Brooklyn YAS Art Collective 2026

Collective Metamorphosis

Join us on Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st from 7-10pm to highlight the artists in the Brooklyn YAS art program!

Collective Metamorphosis presents mixed media works by artists Saira Burgos, Tsaia Dawson, Evan Gonzalez, Daniel Gordon, Mars Harris, Murad Hazhibayev, and Claudia Sanchez-Jean.

Created through workshops from February to May with teaching artists Yolande Delius, Meli Holdipp, Angela Muriel, Ameirah Neal, Cameron Ringness, and Ed Woodham, the exhibition reflects a shared process shaped by experimentation, dialogue, and growth.

We emerge by breaking imposed norms, transforming through one of the most radical acts: becoming our true essence through metamorphosis. Working across drawing, painting, digital, and mixed media, the artists trace this process of change. Each work holds evidence of transformation, not as a final state but as something ongoing.

The artists approach identity as fluid and continually unfolding. They claim the freedom to become in ways that challenge dominant expectations, centering voices often pushed to the margins. Queer identity, the experiences of immigrant communities, and questions of displacement appear throughout the exhibition as layered and intersecting realities.

Collective Metamorphosis is both a culmination and a beginning. It brings together a journey across different mediums, shaped by collaboration as much as individual exploration. The exhibition reflects a group of young queer artists with distinct perspectives that come together to form a vibrant whole.

Metamorphosis here is grounded in lived experience, in the courage to question, and in the act of making. Through growth, risk, and creation, these artists offer a clear and resonant reflection on what it means to transform together.

The Brooklyn Youth Against Substance Misuse (YAS) Coalition Art Collective

Collective Metamorphosis is sponsored by the Brooklyn YAS Coalition, which is committed to creating community-level change to prevent substance misuse in LGBTQ+ youth and young adults in Brooklyn. Brooklyn YAS is a coalition of organizations, agencies, businesses, parents, and LGBTQ+ youth and young adults working to create safe, affirming spaces; instill physical and psychological safety; reduce family conflict and rejection; and increase community attachment for LGBTQ+ youth.  The Arts Collective, which took place at Groundswell Community Mural Project, was facilitated over eight consecutive weeks by queer artists coaching students in different mediums. By providing outlets for artistic expression, Brooklyn YAS aims to helps LGBTQ+ youth and young adults explore their identities and find community in safe, affirming, substance-free spaces.

About the Artists:

Saira Burgos

BIO

Saira Burgos is a Dominican mixed-media artist based in New York. Her practice is rooted in visual experimentation, moving fluidly between drawing, painting, and layered material processes. Each piece is approached as a site of exploration, where form and imagery evolve through the act of making. Her work centers overlooked and immigrant voices, while her practice continues to build connections between personal history and an evolving visual language.

Saira Burgos es una artista dominicana de medios mixtos radicada en Nueva York. Su práctica se basa en la experimentación visual, moviéndose con fluidez entre el dibujo, la pintura y procesos de materiales en capas. Cada obra se concibe como un espacio de exploración, donde la forma y la imagen evolucionan a través del acto de crear. Su trabajo se centra en voces inmigrantes y a menudo ignoradas, mientras su práctica continúa construyendo conexiones entre su historia personal y un lenguaje visual en constante evolución.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a Dominican artist who works mostly with mixed media. My art is about emotions and feelings that are hard to put into words. I often make portraits, but I’m open to any form that helps me express something real and personal. I use different materials and colors to share these feelings. Color is very important in my work; it helps show emotion and guides how each piece develops. Sometimes the feelings are quiet and subtle, and other times they are clear and direct. My work invites people to connect through a single moment, especially when they meet the eyes in the artwork.

Soy un artista dominicano que trabaja principalmente con técnica mixta. Mi arte trata sobre emociones y sentimientos que son difíciles de expresar con palabras. A menudo hago retratos, pero estoy abierto a cualquier forma que me ayude a expresar algo real y personal. Uso diferentes materiales y colores para compartir estos sentimientos. El color es muy importante en mi trabajo. Me ayuda a mostrar emociones y también guía cómo se desarrolla cada pieza. A veces los sentimientos son suaves y sutiles, y otras veces son claros y directos. Mi trabajo invita a las personas a conectar en un solo momento, especialmente cuando se encuentran con la mirada
dentro de la obra.

Tsaia Dawson

BIO

Tsaia Dawson is a multidisciplinary artist, student, and educator whose work explores transformation through material and process. She recently graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, earning an Associate’s degree in Fine Art and a Bachelor’s degree in Art History and Museum Professions, with a minor in American Studies. Tsaia is currently developing her artistic voice, with a focus on abstract work and fiber-based practices such as crochet and knitting. Her work reflects a curiosity about texture, form, and the possibilities of everyday materials, as she continues to experiment and refine her approach.

ARTIST STATEMENT

As a fine and fiber artist, I am inspired by the magic of transforming simple materials into something new and engaging. Using everyday elements: scraps of paper, drops of paint, and strands of yarn – I create work that reimagines the ordinary as something unexpected and expressive. My practice is rooted in a hands-on exploration of texture, color, and form. Each piece reflects a process of discovery, where making becomes a way to connect with both material and imagination. Through my work, I aim to share a sense of curiosity, play, and wonder, inviting viewers to appreciate the beauty and potential within the everyday.

