diana Li (she/they) is an artist and arts organizer working in the San Francisco Bay Area. An emerging leader in the local Asian American arts scene, she currently serves as the Director of the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA). In her career as an organizer, she has curated and managed multiple exhibitions and programs, including the United States of Asian America Festival (2018–-2022), Sowing Agency (2021), and Agrarianaa: Art Inspired by API Agricultural Roots (2019). Their own art and video work has been featured at the Asian Art Museum, Cantor Arts Center, SOMArts, and CAAMFest. 
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Oakland resident Luz Marina Ruiz is best known for her ability to transform 2D prints into sculptural artists’ books and installations with themes relating to water/boats. Her works are visual journeys, not literal representations of water. Instead, they focus on our planet's fragility and essential connection and dependence on water for survival. Although she works with challenging themes, the work represents the beauty, mystery, whimsy, and power that water holds. It’s a way to hang on to and honor what is at stake. Her work is held in private, special libraries and corporate collections. She currently teaches at California College of the Arts.  

KELLY SICAT
​Lucas Artists Residency Program Director | Montalvo Arts Center​

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As the Director of the Lucas Artists Program, Kelly Sicat sets vision, direction, and programming priorities for the LAP Residency as well as Montalvo Arts Center’s artistic programming. Since joining Montalvo in 2007, she has curated 12 major thematic artistic programs, commissioning 65+ new works in multiple disciplines, and engaging hundreds of local, national, and international artists with the LAP. During her tenure, she has built dozens of strategic partnerships throughout Silicon Valley for the program. 
 
Previously, Sicat was at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as the coordinator of LACMALab, its experimental research wing designed to bridge formal curatorial and education practices through the creation and presentation of new works. During her 7 years with that program, she worked with dozens of contemporary artists to develop cutting-edge, new, and participatory works of art that bridged formal curatorial and education practices. Ms. Sicat earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.

GET TICKETS FOR THE 5TH ANNUAL BAY AREA ART STARS EVENT

RESERVE YOUR SPACE!
A limited number of tickets for this event are available through Eventbrite.