Artist As First Responder End of Year Wine Down

Our team is closing out the year the only way we know how — with art, sound, and good people. Join us at the AAFR studio on Minnesota Street this December for our end-of-year wine down, featuring photography, film, and sound work from our brilliant team and collaborators: Zandashé Brown, Ashara Ekundayo, Jason Fitzroy-Jeffers, NiQueen Jones, Marcella Sanchez, Ietef “DJ Cavem” Vita, and Christian Walker.

1275 Minnesota Street Project Studios, San Francisco

December 12th 5-9 PM
December 13th 12-6 PM

Schedule details to come soon!

Featuring...

Zandashé Brown is a writer/director and festival programmer born-and-bred in southern Louisiana, based in Los Angeles. As a self-proclaimed daughter of the abandoned American South, she blends Black Southern introspection and spirituality with surrealistic horror to tell stories about neglected places and peoples. Zandashé is a current SF Film Rainin Grant recipient, an alum of Film Independent's Amplifier Fellowship, the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Directors Lab, and of the Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program. She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film for 2022.

Ashara Ekundayo is a queer Black feminist curator, visual artist, cultural theologian, and arts organizer whose interdisciplinary practice centers Black feminist joy, archival work, and site-responsive ceremony. She is the founder of Artist As First Responder and principal of AECreative Consulting Partners, LLC. Her projects explore healing, memory, and place, and she has stewarded galleries and initiatives that uplift the creative expertise of the African Diaspora. Ashara lives and works between the San Francisco Bay Area and her hometown of Detroit, MI.

Jason Fitzroy Jeffers is a Barbadian filmmaker who has produced award-winning shorts such as “Papa Machete”, as well as “T”, winner of the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlinale. He is co-founder and former festival director of Third Horizon Film Festival, a 2023 USA Fellow, a 2024 Creative Capital Awardee, and was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2024.

NiQueen Jones is an Oakland-based multidisciplinary artist, educator, and hip-hop historian dedicated to inspiring change through art, education, and cultural preservation. For over two decades, her work has bridged social justice, youth empowerment, and mindfulness across visual art, writing, music, and photojournalism. She is currently pursuing an MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship and is a 2024 AfroUrban Society Lit From the Black Fellow and Emerging Artist Fellow with YouthSpeaks.

Marcella Sanchez is an Oakland-based photographer whose love for the medium began in childhood. Her work, known for its attention to light, balance, and composition, spans private sessions, product shoots, and events. A longtime advocate for medical cannabis, she co-founded Greenkind, the nation’s first medical cannabis magazine, where she served as lead photographer. Her photography has been featured in national campaigns and exhibitions coast to coast, earning her multiple Dream Keeper and San Francisco Arts Commission grants.

Dr. Ietef “DJ Cavem” Vita is a hip-hop artist, vegan chef, and environmental activist from Denver’s historic Five Points district. Blending beats with food justice, he uses music to inspire healthy living and sustainability in communities of color. His debut single “Wheatgrass” and albums like The Produce Section turned hip hop into a tool for eco-education. A global performer and educator, Cavem has shared stages with legends from Public Enemy to Questlove while championing wellness and environmental awareness worldwide.

Christian Walker is a Creative Director and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans fashion design, modeling, photography, and social entrepreneurship. He is the founder of STUDIOS, a fashion and lifestyle brand based in Oakland, CA. Through his role, he leads creative programming and co-hosts the Men’s Wellness Fellowship, a monthly gathering for men of color focused on vulnerability, safety, and holistic wellness.

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Host or Publisher Ashara Ekundayo Gallery x Omi Arts Project Space