Episode 10:  Narrative Intervention with Jalena Keane-Lee

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art , Clara Kamunde is in conversation with Jalena Keane-Lee an award-winning documentary film maker. Her short films have screened at over 40 film festivals, won best short documentary at the 2020 LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, the 2024 San Diego Asian Film Festival, the Sundance Jury Award in 2023, streamed on the Criterion Collection, Nowness Asia and broadcast nationally on POV. 

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About Jalena Keane-Lee:  
Jalena’s filmmaking explores intergenerational trauma and healing through an intersectional lens. Jalena, named one of DOC NYC’s 2024 40 Under 40 Documentary Filmmakers to Watch and one of Adobe x Sundance’s 2023 Women to Watch, is currently touring her first feature length documentary, Standing Above the Clouds which follows Native Hawaiian mother daughter activists. The film premiered at HotDocs in 2024 where it won the Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Doc. It has played at over 15 film festivals and won Special Mention for Best International Director at DocEdge 2024, Best International Cinematography at Film Ambiente, Best Feature Documentary at the 2024 San Diego Asian Film Festival and Best Made in Hawaiʻi Feature Film at the 2024 Hawaiʻi International Film Festival. Jalena won Tribeca Through Her Lens 2020 and DocLands 2022. She co-founded Breaktide Productions, an all women of color production company. She has produced commercial series for clients like Nike, Facebook, and LinkedIn and worked with non-profit organizations like The Center for Cultural Power, The Teaching Well, and Bright Pink to create engaging video campaigns. For more about Jalena Keane-Lees visit our webpage here and Jalena’s website.  Follow @jalena.kl

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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in  traditionally under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles.  She is a Marcus Curatorial Fellow at Montalvo Arts Center.
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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, visit our website.  Follow the LAP @lucasartres 

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

Episode 9

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde is in conversation with Pantea Karimi a multidisciplinary artist whose  practice blends  printmaking, animation, video, sculpture. Pantea blends these disciplines in an innovative visual vocabulary that borrows from classical Persian painting, medieval science diagrams, botany philosophy, archives, and print culture to explore harmony and tension in narratives that foreground female agency.
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About Pantea Karimi:  
Pantea Karimi is a multidisciplinary artist based in San Jose, California. She holds a Master’s Degrees in Graphic Design and in Fine Arts and studied in Iran and the UK before settling in the U.S. in 2005. Her works have been exhibited in solo, group, and traveling exhibitions in Iran, Algeria, Germany, Croatia, Mexico, the UK, and the United States. Karimi is a 2024 City of San Jose Creative Ambassador, a 2023 Kala Art Institute Honoree, and a 2019 Silicon Valley Artist Laureate. She is the recipient of Pollock-Krasner Foundation Artist Grant (2022), City of San Jose Arts and Cultural Exchange Grant (2019) and Artist Residencies at MASS MoCA (2022 and 2024), Santa Fe Art Institute (2024), Montalvo Art Center’s Lucas Artist Program (2024-2026), University of California San Francisco Library (2021-2022) and Kala Art Institute Fellowship (2017). For more about Pantea Karimi visit our webpage here and Pantea’s website. Follow @karimipantea
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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in  traditionally under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles.  She is a Marcus Curatorial Fellow at Montalvo Arts Center.
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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, visit our website.  Follow the LAP @lucasartres

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

You Can’t Eat Art Episode 8 - The Impulse To Create

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde is in conversation with multi-disciplinary artist Francisco Graciano, a primarily self-taught artist who’s impulse to observe and create manifested in early childhood. Fransisco has been creating art in San Jose as long as he can remember and his practices include sculpture, public art, ceramics, painting, woodworking and watercolor  tattoo.
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About Francisco Graciano: 
Francisco Graciano, a primarily self-taught artist, earned his BFA in Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute. He has held his arts practice for over 35 years and his multi-disciplinary practices include sculpture, ceramics, painting, woodworking and watercolor  tattoo. Working primarily in sculpture, Graciano has spent the last 25 years working with wire and metal, and his work centers on themes of the human experience, the natural world and evolution. His unique style forgoes the use of tools creating hand-forged 3-dimensional works of art bent, twisted wrapped and pulled in a continuous unbroken line, thus extending the line connecting artist and viewer. Graciano lives and works in San Jose, California. For more about Francisco Graciano, visit our webpage here.  Follow @francisco.graciano

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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in urban parks, recreation areas, historic sites, and schools located in communities throughout Greater Los Angeles. A former fellow at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State University Clara is an inaugural curatorial fellow at the Montalvo Arts Center's Lucas Artists Residency program.
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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, visit our website.  Follow the LAP @lucasartres 

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde is in conversation with Christine Wong Yap a visual artist and social practitioner working in drawing, printmaking, publishing, textiles, public art. Her practice expands and makes visible grassroots perspectives on belonging, resilience and mental well-being through her hyperlocal research projects. Christine was the first artist-in-residence at Times Square, NYC and at the Institute of Othering and Belonging at UC Berkeley.

