Panel & Learning Stations:
Welcome to the SF Arts Renaissance 

Max Blue has contributed art criticism and reporting to Artsy, BOMB and Hyperallergic, among others, and he is a regular columnist for the San Francisco Examiner. His short fiction has appeared in The MacGuffin and North Dakota Quarterly, among others. He lives in San Francisco.

Jonathan Carver Moore specializes in working with emerging and established artists who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and women. As the only openly gay Black male owned gallery in San Francisco, he is committed to amplifying the voices of the often underrepresented artists through a Black queer lens. He is the Development Chair at Root Division, a visual arts non-profit. Jonathan is also on the Advisory Council at Black [Space] Residency, a residency program for Black creatives, curators and writers. 

Jones previously served as a Director at Skarstedt and Fergus McCaffrey Gallery in New York and at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco. For the past decade, Jones has focused on artist development and representation while creating close relationships with numerous private collectors and institutions, working both domestic and international fairs including Art Basel, Frieze London, TEFAF Maastricht, among others. 

Li was the inaugural Director of Inclusion and Belonging at the Asian Art Museum, where she developed and implemented the museum's first diversity, equity, access and inclusion strategy. Li is dedicated to championing underserved voices and artists with powerful stories to tell. She is also the founder of Create Space Generator, a nonprofit creative entrepreneurship incubator.

Steffan is a former Creative Director, now dedicated to fostering a thriving LGBTQ+ arts scene as the Director and Co-founder of Schlomer Haus Gallery. From his early days in San Francisco in the ‘90s, Schlarb has been committed to the vibrant culture of the city and it’s diverse arts scene. He serves on the EDI committee for ArtSpan and an organizing board member of the Castro ArtWalk.

Harriet is the Director of Art Partnerships at Creativity Explored in San Francisco, California. Prior to joining Creativity Explored, Harriet worked on the editorial staff of Artforum for over 50 issues of the magazine. She has worked as a fine art fabricator and from her time working in this world, created and hosts Craftsmanship Podcast. She’s dedicated her time to arts nonprofits, higher education and for the last few years she has been the co-owner of Heroes Gallery. 

PJ is the curator and head of galleries and exhibitions at Root Division. He has organized exhibitions and programming internationally, including Independent Curators International, Berkeley Art Center, Asian Art Museum, Dixon Place. He has juried for prestigious awards and fellowships (Artadia, Headlands Center for the Arts’ Bay Area Fellowship, Rainin Arts Fellows) and has presented lectures at various institutions including California College of the Arts, University of California at Berkeley, The New School, School of the Art Institute Chicago. His publications are in the collection of the Thomas J. Watson Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Lucy is a curator and oral historian who worked in museums for the past 15 years. Often drawing on disability studies and disability justice, institutional critique, queer theory, phenomenology, decolonial and intersectional frameworks, Lucy’s ultimate goal is to always center the voice and vision of the artist. At NIAD, Lucy oversees the exhibition program; partnerships with galleries, museums, and community non-profits; artwork sales; publications; and special projects.