WHO WE ARE

Valéria (“Val”) is passionate about the power of the arts and culture to change individuals, communities, and society. She has worked in and with arts organizations since 1992. Communities are central to the existence of any cultural organization and are an extremely important part of Valéria’s professional and personal life. She is passionately committed to the sustainable power of collaborations and partnerships in leveraging cultural resources. She was the Director of Education at the San Jose Museum of Art and at the Monterey Museum of Art. Valéria’s experience includes fundraising, curatorial practices, program development, management, and evaluation, and equity, diversity, and inclusion. Valéria holds a MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Valéria’s artistic practice is in dance and visual arts. She spends lots of time in the art spaces, beaches and woods of Santa Cruz County with her 17-year old son and many friends.  

Dutch-American Hedwig M. Heerschop is a photographer, printmaker, educator, and curator who lives and works in Santa Cruz, California. She completed her Master of Fine Arts/Photography at San José State University, San José, California. She taught Alternative Processes in Photographic Media at San José State University. She assisted in many photography workshops with Brian Taylor, Dan Estabrook, Holly Roberts, Dan Burkholder, Harold Davis and Steve Zmak.

Hedwig curated two national exhibits for Pajaro Valley Arts, Photo Alchemy, Alternative Processes in Photographic Media, and produced two accompanying catalogs. For the last several years she is the curator of Pajaro Valley Arts’ annual exhibit, Sculpture IS: In the Garden at Sierra Azul Nursery & Gardens. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions, including, For Queen & Country, at San José State University, San José, CA (her Master Thesis Exhibit), Breaking Boundaries, in Pingyao, China and Made in Holland, in Naarden, The Netherlands.

Many of her works are in the collection of art collectors in Europe and the Unites States of America. Currently Hedwig divides her time working as Exhibit Coordinator at Pajaro Valley Arts in Watsonville, CA., and as a printmaker/photographer at her studio’s in Aptos and Santa Cruz, CA.

Josefina Rocha is an artist from Watsonville, California who received her BFA degree in Fine Arts Practice at California State University, East Bay. She creates work that stems from her compassion for others and takes an interest in themes such as vulnerability, wonder, empathy, and kindness – all the while exploring their interconnectivity. As a long-time and continuous participating member of community-oriented organizations, she creates artworks that strive to weave these concepts by portraying them as an act of selfless giving through her art practice.

Josefina is an arts advocate within her community who has participated in the creation of local murals, has shown paintings in a number of galleries, has been involved in
gallery curation, has hosted a number of painting workshops within her community, and has most recently started participating in Open Studios in Watsonville.

Josefina also serves as a Teaching Artist through the Mariposa Arts Program with the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County. She teaches culturally responsive visual arts and supports social-emotional development for her students in after-school programs throughout the county. She mentors high school student teachers while they learn to teach art to elementary school students. Above all, she encourages a safe space for her community to try out their creative talents that allow them to be confident in their natural abilities, making sure they are aware that their minds are magical, inspiring, and valuable and making it known that being an artist is possible for anyone walking any
path in life.