About Christine Wong Yap: 
Christine Wong Yap is a 2025 Creative Capital Awardee. She has served as Neighborhood Visiting Artist at Stanford University and Creative Citizenship Fellow at the California College of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at venues such as the Berkeley Art Center (Berkeley, CA), Bronx Museum of Art (Bronx, NY), Cantor Arts Center (Stanford, CA), Chinese Arts Centre (also known as Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art / esea contemporary; Manchester U.K.), Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco, John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI), Los Angeles Public Library, Palo Alto Art Center (Palo Alto, CA), Queens Museum of Art (Queens, NY), Times Square Arts (NYC), Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art (San Francisco), and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), as well as in Bangalore, India; Los Angeles; Manila, Philippines; and Portland, OR. For more about Christine Wong Yap visit our webpage here and Christine’s website. Follow @Christine_WongYap 

About Clara Kamunde: 
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in urban parks, recreation areas, historic sites, and schools located in communities throughout Greater Los Angeles. A former fellow at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State University Clara is an inaugural curatorial fellow at the Montalvo Arts Center's Lucas Artists Residency program.

About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, visit our website.  Follow the LAP @lucasartres 

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art Clara Kamunde is in conversation with interdisciplinary performer-composer-improviser Damian Norfleet. A critical review describes him as “a gifted improvisational singer, performance artist, actor, and social justice activist who has occupied a rare multi-dimensional space in the performing arts” (I Care If You Listen).
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About Damian Norfleet: 
Damian Norfleet a bass-baritone contemporary vocalist and a Barrymore Award-winning actor has performed at Lincoln Center, New York Society for Ethical Culture, Kaufman Music Center, The Times Center, Das Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) Berlin, Reid Hall in Paris, and Off-Broadway. His most recent work is a collaboration with friend and frequent collaborator composer/pianist Courtney Bryan (2023 MacArthur Fellow) on Cudjo, a performance piece inspired by the historical figure Cudjo Banquante- he penned the libretto and Bryan composed the scored.  Norfleet  has been a vocal soloist and improviser with the International Contemporary Ensemble and Ensemble Pi, and principal vocalist with national and international opera houses and orchestras. He is a Music & Composition Fellow at the Montalvo Art Center’s Lucas Artists Residency Program and is working on Man in the Moon,  his first conceptual album -  an experimental opera. For more about Damian Norfleet, visit our webpage here and Damian’s website.  Follow @damian._.naimad@https://www.instagram.com/damian._.naimad/
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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in  traditionally under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles.  She is a Marcus Curatorial Fellow at Montalvo Arts Center.
—
About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, visit our website.  Follow the LAP @lucasartres 

Credits: "Free Improvisation” (electronics, voice), Cudjo (piano, tenor voice, baritone voice) and Arachnomancy (piano) used with permission of LAP 2025 Fellow Damian Norfleet.

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde is in conversation with interdisciplinary artist Beth Krebs. Beth's work includes site responsive installations, performance videos, sculpture, and participatory projects. Her work champions work champions faith against the odds, reflecting her "precarious experience as a human, always stretched between her limits and her longing." 
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About Beth Krebs:  
Beth Krebs is an interdisciplinary artist whose work includes site responsive installations, performance videos, sculpture, and participatory projects.  A graduate of the MFA program at Rutgers University, Beth has exhibited her work in New York City, San Francisco and abroad, at venues including Riverside Park (NYC), Station Independent Projects (NYC), Mixed Greens, Storefront Ten Eyck, Southern Exposure, Marin MoCA and the San Jose ICA. She has been awarded fellowships at the MacDowell Colony, the Bemis Center, the Montalvo Arts Center and Recology San Francisco (the dump).  She is a recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA grant, and in 2012 was awarded a grant from the Buchegger Foundation to fund an installation in Germany.  In 2019 and 2020, while the San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art was closed due to Covid restrictions, her interactive telephone hotline took over their phone line. She is a member of Real Time and Space, an artist studio community in Oakland, California, where she lives. For more about Beth Krebs, visit our webpage here and Beth's website. Follow @beth.krebs.studio
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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in  traditionally under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles.  She is a Marcus Curatorial Fellow at Montalvo Arts Center.
—
About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships.  For more info about the residency, visit our website. Follow the LAP @lucasartres

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde is in conversation with literary artist Lyzette Wanzer. Lizette is a writer, editor, writing instructor and coach, and her work appears in over thirty literary journals, magazines, books and newspapers. 

