Mar 27, 2025 · 2 min read
CZI Community Space: “Metamorphosis: Evolving Identities” Exhibit Celebrates Local Artists
An annual art exhibition by the Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation and CZI features the work of 11 local artists, each exploring transformation, growth, and self-discovery through various mediums.
The Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation has launched its 5th art exhibition, Metamorphosis: Evolving Identities, in the CZI Community Space. This year’s exhibition features the work of 11 talented local artists, each exploring transformation, growth, and self-discovery through various mediums.
“With each exhibition, we continue to grow — more artists, more young talent, and more incredible artwork to share with our community,” said Pamela Estes, president and board member of the Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation. “This fifth exhibition is the most expansive yet, showcasing the creativity of 11 artists, including four talented teen artists, and featuring more art pieces than before. We are grateful to be part of this effort to provide a platform for artists to put their talent on display and inspire others.”
The annual exhibition, now a cornerstone of the Community Space, showcases artists from across San Mateo County, offering them a platform to share their voices and connect with the local community. The featured works range from paintings to wall sculptures, each piece offering a unique lens on transformation.
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The 2025 cohort of local artists pictured in the CZI Community Space for the launch of their exhibit, “Metamorphosis: Evolving Identities.”
Artist Cory Devereaux showcases her artwork displayed in the CZI Community Space.
Pamela Estes, board member and president of the Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation, welcomes guests to the launch of, “Metamorphosis: Evolving Identities.”
Artists engaged in panel discussions at the launch of the art exhibit by the Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation.
Artwork by Agnes Qiu displayed in the CZI Community Space
Community members view the newest art installation in the CZI Community Space.
Artist “Gadget” showcases his artwork in the CZI Community Space.
“We’re honored to continue our partnership with the Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation to uplift local artists and celebrate their evolving identities,” said Alma Pulido, Program Officer for Local Impact at CZI. “This exhibition is a testament to the power of creativity in shaping our communities, and we deeply appreciate the role RWCPAF plays in making this possible.”
RWCPAF marked the launch of the exhibit with artists in the Community Space on March 21, giving attendees the opportunity to hear firsthand about their inspirations and creative processes. The exhibit will remain on display in the CZI Community Space through Spring 2026.
Located in downtown Redwood City, the CZI Community Space provides free meeting and event space for organizations to convene, collaborate, and share programming that supports and celebrates the local community.
Meet the artists:
Susan Carkeek | Susan Carkeek has maintained a studio and made art for her whole life. She lives on the San Mateo coast where she owned and operated an art school for 30 years. After selling her art school, she is finally a full-time artist. As a practicing eco-gardener, her garden has presented the questions that led her to continued research. She is now fostering 50 redwood tree “babies” for a future reforesting project…and of course, painting baby pictures of these beautiful Sequoia sempervirens.
Inquiries, contact: susan@smcarkeek.com | Instagram: @smcarkeek
Gloria Chikaonda | Gloria Paidamoyo Chikanoda was born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe. She is a self-taught artist who uses mixed methods, including oil paint, collage, acrylic and pastels, to explore the themes of political memory and gender in African politics. Her work uses portraiture and figure painting to push against Zimbabwe’s patriarchal and gender-exclusive social and political culture. Chikaonda is a lawyer, with formal legal training from South Africa, currently in the 5th year of her doctoral law studies (JSD) at Stanford Law School. Her research explores African identity and culture and how it impacts the development of African legislation for marriage and family.
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @paidamoyowamaiart | gloriachikaonda@gmail.com
Kevin Daniels | Kevin Lance Daniels is a figurative oil painter. His paintings are inspired by his photography, documentary filmmaking, and world travel. Kevin’s paintings often explore identity questions such as who others think we are, what culture tells us, what history tells us, and, most importantly, what we tell ourselves. He aims to explore cultural boundaries and barriers to explore the space between human separation and togetherness.
Most of Kevin’s paintings in the CZI exhibition were inspired by a discovered box of old family photos dating back over a century. Most of the identities and stories of those photographed were long lost. Kevin used a process of historical research, DNA testing, memories of family stories, and his imagination to create the paintings.
Inquiries, contact: kevinlancedanielsart@gmail.com | Instagram: @kevindaniels500 | kevinlancedaniels.com
Cory Devereaux | Cory Calandra Devereaux lives in San Bruno, California, and works from her Painters Pants art practice (Art Explosion Studios, San Francisco). Cory exhibits her mixed media artworks and monumental canvases throughout the Bay Area. Whether painted on exterior walls or as portable murals, Cory’s boldly colored designs also adorn schools, community spaces and businesses in Daly City, Redwood City, Menlo Park and San Francisco, California. Her community murals bring joy to participants, residents, visitors and passersby, and beautify neighborhoods. Cory believes that “Art has the power to spread happiness while encouraging social discourse.”
