Since 2018, we’ve awarded grants to artists who work in documentary film, animation and mixed media. Many of these grants have been renewable, allowing women artists to work on multiple projects over time and to expand on their visual styles.
VISUAL ARTS GRANTEES | 2018 – 2023
Claudia Escobar
CLAUDIA ESCOBAR
FILM & ANIMATION
Claudia Escobar is a Colombian artist and filmmaker. Her eclectic background includes attending architecture school, creating short and experimental fiction films, working in journalism as well as breadmaking. Along with filming and editing a series of award-winning short films for KQED about artists in the Bay Area, Claudia directed Dear Homeland, her first feature-length documentary. Recently, Claudia was a producer for AJ+ Español where she worked on a series about decolonization in Latin America, reconnecting with her roots, language and deep passion to tell stories through animation, film and photography.
MORE OF Claudia’s Work
HÉLÈNE GOUPIL
HÉLÈNE GOUPIL
FILM
Hélène Goupil is a French and American journalist, filmmaker, and video editor who loves telling people's stories. She's the co-author of "San Francisco: The Unknown City" and has taught at U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. She's reported for the Associated Press, worked as a news editor, and helped start and run Mission Local, an award-winning news website. Her stories have been published in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times among other publications.
HÉLÈNE’s FilmS FOR STILL I RISE
More of HÉLÈNE’s Work
LOLA NOGUER
LOLA NOGUER
ILLUSTRATION
Lola Noguer was born and raised in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. She received her teaching degree in Visual Arts from the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes Regina Pacis. Ms. Noguer started drawing at a very early age – everything from paper dolls and mermaids to friends and characters inspired by the books she read. She still has the photo album that her grandma gave her to house her collection of paper dolls. Over time, drawing has become a way to tell the stories of women Ms. Noguer met or admired and to make their stories visible to others.
Lola’s ART FOR STILL I RISE
More of Lola’s Work
THEINT SOE
THEINT SOE
ANIMATION
Theint (Cynthia) Soe is an animator/ illustrator who enjoys storytelling. Born and raised in Myanmar (Burma), she’s travelled thousands of miles to pursue her passion in the arts. Theint Soe recently received her BFA in Animation from the California College of the Arts. With a unique perspective from two vastly different worlds, her work reflects on her memories and her current American experiences.
Cynthia’s ANIMATIONS FOR STILL I RISE
More of Cynthia’s Work
Jess Obert
JESS OBERT
FILM
Jess Obert is a visual journalist and filmmaker, based in Haiti. She has interned at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington, DC, and leads workshops to empower girls through multimedia storytelling for Girls Voices. Her work focuses on women, resiliency, boundaries and identity, and is inspired in the grounding of the esoteric through a cinematic lens.
Jess Obert’s Film FOR STILL I RISE
More of Jess Obert’s Work
