Program Description
The Young Artist Program is a two-week, hands-on summer program for college-level artists and recent graduates (ages 18+) based in the San Francisco Bay Area. This short-term offering functions as a creative lab where early-career artists can explore format, materials, and presentation while gaining real-world experience in exhibition-making. Participants will conceptualize, prepare, and install a public-facing exhibition in a collaborative and supportive environment.
Our Summer 2026 Program Artists
Sophia West (Choreographer) | June 1 – 14
Starting at age 3, Sophia West developed a passion for dance, training in classical ballet for over 16 years at the San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy. At SFYBA she has danced classical variations such as The Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in “The Nutcracker,” and Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty”. She also attended summer intensive study with American Ballet Theater and The Joffrey Ballet. Sophia has completed the teacher training at SFYBA and continues to teach as a substitute teacher.
Sophia’s interest in contemporary dance began at SFYBA, and she continued to pursue it during her time at George Washington High School, where she captained the dance team. In this role, she led rehearsals, classes, and worked closely with the director. This is where her love of choreography started. She choreographed multiple pieces that were selected for presentation, including two that were selected to be performed at The City College of San Francisco. Sophia is continuing to dance at the University of California, Berkeley in clubs such as Ballet Company at Berkeley, and Pointe at Berkeley while working toward a degree in psychology.
Ashlyn So (Fashion Designer) | June 16 – July 2
Ashlyn So is a teen fashion designer and activist whose work operates at the intersection of couture, storytelling, and social impact. As Creative Director of her namesake brand, she leads the conceptual vision, design development, and execution of all collections and custom pieces. Her practice is rooted in the belief that fashion can be a powerful medium for dialogue which is one that challenges perceptions, amplifies underrepresented voices, and fosters empathy across cultures and communities.
Ashlyn’s work has been featured in Vogue and Teen Vogue, and she has appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Tamron Hall Show. She is a YoungArts Winner with Distinction and a recipient of the People’s Choice Award. Her work has also been the subject of an Emmy Award-winning ABC short documentary, reflecting both artistic achievement and cultural resonance.
Her collections often explore themes such as identity, visibility, mental health, and environmental responsibility. Through avant-garde silhouettes and detailed craftsmanship, she creates garments that function as both personal expression and collective narrative. For Ashlyn, fashion is not only about beauty, but about meaning in which each piece is an opportunity to tell a story, spark conversation, and inspire change.
ArtIs (Collective) | July 5 – 25
ArtIs is a non-profit arts organization currently based in SF that ignites audiences’ passion for culture through curating audience interactions within their intricate and wholly immersive productions. In early January 2025, a group of 4 artists came together on the core idea of expanding the horizons of fine arts and how artists interact with their audiences.
Founded and led by Brayden Meng, Ezekiel Sokoloff, Peyton Dexter, and Thomas Stenzel, ArtIs (unlike traditional art collectives/residencies) now connects artists of all ages and disciplines to actively collaborate on large-scale multidisciplinary shows. These are the backbone of their endeavors, while a plethora of other creative projects are also overseen and supported under the umbrella of the organization throughout the year.
Residency Events
Life Goes On by Sophia West | Performances June 12 & 13 at 7:00 PM
Join us to welcome Sophia West, a choreographer who created an original piece during her residency as part of our Young Artist Program. Sophia West, an undergraduate at the University of California-Berkeley, grew up dancing ballet, contemporary and jazz from the age of three. Her original choreography has been performed by students at San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy summer intensives and George Washington High School in San Francisco.
For her residency at 836M, she is partnering with four dancers in a program exploring the ancient proverb, “The only constant in life is change.” The double bill includes an adaptation of a recent work originally performed at City College of San Francisco plus a new work titled Life Goes On. West’s collaborators are Polina Bortok, Catherine Daguman, Julia Lafuente and Erin Ritchie.
RSVP for Free HERE
Open Studio with Ashlyn So | June 17 – July 1, Tuesdays – Thursdays from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Ashlyn So’s project transforms the 836M gallery into a hybrid space of exhibition, studio, and storytelling platform to invite audiences to experience fashion as both an artistic practice and a form of cultural storytelling. View a curated display of So’s couture garments presented on dress forms throughout the gallery. These pieces will represent a selection of her work exploring themes such as identity, environmental awareness, and social impact. Complementing the garments, the installation will include process materials that reveal the evolution of the work; Sketches, fabric swatches, and conceptual studies will be displayed on tables and walls, creating a layered narrative of ideation and development. Editorial photography from past collections will provide additional context, showing how the garments come to life in motion and in public settings. Together, these elements transform the gallery into both an exhibition and a working studio environment.