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About Lyzette Wanzer: 
Lyzette Wanzer’s work appears in over thirty literary journals, books, and magazines. Library Journal named her book, TRAUMA, TRESSES, & TRUTH: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives (Chicago Review Press 2022), a Top 10 Best Social Sciences Book. Publishers Weekly featured the book in Fall 2022. Lyzette is a contributor to Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth From the Margins (Wayne State University Press 2023), Civil Liberties United: Diverse Voices from the San Francisco Bay Area (Pease Press 2019), and the multi-award-winning The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie 2012).  Lyzette’s work has been supported with grants from Center for Cultural Innovation, San Francisco Arts Commission, California Arts Council, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Black Artist Foundry, The Awesome Foundation, and California Humanities. Lyzette is founder of the Muses & Melanin Fellowship for BIPOC Creative Writers. Her second book, Building a Career as a Literary Artist of Color, is in the works.For more about Lyzette Wanzer, visit our webpage here and Lyzette’s website.  Follow@INTJs_rock

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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in  traditionally under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles.  She is a Marcus Curatorial Fellow at Montalvo Arts Center.
—
About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships.
For more info about the residency, visit our website. 
Follow the LAP @lucasartres
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Credits:
Jenee Darden:  Sights and Sounds, KALW Public Radio 91.7 FM

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde is in conversation with interdisciplinary artist Mike Arcega. Mike’s works range from sculpture, drawing, and painting to installations, video and performance. He is also an associate professor at San Francisco State University, where he leads the sculpture and expanded practice area in the School of Art. If anyone can demystify contemporary art for skeptics, it's Mike.

About Michael Arcega: 
Michael Arcega’s creative research is a poetic investigation around power dynamics and marginalized communities. He uses object-metaphors to make sculptures, installations, and activations that critique Historic and political narratives. This work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally and have been discussed in academic journals, art publications and a range of media platforms. He is an Associate Professor at San Francisco State University and heads the Sculpture and Expanded Practice area in the School of Art. Arcega holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Stanford University. He is a recipient of a Rainin Arts Fellowship, Guggenheim fellowship, Artadia grant, SFAC Artist Grant, Joan Mitchell MFA Award, Murphy Cadogan Fine Arts Fellowship, among others.  For more about Mike Arcega, the  Lucas Artist's Residency webpage here and Michael’s website.
Follow @Mike_Arcega
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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in  traditionally under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles.  She is a Marcus Curatorial Fellow at Montalvo Arts Center.
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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, the Lucas Artist's Residency website. Follow the LAP @lucasartres 

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Credits

Michael Arcega: Visual Art
Copyright 2006 KQED San Francisco
Source: SPARK: Michael Arcega

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art , Clara Kamunde is in conversation with interdisciplinary artist Mike Arcega. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, his works range from sculpture, drawing, and painting to installations, video and performance. Mike is also an associate professor at San Francisco State University, where he leads the sculpture and expanded practice area in the School of Art, and if anyone can demystify contemporary art for skeptics, it's Mike.

About Michael Arcega: 
Michael Arcega’s creative research is a poetic investigation around power dynamics and marginalized communities. He uses object-metaphors to make sculptures, installations, and activations that critique Historic and political narratives. This work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally and have been discussed in academic journals, art publications and a range of media platforms. He is an Associate Professor at San Francisco State University and heads the Sculpture and Expanded Practice area in the School of Art. He serves on the curatorial boards at Root Division Gallery and the Recology Artist in Residency Program. Arcega holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Stanford University and maintains a studio in San Francisco.
He is a recipient of a Rainin Arts Fellowship, Guggenheim fellowship, Artadia grant, SFAC Artist Grant, Joan Mitchell MFA Award, Murphy Cadogan Fine Arts Fellowship, among others. For more about Mike Arcega, visit the Lucas Artist's Residency Program webpage here and Michael’s website. Follow @Mike_Arcega 
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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in urban parks, recreation areas, historic sites, and schools located in under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles. For her contribution in supporting access to quality arts programming with DCA, she was awarded an Honorary Citation by the City of Los Angeles. She was formerly a fellow at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State University where she earned a master’s degree in Creativity Studies.
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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, visit our website.  Follow the LAP @lucasartres
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Credits: 

• “Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats  
• Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza 
•  Montalvo Arts Center, 2025 
• Michael Arcega: Visual Art, Copyright 2006 KQED San Fran

In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde speaks with Ava Roy, founder of We Players, an innovative site-specific theater company that blends storytelling and public performance, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of public art. Ava's singular artistic vision is about the power of art to imagine and create brave new worlds all around us.

About Ava Roy: 

Ava Roy is the Founding Artistic Director of We Players, founded in 2000. Her unique style of dynamic, site-integrated performance aims to highlight the historical and natural treasures of local landscapes and encourage new ways of experiencing and appreciating these places. She holds a Stanford University BA (2003) in a self-designed major: Ritual and Performance in Aesthetic Education. Since 2008, she has pioneered unique partnerships with the National Park Service, the California State Park system, San Francisco Recreation and Parks, and other municipal and regional park sites, creating spectacular immersive performances throughout the Bay Area. Inspired and guided by Shakespeare since her teenage years, Roy has explored many characters from the canon, ranging from Juliet to Henry V, Mercutio to Lady Macbeth. Roy is a fan of classic literature, crumbling buildings, historic sites, majestic natural landscapes, espresso, salt spray, and sunshine. Roy is a yoga teacher and a sailor, and in her next life plans to live in the ocean.

For more about Ava, visit our webpage ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and We Players' ⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

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About Clara Kamunde:

Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in  traditionally under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles.  She is a Marcus Curatorial Fellow at Montalvo Arts Center.

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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:

Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships.For more info about the residency, visit our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠. Follow the LAP@lucasartres 

Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats

Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza© Montalvo Arts Center, 2025