Mission
To produce free monthly opening receptions for the public to enjoy art, watch artists create, listen to live music, and ask questions.
To provide affordable, juried exhibition and working studio space for local artists, and provide free exhibition space, art supplies, studio space, and education for teen artists.
Additionally, ArtHatch has added an escape room to the complex to serve as an ongoing fundraiser for the program.
Inspire. Educate. Create.
Studies have shown engaging in art and creativity also generates a wide range of positive outcomes, including:
Increases in academic achievement.
Higher graduation rates and college enrollment.
Improvements in literacy and language abilities.
Better communication and performance skills.
Heightened cultural awareness.
Greater self esteem.
Board of Directors
Melissa Inez Walker
Founder and CEO
Mark Chavis
Owner, M. Chavis: Color + Texture + Fine Finishes
VCEO
Jonathan Pool, CPA
CFO
Kelly Vivanco
Professional Artist
Secretary
Travis Sevilla
High Tech High
Arts Teacher
Joanne Brey
Escondido Union School District
Language Arts Teacher
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Melissa Inez Walker.Melissa Inez Walker is the founder and CEO for ArtHatch. She curates the front gallery choosing featured artists from around the world to be exhibited. Walker also interviews and often seeks out the 45 local artists who rent studio space within ArtHatch.
Working with teens is no new venture for Walker. She volunteered with Oceanside's StandUp 4 Kids as a volunteer counselor for 5 years, in college she was a big sister as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and in high school she served as the president of Key Club, the schools community service organization.
Walker received her BFA in photography and art history from the College of Santa Fe then moved to CA where she held various esteemed positions in the art world including with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Philipp Scholz Rittermann, and Joseph Bellows Gallery. Before opening the gallery in 2004 she exhibited her own artwork at galleries and museums throughout the United States.
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Mark Chavis.Mark is a licensed architect, general contractor and owner of M. Chavis: Texture Fine Finishes. He truly understands the importance of keeping young artists working and the value of original art. Along with having collected a significant collection of emerging artists work, he is also the father of an up and coming teen artist, one of the many inspirations behind the starting of ArtHatch.
Like any good dad, Mark nurtures his daughter's talent by making sure she has the most up to date tools and going above and beyond to encourage her talent (he once took her bed to the middle of a desert for her photos shoot).
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Travis Sevilla.Travis is an artist and educator currently working for High Tech High North County. A recent transplant from LA, Travis has attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and received his BFA from OTIS College Art and Design in Los Angeles. He has an MFA in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine and has been teaching art for the past six years. Travis is enthusiastic about art, art education, and working with young artists. He is truly excited to be part of the Art Hatch organization.
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Kelly Vivanco.Kelly hosts a daily online comic, Patches, which is followed by viewers from around the globe. Vivanco's art has graced the presence of museums and galleries across the world and nearly every piece she has painted in the past six years has sold. Emerging artists relate more closely to Vivanco's work then perhaps any other artist and recently she completed a larger than life commission painting to be housed in the Escondido library teen reading area. Kelly continues to inspire young artists on a day to day basis.
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Jonathan Pool.Jonathan is the well respected and trustworthy owner of Jonathan Pool CPA. He has been working with the gallery for many years and was the first who advised the gallery to seek non profit status. Jonathan is an avid art collector specifially of black and white photography. Jonathan has served on number boards and contributes greatly to ArtHatch and is a strong reason for it's sucess. Jonathan is a father of two and lives with his wife and youngest child in San Diego.
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