Participant Biographies and Project Descriptions

Tama Dumlao
Tama has a long and varied background as a visual artist and instructor ranging from several commissioned art pieces for high-profile venues, to working in the San Diego Juvenile Court Schools as a Creative Arts Specialist. She studied art and received her Bachelor of Arts degree at San Diego State University, and then went on to receive a Masters degree in Expressive Art Therapy at the Pratt Institute in New York. Along with her impressive list of art exhibitions and projects, Tama is a licensed art therapist with a clinical body of work that includes private practice, workshop presentations, an eating disorder clinic, and a Kaiser Wellness Center. With Tama’s extensive experience working with many populations therapeutically, she is highly qualified to work with at-risk youth.

For her Senior Artist Project grant, Tama will be working with middle school and high school youth, helping them develop stories told through painting, bookmaking, and creating wooden wall pieces called “Retablos” (a container that holds meaningful symbolic images and objects). To begin their art projects, Tama will take the classes on a local field trip to photograph different personal relevant themes. With the help of Photoshop software, these photos will be incorporated creatively as a backdrop for each child’s project. Tama will be working with the Project Reach Program, a nonprofit focused on providing resources to at risk youth living in difficult inner city neighborhoods. Maria, the Program Manager for Project Reach, feels that Tama’s art program will be very popular with the teens, as “art has been a strong form of expression that all our youth look forward to”. The funding for Project Reach does not include any arts program for the coming year, so the staff is especially appreciative of this opportunity for their youth.