2023-2024 Ruby Creatives in Residence
Miaccuicatl Alexander (they/them) - Leonore Peyser Creative in Residence - artistically known as Moneneki, is a Nahua Indigenous Trans non binary vocal sound design, film, mograph, 3D, VR, projection, & Web 3 artist that embraces the need to reconnect to the ancestral wisdom of gender expansive roles in Nahua indigeneity by way of Indigenous Futurism. In their work with Indijeane Films, Moneneneki's ultimate goal is to honor their ancestors through visual & auditory experiences as ofrendas to uphold self autonomy, sovereignty, and to playfully dismiss colonized iterations of performativity that constrict indigenous groups to adhere to erasure.
Nisa Khan (she/her) - So-Youn Kim Creative in Residence - is a reporter for KQED's Audience News Desk. She was formerly a data reporter at Michigan Radio. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Information from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts in Communication from Stanford University.
Laurel McCaull (she/her) - Rachel Khong Creative in Residence - is a California-born Taurus with a deep love of books, snacks, and the natural world. Since moving back to the Bay Area from the East Coast, she’s spent the last eight months working as a cheesemonger and recovering from grad school burnout. During her Ruby residency, she plans to continue writing her first novel, a story about a queer love triangle gone wrong (among other things). She recently received her yoga teacher certification, and she’s learning how to knit and play guitar. She’s honored to join this special community, and she’s looking forward to meeting all her fellow Rubies!
Samantha Stevens (they/them), Dorothea Gertrude Flynn Creative in Residence, is a queer, black writer and educator from the East Coast living in San Francisco. They are a current MFA candidate in poetry at the University of San Francisco and have received fellowships from Winter Tangerine, The Watering Hole, Community of Writers, and Kearny Street Workshop’s Interdisciplinary Writer’s Lab. They are the recipient of the Deathrattle/Oroboro Penrose Poetry Prize judged by Dan Lau. Often occupied with finding new ways to dream and exist, Samantha is working to build an integrative practice centering writing, creativity, community, movement, wellness, healing, and ritual. She currently teaches middle school and is working on her first collection of poetry, writing through the body, diaspora, ancestral inheritance, mental health, illness, and queer love and desire.
Midori (she/her) is a cross-cultural artist who blends performance, installation, and social practice into art that questions social norms and cultural biases, instigating new questions. Tossed with sweet and sly humor, she serves up challenging, bitter topics. She says she’s “made in Japan, ella vive en San Francisco ahora.” She is an immigrant, a veteran, a queer woman, and part of the great Asian diaspora. She’s a board member for Asian American Women Artist Association, Founding Fellow for Queer Art School, and Advisory Board member for Diamond Wave. Oh, she’s also a well regarded sexuality educator with focus on BDSM and communication. Dan Savage calls her the “Super Nova of Kink.” She founded ForteFemme Dominance Intensive. She’s Co-director of Curriculum for Sexual Health Alliance working with therapists and other helping professionals. She considers it her greatest honor that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence sainted her for her ongoing work. IG art: @planetmidori.art IG teaching: @planetmidori http://www.planetmidori.com/
Zareen Choudhury (she/her) is a Bangladeshi American cartoonist and writer who was born and raised in the Bay Area and currently resides in San Francisco. Zareen’s interests lie in using art, humor, and storytelling to uplift marginalized voices and create community through shared experiences. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney's, and The Nib, and showcased locally at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, Kearny Street Workshop, Silver Sprocket, and more. Follow her at www.zareenchoudhury.com.
Sarah Matsui (she/her) is a writer based in the Richmond, San Francisco. She's currently working on her debut essay and poetry collections, and she's delighted to be joining The Ruby community! You can find pictures of Sarah's creative projects, rescue ESA Okami, and miscellaneous baked goods on IG at @sarahkmatsui.
Nahyun Kim (she/her) Born in South Korea and raised in the Bay Area, Nahyun is a painter based in San Francisco, Ohlone Land. She paints inner visuals that are inspired from her mother/family, friends, and ancestors. They are paths to discovering her own Korean-ness, free from oppression. Nahyun’s paintings reflect her journey, psyche and dreams that exist both within and outside of this lifetime.
