When I first envisioned this residency, it was all about bringing new people into the Watsonville Center for the Arts. But over time, it has evolved into something greater. Yes, it’s still about welcoming new members of our community into the Center, but it’s also about supporting the artists themselves—boosting their presence, creating opportunities for them to share their work, and helping take their art to the next level.

We hope to make the most of having a space like the Watsonville Center for the Arts—our very own home for the arts—to support our resident artists in more ways than just showcasing their work. We want the Center to be a place where they can practice, create, experiment, connect with others, and feel excited to share what they’re working on with the community.

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to provide up to $2,000 funding to each selected artist, giving them the resources to create, experiment, host events, and bring their art directly into our Watsonville community.

We’re now almost a year and a half and three artists into our Puertas Abiertas Artist in Residence Program, and we’re so excited to welcome our fourth artist! Brian Palma also known as Prio.

¡Felicidades, Prio!

Prio is a Watsonville-based ballpoint pen, digital, graphite, and aerosol artist whose work is heavily inspired by the early 2000s Chicano tattoo scene and graffiti culture. His personal experiences, perspectives, and emotions guide his work, and he strives to make room for something artistic in his life every day.

Prio also hopes to create an art exchange that brings people together through the simple act of sharing art. The exchange would give participants a chance to meet and connect with someone new, while also sharing a piece of their own work with someone else. Maybe it’s a person they’ve just met, or someone they’ve known for years but never had the opportunity to give their art to. At its heart, the exchange is about creating connections, encouraging people to share their creativity, and reminding us that art can be a way of building relationships within our community.

We’re excited to see what Prio brings to the Center and to our community through this next chapter of Puertas Abiertas.

To learn more

Prio: @tattooing.streets
Email: yesenia.m@artscouncilsc.org

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Watsonville Center for the Arts
375 Main Street, Watsonville, CA 95076