Public engagement will include informal open studio moments where visitors can observe and interact with the artist. During designated hours, So will actively engage in her design process from sketching, fabric draping, and sewing, allowing visitors to witness the making of a garment in real time. The installation is designed to evolve. As new sketches and works-in-progress are created, elements of the display may shift, reinforcing the idea of the gallery as a living, active environment. Visitors returning at different times may encounter new stages of the process.
The public may drop in on So’s open studio starting June 17 through July 1, Tuesdays – Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
PARTY (World Premiere) by ArtIs | Performances July 24 & 25 at 7:00 PM
Join us to welcome ARTIS, an art collective who developed an original piece during their residency as part of our Young Artist Program. ArtIs (pronounced “Art Is”) is a collective of four artists who met at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The four come from different departments at the school: Peyton Dexter and Brayden Meng studied composition, Ezekiel Sokoloff studied violin and Thomas Stenzel was enrolled in the Conservatory’s Technology and Applied Composition program. Together they are developing a new opera titled Party, complete with a 25-player orchestra.
Drawing on a wide range of musical sources from Frank Zappa to Thomas Adès and the Black Eyed Peas, Party asks the question: What happens when intelligent technology begins to mirror the psychology of its creators’ worst features — their mental illnesses, substance abuse, identity crises and so on?
RSVP for Free HERE
EXHIBITION DATES:
CURRENTLY BASED:
Starting at age 3, Sophia West developed a passion for dance, training in classical ballet for over 16 years at the San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy. At SFYBA she has danced classical variations such as The Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in “The Nutcracker,” and Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty”. She also attended summer intensive study with American Ballet Theater and The Joffrey Ballet. Sophia has completed the teacher training at SFYBA and continues to teach as a substitute teacher. Sophia’s interest in contemporary dance began at SFYBA, and she continued to pursue it during her time at George Washington High School, where she captained the dance team. In this role, she led rehearsals, classes, and worked closely with the director. This is where her love of choreography started. She choreographed multiple pieces that were selected for presentation, including two that were selected to be performed at The City College of San Francisco. Sophia is continuing to dance at the University of California, Berkeley in clubs such as Ballet Company at Berkeley, and Pointe at Berkeley while working toward a degree in psychology.
Ashlyn So is a teen fashion designer and activist whose work operates at the intersection of couture, storytelling, and social impact. As Creative Director of her namesake brand, she leads the conceptual vision, design development, and execution of all collections and custom pieces. Her practice is rooted in the belief that fashion can be a powerful medium for dialogue which is one that challenges perceptions, amplifies underrepresented voices, and fosters empathy across cultures and communities. Ashlyn’s work has been featured in Vogue and Teen Vogue, and she has appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Tamron Hall Show. She is a YoungArts Winner with Distinction and a recipient of the People’s Choice Award. Her work has also been the subject of an Emmy Award-winning ABC short documentary, reflecting both artistic achievement and cultural resonance.
Her collections often explore themes such as identity, visibility, mental health, and environmental responsibility. Through avant-garde silhouettes and detailed craftsmanship, she creates garments that function as both personal expression and collective narrative. For Ashlyn, fashion is not only about beauty, but about meaning in which each piece is an opportunity to tell a story, spark conversation, and inspire change.
ArtIs is a non-profit arts organization currently based in SF that ignites audiences’ passion for culture through curating audience interactions within their intricate and wholly immersive productions. In early January 2025, a group of 4 artists came together on the core idea of expanding the horizons of fine arts and how artists interact with their audiences. Founded and led by Brayden Meng, Ezekiel Sokoloff, Peyton Dexter, and Thomas Stenzel, ArtIs (unlike traditional art collectives/residencies) now connects artists of all ages and disciplines to actively collaborate on large-scale multidisciplinary shows. These are the backbone of their endeavors, while a plethora of other creative projects are also overseen and supported under the umbrella of the organization throughout the year.