FOUNDER

Emily McEwan-Upright tax whiz by day, arts champion by night. Founder of 1202 Contemporary and 6th Street Studios, Emily weaves creativity into Gilroy's fabric, fostering artistic growth and community engagement through vibrant exhibitions, workshops, and residencies. Passionate about making art accessible to all, she tirelessly advocates for funding and partnerships, leaving a lasting mark on Gilroy's cultural landscape.

Education Coordinator

Johnathan Geronimo is a lifelong artist who mostly paints mixed media, yet, he also finds interest in all forms of art. He has worked in education for the last 6 years in various roles and environments (alternative education, special education, general education) and with many different age groups ( pre-k, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 12th). Johnathan is currently studying Integrative Psychology at National University (bachelor’s) with plans to continue once he graduates and hopes to use this education in his future artistic endeavors.

Volunteer Coordinator

Professional Multidisciplinary Artist with a BFA from SJSU and gallery manager at Gallery 1202, Abby has extensive experience as a preparator and installer for art exhibitions and assists with the Studios’ exhibitions. As a mentor, she volunteers at the SJSU Jewelry & Small Metal Department, helping students with their undergraduate projects. During her undergraduate study, she was President of the Jewelry & Small Metals Guild, a recognized campus organization.

Volunteer & Instructor

Anika Mathewson is a trained accountant, working in a tax firm for 4+ years and offers her services to help with the Studios office and accounting needs. She is a fiber artist with over ten years of experience. She leads and assists in creative projects at the Studios.

Board Member

Board Member, Owner of Maria Cid Agency, Board Member of Hollister Youth Alliance, Poppy Jasper Festival, Laguna Seca Raceway, and San Benito Chamber Foundation, Gilroy Ostrich Farm, Hollister resident, San Benito County

Board Member

Federico Saldana is a Gilroy native. He currently works for Gilroy Unified as the Ceramics teacher at Gilroy High School. He studied film at San Francisco State and has a Bachelor of Arts. He received his teaching credential from San Jose State and has both a multiple-subject credential and a single-subject teaching credential in fine arts. He has been teaching for 19 years in Gilroy.

As a young boy, he always loved creating things with clay and drawing pictures. His first experiences with formal art education came from the classes he took in high school at Gilroy High. He now teaches in the very classroom where he first experienced ceramics. Federico enjoys talking about, creating, and seeing art in the community. His goal is to bring more art and art experiences to Gilroy.

Event Coordinator/Instructor/Board Member

Hortencia has been active in visual art and graphic design for about 8 years. The attraction to culture, community and art in particular arose from her early awareness and appreciation of the impact that a dedicated community can create. Her designs  are based on reminiscing emotions of the latinx culture. 

Later on in her college years Hortencia decided to major in Graphic design. She earned an Associates of Art degree in Graphic Design with honors in 2015 from the Art Institute of California (Sunnyvale).  

After college, Hortencia opened her business in 2017. With a play on words mimicking the Nahuatl way of writing and the passion for the Día de Los Muertos tradition Hortencia came up with Ka’laka Arts for the name of  her business.Her designs are displayed on wearables or “traveling art” like stickers , shirts, and tote bags.

You may find Hortencia’s art being sold at various pop-up events throughout the bay area and online via social media.

Board Member

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Board Member

For the past 23 years, Bonnie has worked as a Lead Speech Language Pathologist who has always taken advantage of using creative curriculum. She encourages the use of art during therapy and believes art is expressive language and speaks for itself.

Originally from the suburbs of Manhattan, Bonnie moved to Los Angeles where she met her husband and started their family. They found Gilroy about three years ago, fell in love with the redwoods, and happily call NoCal their home. Bonnie and her family love exploring, hiking, coffee (or hot cocoa) in pajamas, and beaches.

Docent

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Director

Alberto is a contemporary printmaker, yoga teacher, and retired nurse. Born and raised in Mexico, after immigrating to the US he spent 20 years in Santa Cruz County before moving to Hollister in 2009. He spent many years making art, doing theater, and being around creatives while living in Santa Cruz.

Working as a Nurse was not conducive to making art as it was time-prohibited. The desire to continue making art never left him and after retiring from Nursing Alberto shifted his focus back to art as a printmaker. That rekindled love for art has led him to participate in group shows and be an active member of the MPC Printmakers Club of Monterey and currently working on updating his portfolio before applying to the California Society of Printmakers.

He enjoys volunteering his time at organizations that are community-oriented and provide a safe space to grow and develop.

Director of Education

Anthony Stenberg MA, Credentialed Art Teacher. A professional artist and art educator. A graduate of San Jose State University. A former full-time art teacher with more than eighteen years of experience in grades PreK - College, including special populations. In 2017, Anthony had the opportunity to open a non-profit art organization where he learned to manage all aspects of an organization. During this time, Anthony earned awards, grants, art projects, and serviced many local organizations. His love and passion for art and community led him to art as a profession. Anthony is very excited to bring his proven successful approach to learning to 6th Street Studios & Art Center.