An integral member of the San Francisco art community for over 50 years, fine artist Thomasina DeMaio (she/her) arrived in North Beach in 1973, attending San Francisco Art Institute in 1979 and earning both a BFA and MFA in painting. DeMaio studied under social justice activists such as Angela Davis and Robert Colscott, which shaped her approach to weaving equity into her creative practice. Later becoming a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, DeMaio’s work continued to straddle humanitarian efforts, removing the barrier of cost and location from her self-produced pop-up galleries and figure painting classes; inviting communities to explore social commentary through expressive arts through online and on-site events free of charge. DeMaio founded Art Saves Lives in 2004, contributing to San Francisco’s creative climate by showcasing over 450 events to date. Key accomplishments include offering programming for the women inmates of San Bruno prison from 1981-1982 in collaboration with former Intersection for the Arts Executive Director Randy Rollinson, receiving a 2nd place award in SF Art Fest 1983, hosting over 250 online gatherings in 2020 – bringing together a global network of artists during the pandemic timeline, as well as the De Young Museum displaying her 2020 work of the late George Floyd in the same year. DeMaio’s work through Art Saves Lives has been recognized with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Russian River Chamber of Commerce (1996), Sonoma County Special Project Award (1996), SF Beautiful (2000), and was awarded a Women’s History Month Certificate of Honor by the city and county of San Francisco Board of Supervisors in March 2022.
Ed Terpening is an award-winning artist whose work has been recognized by many publications, including a cover story in American Artist, the largest art magazine in the United States.
He has participated in more than hundreds exhibitions, including at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, The Forbes Family Museum, The Museum of Ventura County, and the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. Known for his unique color and design, his work is in collections in Europe, Asia and the US. Today, while not in his studio he can often be found roaming his hometowns of San Francisco and Ventura capturing the people and places of these beautiful cities.
Jes “Mojo” DeVille (they/them) is an Afro-Latiné choreographer, director, and visual artist working across mediums to explore physical fluency and environmental literacy. Based in the SF Bay Area, their decade-long history of self-produced fringe entertainment events primed them for the founding of nature-based performing arts organization Openhaus Athletics in 2017. Awarded the inaugural Updraft artist residency by aerial dance company Bandaloop in 2021, DeVille’s history includes the co-curation and production management of San Francisco Trolley Dances (2019-2021); fulfilling positions as a movement director for Funsch Dance Experience, choreographer for PBS series – Kids Do Science, as well as a production lead for Anon Events co-coordinating elements of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco City Hall Centennial, MPI World Education Congress and more. DeVille has served as guest curator for ODC’s inaugural Queer & BIPOC Space Residency, a grant adjudicator for SFAC’s Cultural Equity Initiative award, and is grateful to be uplifted as a regenerative art fellow with Design Science Studio as well as a presenter for University of California, Irvine’s Emergent Media Research Group.
Born in 1959 in the Presidio, co-curator and creative collaborator Lt. Dwayne Newton (he/him) is a retired SFFD employee with a longstanding history of documenting the full spectrum of the human condition across over 30 countries. Newton’s perspective as a Black photojournalist and San Francisco native has bolstered the work of Associated Press, ThomsonReuters, Salon.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Greenpeace, Wall Street Journal, Public Media Center, SF Chronicle, LA Times, Center for Investigative Reporting, San Francisco Magazine, Wine Spectator, American Airlines and more. His transformative years impacted by the city’s civil rights movement and the intimate knowledge of SFFD gained in adulthood roots the Art Ignites series in an authentic way to the mission of offering onlookers a clear glimpse into the landscapes, streetscapes and personal anecdotes of those who so dramatically affect the San Francisco tableau.