VC Tang (she/her) is an author, storyteller, and cultural practitioner with two decades of experience developing educational experiences and professional development programs for youth and adults rooted in self-discovery, leadership, and traditional practices in modern times. She works with individuals, organizations, schools, entrepreneurs, and artists in the U.S. and Thailand and is driven by a vision for healthy and vibrant lifestyles and livelihoods. Her nuanced approach comes from being mentored by teachers in Asian arts all her life. She spent over 30 years immersed in community, ritual, and performing arts at the Berkeley Thai Buddhist temple, and currently trains in applying Taijiquan and Zen principles in daily life. In 2022, she published her first cookbook memoir “Come Eat, Grandma! Recipes and Stories of Thai Home Cooking” to pass on wisdom to anyone hungry for food and stories as her elders have generously fed her. Born and raised in San Francisco, VC enjoys pop music, Star Trek, and epic movies.
Jane Kang (she/her) is a Korean-American multidisciplinary artist living and working in San Francisco. In her practice, she incorporates food, ceramics, and writing to explore themes surrounding memory, cultural heritage, community, and cycles of transformation. She is a member of the Dong Ji Collective, a Korean diasporic artist collective, and Kkiri Kkiri, a Korean-American percussion group rooted in the samulnori tradition, both based in the Bay Area. Raised in the restaurant industry by immigrant parents, Jane incorporates her experiences working in the service industry in her emerging project, Meet Me in the Walk-In, an archive of interviews and conversations with current or former service workers examining the intersections of class, gender, race, culture, and the structures within these spaces and communities.
Nicole Maxali (she/her) is a writer, producer, and filmmaker hailing from the city of San Francisco. With a rich background spanning over two decades in the creative and theatrical realms, Nicole's expertise encompasses various facets of the industry, including solo performance, new media production, acting, screenplay writing, and directing. Nicole has premiered her comedy pilots and short films at film festivals such as the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City, CAAMfest in San Francisco, DisOriented in Portland Oregon, New Filmmakers in New York, Dances with Film in Los Angeles, and the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival. Currently, Nicole is the producer and host of the “Cultural Kultivators” Podcast where she explores the diverse and dynamic world of Filipino-American art & culture.
Bianca Levan (she/her). San Francisco based artist Bianca Levan is fascinated with the process by which contemplation, emotion, and choice weave a path in time. Bianca is a self-taught artist following curiosity and desire for expression. Her hand-cut work embraces imperfections left by the knife blade and the inherent constraints of black paper and negative space. She was raised in Moorpark, California, surrounded by agricultural farmlands, orange groves, and the Santa Susana Mountains that have been deeply embedded in her memory, and graduated from University of California, Davis, where her studies of Biology and English Literature inform both her detailed and narrative ways of seeing. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions nationwide, including MarinMOCA, SOMArts Cultural Center, Voss Gallery, and The Brand Library. Follow her at www.biancalevan.com
Ruby Creatives In Residence Program
The Ruby is a collective of creative women, trans women, femmes, and nonbinary people that values empathy and education. Our Creatives in Residence (CIR) program supports QT BIPOC Bay Area creatives with 10 fully-funded year-long memberships.
Our Creatives in Residence Program is designed to offer creatives the opportunity to immerse themselves in a supportive environment and create new work while interacting with the Ruby community. Our program is open to creatives working in all disciplines, including visual arts, music, literature, performing arts, journalism, and more. In addition, we welcome applications from arts educators, oral historians, agricultural workers, food and drink-based artisans, community organizers, and other changemakers.
Creatives in Residence will have access to our community workspace and resources from September 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025. They will also have the opportunity to engage with Ruby community members through workshops, readings, community meals, and other events.
The program is open to both emerging and established creatives.
