Novato arts nonprofit showcases unique creative visions

In a small gallery on Grant Avenue in downtown Novato, a group of artists laughed and joked as they worked at paint-speckled tables.

Amy Chun swept broad strokes of deep purple paint across a canvas as she worked on a painting of Whitney Houston, one of her favorite singers. Across the gallery, Herson Castro painted a favorite as well: Taco Bell food, which he depicted with bright watercolors.

Chun and Castro are artists with Alchemia, a nonprofit founded in 1988 that operates in Marin and Sonoma counties. The organization is focused on supporting artists with IDD, an acronym for intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Artists spend their days at the gallery or the nearby studio, creating visual and performance art, guided by professional artists.

Outside the gallery is one of six kiosks featuring Alchemia artists’ work as part of a collaboration between the nonprofit and the city.

Each kiosk highlights a different artist and will be rotated with new art every few months. The artists currently featured include Chun, Castro, Kwame Jackson-Ricks, Jenna Haney, Jaryd Kalb and Sarah Huynh.

Alchemia is all about giving these artists a voice and a platform to showcase their work, said Elizabeth Clary, the executive director.

“When our community sees artists with disabilities doing their work, working alongside other community members, it really reinforces how big our community really is,” Clary said. “We are just so grateful for the partnership with the city of Novato … that they are setting a high bar for inclusivity and just for valuing their whole community.”

As a precursor to the kiosk project, the nonprofit worked with the city to display art in local businesses.

“It gives them recognition and validation as an artist,” artistic director Liz Jahren said. “I think a lot of times, especially folks with IDD, it becomes even more challenging because people want them to have what they consider ‘functional skillsets.’”

“For some unknown reason, it’s still not recognized, the multi-dimensionality in the brain when you’re working on art,” she said. “It taps into so many different parts of the brain. So, I think that what it gives them is a sense of purpose and a sense of identity.”

Her identity as an artist and a painter is what Chun wants people to see as they pass by her downtown art, inspired by Picasso’s use of abstract technique and color.

“It feels so good,” said Chun when asked how she felt about passersby viewing her work.

Chun began painting in high school. She also dances, sings and is involved in other forms of performance art with the nonprofit.

The nonprofit offers daily classes in performing and visual arts. Sessions are taught in terms throughout the year. Many of the artists stay in the program for years.

“What’s really cool about this place is the artists grow, they evolve,” said Jimmy Garagin, artist coordinator. “It’s a really cool place to evolve and just try things because as an artist trying new things is really important. And we always try to encourage them to try new things.”

While some of the artists stick to a single medium, many have multiple interests. Alchemia gives them the freedom to explore.

Castro, who enjoys depicting reptiles and art influenced by Japanese culture, recently made his own film, “Attack of the Giant Chicken,” about a faceoff between a radioactive “chickenzilla” and Godzilla.

Huynh, a painter who often draws inspiration for her abstract expressionist art from her Vietnamese heritage, is practicing to star as Dorothy in the organization’s production of the “Wizard of Oz.”

Along with exploration and validation, the work also can be therapeutic for artists.

“I like to do it a lot. It makes me calm,” said Huynh.

The artists’ work will be featured downtown throughout the year. Alchemia’s gallery at 1123 Grant Ave. is open five days a week.

Jahren said she invites the community to come and meet the artists and look at the constantly changing art on the wall.

“I think it cannot be underestimated how profound it is to have the acknowledgement of your community and celebrate your art,” she said.