CREATE 2026
Harvesting Hope
Presented By
How is hope a tool for resilience, transformation, and collective care? How do small ideas and persistent action lead to positive change in our communities? What does it look like to cultivate hope in our own lives?
Our 2026 CREATE annual production asks these important questions through original contemporary and hip-hop dance pieces, interwoven with performance poetry and visual art, presented by the young artists of transcenDANCE.
When transcenDANCE students spoke with local San Diego changemakers early this year, they learned about creative resistance, the many ways they as individuals can engage in changemaking, and what it takes to make and sustain change. Through Harvesting Hope, they share their inspiration, creativity, and ideas for collective action. On the stage and beyond it, they use their voices, skills, and tools as artists and youth leaders to make positive and meaningful differences in their communities.
Please join us for the culmination of our CREATE 2026 program and witness the power and talents of transcenDANCE students!
Join us Friday night after the show for a post-performance celebration! We’ll have live music, food and drink available for purchase, and the opportunity to mingle and celebrate with the young artists of transcenDANCE!
Meet Our Changemaker Honorees
-
Deeply rooted in community building and food sovereignty work, Mixteco leadership
-
Co-coordinator of the PUENTE Project, President of Centro Cultural de la Raza, living example of cultural continuity
-
Managing Director of Project New Village, waymaker and womanist with 30 years of experience managing small community-rooted organizations
-
Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at San Diego State University, community-based researcher, scholar, teacher and writer
-
Arts Advisory Committee of Centro Cultural de la Raza, cultural worker and community organizer in institution-building and legacy work
-
Restorative Justice leader disrupting school-to-prison pipeline
-
Owner of Libélula Books, a queer affirming bookstore, cultural hub and shop
-
Long time San Diego civil rights leader and LGBTQIA+ and Latino rights activist
-
Licensed psychologist, researcher, and patented inventor, first-gen student success and system-levels mentorship work
-
Sudanese-American poet, Poem of the Year Award at SDPF24, healing-centered storytelling and spoken word
-
Criminal defense attorney in San Diego who combines legal advocacy with community education
-
Award winning illustrator and muralist, rooted in social justice and community empowerment work
-
Actor, director, producer and the Executive Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre in San Diego
-
Artist in Chicano Park, known for his bike club at the neighborhood schools and his AME classes (Art Media Entertainment)
-
Led the change for Henry Clay Elementary School's name change to Dr. Bertha O. Pendleton Elementary
-
Zapotec writer and organizer in indigenous representation and mutual aid
-
Newberry Medal-winning author of young adult novels, best known for his books Mexican WhiteBoy and We Were Here
-
Award-winning author of picture books including Drawn Together (winner of the 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature)
-
Professor, State Legislator, and California’s first black Secretary of State, reforms in education, health care, criminal justice, and policy work
-
Founder and Executive Director of First Gen Scholars, a nonprofit working to help first-generation college students from low income communities
-
Advocate for equitable learning, expert in Afrofuturism, actively involved in community service and social justice endeavors
-
Executive Director of Alliance San Diego, a community organization dedicated to building collective power to create an inclusive democracy