Our Mission Statement
Sketchboard is a BIPOC artist-led nonprofit in the Bay Area advancing equitable access to arts education and creative community beyond institutional settings. We cultivate welcoming, accessible spaces where artists can connect through weekly figure drawing sessions, workshops, drink-and-draws, and mentorship.
Our Story
Sketchboard was curated by Brittany and Jessamyn, two queer femme artists who shared a passion for creating in community in a warm, inviting setting. What began as an informal meet-up group gathering every third Sunday at the Red Victorian on Haight Street has grown into a thriving third space. Natalie and Alida stepped in a couple of years after the formation and later inherited the organization. When the Red Victorian Hostel closed, we found our permanent home at the Monument House.
Thanks to this generous offering, we were able to expand into other avenues of curation. We've grown from simple drawing sessions into immersive, multi-sensory events with performers, musicians, sommeliers, and local chefs. As Bay Area culture faces erasure, we saw the need to create accessible art spaces—both open and educational—where artists of all backgrounds can collaborate, learn, and lead.
As we grew, we slowly built our team. In July 2024, we received our 501(c)(3) letter, making us a bona fide nonprofit. But the story isn’t over: now that we have formal organization, we’re taking workshops and classes and learning from our own experiences. We’re excited to continue expanding!
Sketchboard is our collaborative love letter to creating together.
Our Collective Values
Sketchboard addresses a critical systemic gap in the creative economy: the high financial barriers that keep marginalized artists from accessing foundational arts education, consistent creative practice, mentorship, and community outside of institutional settings.
Our work is rooted in the belief that artists deserve welcoming, accessible spaces to gather, experiment, learn, and build relationships without needing to be enrolled in an art school, represented by a gallery, or connected to exclusive professional networks. We create those spaces through weekly figure drawing sessions, workshops, drink-and-draws, and mentorship opportunities that prioritize BIPOC, queer, trans, working-class, disabled, and emerging artists.
To dismantle these barriers, our artist-led initiative reinvests community-subsidized session fees and recurring donor support into a multi-tiered programming framework that keeps participation affordable while sustaining the people who make these spaces possible. We partner with venues that prioritize accessibility, community care, and cultural belonging, and we commit to providing consistent, fair-wage income and safer working environments for art models, teaching artists, facilitators, and creative collaborators.
Our values are grounded in access, belonging, artistic growth, and ethical creative labor. Participating artists strengthen foundational technical skills—such as anatomy, form, observation, and visual storytelling; while building portfolios, developing creative rituals, and connecting with peers and professionals across disciplines. Just as importantly, they are invited into a room where experimentation, vulnerability, and mutual respect are part of the practice.
Sketchboard’s methodology advances a cultural and economic shift by reducing educational barriers, expanding access to affordable arts programming, standardizing ethical labor practices for art models and teaching artists, and cultivating accessible third spaces where Bay Area artists can create, connect, and be recognized beyond traditional institutions.