Evan Gonzalez

BIO

Evan Gonzalez is a young artist based in the Bronx working across traditional and digital media. Using pencil, paint, and drawing apps, he creates pieces shaped by friendships, emotions, and personal interests. Much of his traditional work is rendered in black and white with selective use of color to draw the viewer’s eye and emphasize central elements. His approach highlights contrast and focus, inviting viewers to notice small but intentional details within each composition.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a digital and traditional artist who began drawing at a young age as a way to express my interests in books, shows, and games. My work continues to be inspired by the things that bring me joy and fully capture my attention. Over time, I expanded into other creative outlets such as photography and cosplay, exploring any medium that allowed me to experiment and create. My art is not always meant to be deeply analytical. Instead, I see it as a space to step away from overthinking and simply exist in the moment. I want my work to offer that same pause to others, something visually engaging that feels honest, enjoyable, and easy to connect with.

Daniel Gordon

BIO

Daniel Gordon is a Jamaican-American artist based in Queens, New York. A self-taught illustrator, he has developed his practice since childhood, drawing from a wide range of media and fashion design. His work blends elements of styling with an alternative visual language, creating expressive and personal imagery. Working with colored pencils, pens, and markers on varied surfaces, Gordon embraces experimentation and adaptability. His illustrations reflect an evolving exploration of identity, culture, and imagination, shaped by both personal experience and contemporary influences.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am an illustrator working with paper, colored pencils, markers, pens, and fragments of past works. These materials give me a sense of freedom and allow me to stay connected to the process of making. I have been drawing since childhood, and creating continues to be a space where I can fully express myself as the world changes around me. My work is a way of communicating without speaking, where ideas and emotions are shared through imagery. I explore identity and self-expression through my illustrations, using each piece as an opportunity to understand myself more deeply. When others connect with my work, it feels like a shared experience, and I hope it encourages them to find their own sense of fulfillment.

Mars Harris

BIO

Mars Harris (he/her/them) is a multidisciplinary artist from many places, most of them within the city. They began their artistic journey in 2014 and have been creating consistently ever since. Originally a theater major at the College of Staten Island, they later continued into the BFA program at Brooklyn College after a series of shifts in direction. Their work blends experimentation and self-expression, using process as a way to explore personal meaning and material relationships.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Resourcefulness is central to my practice. I work with found materials such as magazines, cardboard, old canvases, and fabric, focusing on reuse and repurposing what is often overlooked or discarded. For me, art is about experience and experimentation. It is a way to express both joy and fear, and to engage closely with the materials around me. I am interested in how something meaningful can emerge from what might otherwise be ignored. Through my time with the Arts Collective, I began to expand my practice by exploring new mediums and engaging more directly with my identity. My work now reflects a growing connection to community, political themes, and the everyday experience of living as a queer person in America.

Murad Hazhibayev

BIO

Murad Hazhibayev (he/they) is an emerging creative with a passion for social justice, particularly feminist and immigrant rights. With a background in graphic design, Murad engages deeply with visual culture while continuing to explore their own artistic voice. They enjoy learning choreography, reading poetry, and visiting exhibitions across New York City. Murad previously contributed to the U.S. Childhood Arrivals Mural Project at Baruch College. Through the Brooklyn YAS Art Collective, they are building community and seeking opportunities to expand into collaborative mural work and other community-based art initiatives.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I explore identity as layered, fluid, and shaped by lived experience. As a queer, Muslim, first-generation immigrant, my work is grounded in intersectionality, where personal and political realities continuously inform one another. I see identity as something that is never fixed, but constantly shifting through memory, displacement, and self-definition. In my practice, boundaries between identities blur, dissolve, or are imposed, raising questions about who has the power to define them. I am interested in the tension between harmony and conflict within the self, and how these forces coexist. Self-expression is central to my work. I examine how individuals construct and inhabit identity, even within restrictive systems, and how visibility can function as both resistance and affirmation. Through a social justice lens, I challenge dominant narratives by centering marginalized perspectives, emphasizing that identity, feminism, and bodily autonomy are inseparable from race, religion, and lived experience.

Claudia Sanchez-Jean

BIO

Claudia Sanchez-Jean (she/her) is a 22-year-old artist born and raised in New York City. With a background in conceptual and graphic design, she creates illustrative, narrative-driven work shaped by the city’s visual intensity. Drawing on influences such as video games, manga, and animation, her pieces explore identity through a personal, introspective lens. Working in colored pencil, ink, watercolor, and charcoal, Sanchez-Jean builds layered compositions that merge technical precision with expressive storytelling.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work draws inspiration from vaudeville costumes and the visual language of sci-fi, thriller, and horror genres. I am also influenced by animated films, comics, and manga, which shape both the imagery and tone of my pieces. I work across watercolor, ink illustration, zine-making, and digital media. I am especially interested in process. The slow, careful linework feels meditative, and I spend time considering composition and color. These decisions guide how each piece develops, and the experience of making it often matters more to me than the result. Rather than starting with a fixed meaning, my work grows from the visual influences I return to. Because of this, the pieces remain open-ended. I value how viewers interpret what they see, since each perspective adds something new. Through this approach, I hope my work reflects both my influences and the sense of curiosity and enjoyment in making it.