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @cory.calandra.devereaux | cory.c.devereaux@gmail.com
Zara Sophie Dijcks | Zara Sophie Dijcks’s work in oil, charcoal, and oil pastel reflects a different perspective on common, daily life scenes. Through her work, she creates a feeling of coziness and joy as we see her scenes of friendship and intimacy allowing us to relive some of our own memories.
As a young artist, Zara Sophie is exploring various media, but loves oil on canvas because of the richness in color and ability to blend and sculpt the colors. Her passion for art has led her to take AP Studio Art at Carlmont High School. Her classes there are now pushing her to deepen her thinking about art and expand her skills into bigger and bolder pieces, with CZI as her first opportunity to exhibit.
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @zara.dijcks | zara.dijcks@icloud.com
Anyada Mele | Anyada Mele is a high school senior with her sights set on studying studio art at a four-year university. Passionate about creative expression, she works primarily in oil painting, ceramics, sewing, and drawing. Her portrait paintings are often inspired by candid photos of her friends and the art she’s seen in museums. With each piece, she blends technical skill with storytelling, capturing emotion and movement in a way that feels both deliberate and dynamic.
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @anyadamele | aamele@icloud.com
Gadget | Gadget is a Redwood City, California, based artist and creative problem solver whose intricately detailed wall sculptures take audiences on engaging, sometimes twisted, journeys of thought. Through his layered wood artwork and cities made from reclaimed materials, Gadget continually pushes the boundaries of his mediums while asking us to reflect on who we are, the world around us, and where the two intersect. Gadget has cast metals, exhibited ceramics, concocted conceptual art puzzles, collaborated on interactive Burning Man art, and he thrives on sneaking creative surprises into every corner of life.
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @madebygadget | madebygadget.com
Agnes Qiu | Agnes Qiu is a Chinese-American artist born in South San Francisco, California, growing up in a Montessori environment. She is a high school senior at Pacific Rim International middle/high school. Agnes is often inspired by her surroundings and the continuous change of world events that affect her life and paint from them. Through Agnes’s work, she likes to convey a world that is deliberate and open to interpretation. She tends to favor bold and vibrant colors to communicate more subtle nuances of the piece. One of her favorite mediums for this is oil painting, especially on a large canvas, where she can unfurl her uninhibited vision. Agnes believes that art can communicate across the aisle and to people around the world in a way that no other form of communication can, which motivates her as a creator and activist. Through art, she hopes that she could lend a voice to issues she cares about and express her own feelings within her artwork.
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @agnes_qiu_ | agnes@agnesqiu.com | agnesqiu.com
Libby Raab | Libby Raab is an architect and paper weaver based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with photo and paper weaving as an exploration of colors, textures, and patterns. Libby believes that like architecture, weaving is a form of spatial expression and material experimentation. Her work explores the intersection of geometry, digital technology, and nature. By hand weaving original photos that have been digitally altered, Libby aims to create a dialogue between tradition and innovation, organic and synthetic textures, reality, and illusion.
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @liesel.scribbles | libby@libbyraab.com
Ella Skinner | Ella Skinner is a junior attending Menlo School, and a mixed media illustrator who has always had a love for all forms of visual art. Growing up in Menlo Park, California, she spends her free time drawing — finding inspiration in other artists, her favorite films and shows, and the nature and architecture around her. Over the years, Ella has experimented with a variety of different mediums, but focuses on using digital illustration or traditional materials like pastels, charcoal, or acrylic paint. In each of her pieces, Ella strives to portray a strong narrative through light, color, and form, and aims to convey the movement and emotion in each of the moments that she creates. Ella wishes to use her passion for art in college and to eventually find a creative career where she can continue to tell her stories.
Inquiries, contact: ellaaskinner@gmail.com
Ginger Slonaker | Ginger Slonaker was born in Micronesia, grew up outside Washington, DC, and after spending some years in the Netherlands, has been living and creating art in the Bay Area for over 27 years. Slonaker holds a BFA and MFA from the University of Arizona and has exhibited her work throughout the United States and Europe. Recognized for her whimsical yet twisted illustrative paintings, she is passionately committed to arts education and has spent the last 30 years teaching art to imaginative troublemakers of all ages, from preschool through college.
Inquiries, contact: Instagram: @gingerslonaker | gingerslonaker.com | gingerslonakerart@gmail.com
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