General Creatives in Residence Program
We are excited to offer 5 CIR opportunities to LGBTQ+ individuals and/or BIPOC who would not otherwise be able to afford a Ruby membership. These are year-long Full Ruby memberships that will span a year, from September 2024 - September 2025.
Specialized Creatives in Residence Opportunities
We also have five specialized creatives in residence opportunities available for those with financial need who would benefit from a Ruby membership. These are also year-long Ruby memberships spanning from September 2024 - September 2025.
The Dorothea Gertrude Flynn CIR Opportunity will be given to a recipient who was the first in their family to enroll in higher education. Dorothea Gertrude Flynn was born in 1917. She had planned to attend Barnard College (Columbia did not accept women at the time) and dreamed of a becoming a writer—specifically, a journalist. After her mother died in childbirth and her father subsequently lost everything in the Depression, she was no longer able to afford college, and never attended. She was always a passionate advocate for education for women, and would have been thrilled by the community of writers and creatives here at the Ruby. This is a full, one-year membership to The Ruby.
The Leonore Peyser Davis CIR Opportunity will be given to a musician or music writer with financial need. Leonore Peyser Davis was a devotee of all the arts, and music, especially opera, which was something she adored. This CIR opportunity celebrates her passion for music and is dedicated to cultivating emerging voices in the field. This is a full, one-year membership to The Ruby.
The Rachel Khong CIR Opportunity will be given to a LGBTQ+ and/or POC fiction writer with financial need working on their first novel. Rachel Khong is a San Francisco-based writer and the founder of The Ruby. Rachel worked tirelessly to provide a collaborative, safe space for women and non-binary people to pursue their goals and creative work in community with others. This CIR will join the Ruby for a year as a full member and as a welcome contributor to the mutually affirming community that Rachel built.
The So-Youn Kim CIR Opportunity will be given to an emerging Bay Area LGBTQ+ and/or POC writer tackling topics relating to social justice. So-Youn Kim was a writer and activist, tackled the injustices she saw all around her. She was passionate about advocating for women and girls, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color. She loved deeply and recklessly, leaving a lasting impression on anyone who met her. A San Francisco native, she died at the age of 23 in 2009, while serving with the Peace Corps in Morocco. The So-Youn Kim Creative in Residence opportunity celebrates her life and creativity. In addition to a year-long community membership at the Ruby, the CIR will be able to contribute to a chapbook, housed in the Ruby library, that includes writings from So-Youn and prior So-Youn Kim Creatives in Residence.
The Tillie Olson CIR Opportunity will be given to a creative over the age of fifty with financial need. Tillie Olson was a Bay Area-based writer and labor organizer who stopped writing for thirty years because of financial issues before publishing her seminal work, Silences, at 66. Her interest in long-neglected women authors inspired the development of academic programs in women’s studies. This is a full, one-year membership to The Ruby.
Creatives in Residence Values
The Ruby Creatives in Residence program extends and expands on The Ruby’s values for collective support and collaboration for artists and creatives. In applying to this program, we expect alignment with the below values:
Collective Support and Care: Creatives in residence, as all Ruby members, are expected to contribute time and care to the Ruby. Each member is expected to contribute approximately 3 hours monthly to the community. This may include organizing opportunities for members to gather, staffing the front desk, supporting an event, or mentoring and supporting other members of the collective.
Dedication to work: Creatives in residence are expected to use the provided communal space for working and showcasing on their art and creative projects.
Respect for the community: Creatives in residence are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful manner towards other community members. They should treat the space and resources with care and be mindful of the impact their work may have on the community.
Active participation: As the crux of our work is collective support and community empowerment, creatives in residence are expected to participate actively in workshops, exhibitions, events, and, like all members of our community, contribute time in support of community stewardship of our space.
Overall, artists in residence of a creative collective are expected to be collaborative, dedicated, respectful, and active. In exchange, they will have access to a supportive and inspiring environment to create new work, develop their skills, and build connections with other creatives.
Application Season
Applications for the 2024-2025 will open on May 1st!
Please note: If you are interested in applying for a regular Ruby membership, you can do so via the membership page.