Annie Gwathney is an East Bay-born multimedia artisan with over 10 years of experience in art instruction, studio operations, and lapidary management. She is a specialist in stonework, silver jewelry design, and organic materials. Annie is the owner of Stonedog Artistry, where she creates custom jewelry, whimsical art pieces, and functional designs rooted in nature and handcraft. Her background includes studio instruction, safety standards development, events support, and community engagement. A mother of three, organic gardener, and avid outdoorswoman, Annie’s work reflects a deep commitment to craft, sustainability, and connection. Through Art at Vibe, she brings accessible jewelry and lapidary education to the Richmond community.
Brittany Tanner is a healer and musician whose work centers sound, storytelling, and trauma-informed care. She is the founder of The Song Remedy, where she facilitates workshops and retreats that support emotional regulation, grief processing, and creative expression across generations. Brittany has taught youth and adults in schools, juvenile justice settings, community centers, and cultural spaces, blending sound healing, songwriting, meditation, aromatherapy, and arts-based wellness practices. Her approach is rooted in ancestral wisdom, somatic grounding, and culturally grounded traditions such as call-and-response and intention setting. Through Art at Vibe, Brittany will lead healing arts and music-based wellness programming, creating spaces of dignity, restoration, and collective care for the Richmond community.
Darrin Westmore is a Richmond-based painter whose work bridges emotion, identity, and community storytelling through vivid color and form. Born in San Francisco and raised in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, Darrin brings over 40 years of artistic practice spanning drawing, performance, mixed media, with painting as his central discipline. Currently, Darrin works from his studio at Bridge Art Studio and Storage in Richmond, where he continues to paint, mentor emerging artists, and collaborate on community projects. Through Art at Vibe, his classes invite participants to explore observation, expression, and personal narrative as pathways to connection and creative empowerment.
Chef Dontaye Ball is a San Francisco based culinary artist and the owner and operator of Gumbo Social. A graduate of San Francisco State University, he has over two decades of culinary experience, blending his love of food with social impact. His work connects downtown Richmond and San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, where he has supported Vibe Bistro as a business and culinary partner. To Chef Dontaye, gumbo is the most important food in American culture. He serves on the San Francisco Homelessness Oversight Board and is President of the Bayview Merchants Association. Through Art at Vibe, he teaches knife skills and roux-making, passing on foundational techniques grounded in tradition, memory, and collective care.
Chef Marshawn Howard is a Richmond-based culinary artist, educator, and Sous Chef with UC Berkeley Dining. A graduate of the Laney College Culinary Program, he brings over a decade of professional kitchen experience to his teaching. Working from the commercial kitchen at Bridge Art Studio and Storage, Chef Howard approaches food as an artistic medium. He has led community cooking programs supporting unhoused outreach and food access.Through Art at Vibe his classes balance flavor color, texture, rhythm, and composition while honoring cultural storytelling.
Sara Anders is a Bay Area filmmaker, producer, and creative collaborator whose work bridges storytelling, fashion, and independent film production. Originally from Medford, Oregon, she brings a deeply personal perspective to her work, drawing on lived experience, resilience, and identity to shape the stories she helps bring to life. Sara began her path in film through wardrobe styling and fashion production before expanding into broader roles across independent film sets in Oakland and the greater Bay Area.
She has contributed to nearly 70 productions in roles including wardrobe, production assistant, craft services lead, and on-screen actor. Her work includes independent films such as 100 Blocks and production experience on the acclaimed film Sorry to Bother You. Through Art at Vibe, Sara hosts The Cut Room, a quarterly film festival that brings filmmakers and audiences together to share independent cinema and celebrate storytelling within the Richmond community.
Shiree Dyson is a textile artist, educator, and community leader dedicated to preserving and expanding the needle arts as tools for creativity, care, and connection. She is the founder of Bay Area nonprofit Sage & Needles, providing free, accessible sewing and textile workshops that foster skill-building, sustainability, and belonging. She also serves as Arts Administrator for the Malonga Arts Collective, is a founding board member of Career Girls, and contributed to the opening of the Museum of the African Diaspora. Shiree has facilitated multiple sewing workshops with Art at Vibe, teaching hand sewing, machine navigation, and quilting. In partnership with Art at Vibe, she leads Fix & Mend Day, supporting community repair of clothing, bikes, and household items to reduce waste.
Chef Tobias Cooks is a California-based culinary professional, food safety educator, and certified ServSafe instructor & proctor with extensive experience in institutional food service, workforce training, and regulatory compliance. She serves as our Chef Manager for the senior meals program and as the ServSafe instructor for Art is Work-Culinary Pathways. Chef Tobias Cooks’ background includes leadership in school nutrition services with Dublin Unified School District, ownership of La Dolce Vita Bakery Eats in Stockton, and culinary consulting through her business Chef Tobias Cooks. Her work focuses on kitchen operations, HACCP-based food safety systems, sanitation training, and preparing emerging culinary workers for professional kitchens. Through Art at Vibe, Chef Tobias Cooks teaches ServSafe certification and foundational food safety practices.
Walter Wallace is a digital media professional, filmmaker, and cultural strategist with over a decade of experience as a director, cinematographer, photographer, and editor. Based in Oakland, he serves as Executive Director of the Black Film Guild and Principal of Social Dynamism, and is the founder of the Senttell Scholarship supporting first-generation college students. His instruction emphasizes adaptability, technical confidence, and career readiness, expanding pathways into media arts and creative employment for the local community. Through Art at Vibe, Walter will lead hands-on media workshops focused on cinematography, photography, and professional filmmaking tools, giving Richmond residents access to industry-grade equipment and language.
An Inclusive Definition
Art at Vibe embraces a broad and inclusive definition of art. Across cultures and generations, practices such as sewing, herbalism, movement, fragrance-making, and cooking have always been forms of creative expression. These traditions carry history, identity, and storytelling, core elements of the arts.
