Youth Art Mentoring at RedLine

Using a one-on-one mentoring model, Youth Art Mentoring provides a safe environment for students in local schools to explore artistic expression while creating connections with a trusted adult figure.

What is Youth Art Mentoring at RedLine?

Throughout the year, selected students in local Five Points schools have the opportunity to work with a professional artist to create a year-long art project that investigates social justice issues.

Youth Art Mentoring fosters creative thinking and empowers students to discover practical ways to approach difficult issues with the inquiring mind of an artist.

By developing skills of inquiry and imagination, students find new in-roads to core subjects and are better prepared for lifelong learning.

Objectives of Youth Art Mentoring

1. Ensure that youth have a safe space during after school hours.

2. Create meaningful relationships between students and local artists.

3. Initiate conversation among students in response to community and social justice issues, using art as a tool for social change.

4. Create a space for youth to speak up and be heard through their own creative processes and practices. 

We evaluate these objectives using qualitative and quantitative data via pre and post surveys with student participants.

We measure their growth in initiatives pertaining to how they feel about art and its importance, their social, mental and emotional health, and how they show up in their community.

Youth Art Mentoring has been successful in its mission of supporting students' growth, and has several returning students each year who continue to grow in their craft.

Meet our 2024-2025 Youth Art Mentors!

G. Bosch

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, G. (she/her) discovered her love for art early on, which led her to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fibers at the Savannah College of Art and Design. With a hands-on spirit and a passion for sustainability, she dives into all kinds of creative processes—from furniture design to murals and more—bringing together beauty and purpose in everything she creates. For G., art goes beyond aesthetics; it’s about starting conversations and provoking thoughts around our consumption habits and the impact we leave on the planet. With a deep commitment to craftsmanship, sustainability, and social change, she hopes to inspire others to see the beauty, purpose, and meaning in the world around them.

Instagram: @gbosc.h

Sol Aldinger

Sophie Aldinger (they/he) is a Denver based artist and arts educator.

They use found objects and abstraction to explore the synchronicites between the body and nature. The creations often draw on their experience of being genderfluid. 

Instagram: @solaldingerart

Mike Roderique

Mike Roderique (he/him/his) is in his 11th year serving as a Youth Art Mentor with RedLine!  He is a 2D visual artist with a focus on painting portraits. Living in Aurora, he creates portraits of awesome pets, cool people, and likes to grow his work by incorporating mixed media when bored, such as embroidery and fabric. For Mike, the arts are about storytelling, building connections, exploring diversity, having fun, and memory-keeping. Youth Art Mentoring rules!

Liz Truskin

Liz (she/her) teaches art classes for the Denver Art Museum, Denver Arts and Culture, Denver Public Schools, and RedLine Contemporary Arts Center. She is a painter and multi-media artist who specializes in portraits and botanicals. She recently started painting murals, and is excited for her solo art show at Next Gallery in April 2025.

Instagram: @elizabeth_truskin_studios_/

Luke Penton

Luke Penton (he/him/his) is a mixed media artist with a focus in ceramics and painting. Luke has a deep passion for the outdoors, and enjoy skiing, biking, and skateboarding. Luke loves learning new skills and exploring new mediums. 

Instagram: @kookluke__

Rebecca Peebles

Rebecca Peebles (she/her) is an artist and creative practice facilitator in Denver, CO.  She works primarily in textile methods and loves beadwork and wearable art. Through her artworks, art curation, community wellness programming and Home Safe Projects she creates setting and invites methods of making and witnessing artwork for domestic space wherein the transformative quality of hand-crafted art takes precedence over objectification. Artist(s) and participants can share in the work together and take advantage of the comfort of home to showcase the animating quality of art and craft’s soulful expression. Rebecca is proud to serve and support the mission of RedLine and to inspire creativity, build community, & advance equity through arts integration.

Instagram: @theonlyrebecca

Miles McKay

Howdy! My name is Miles McKay (he/they), otherwise known as Grandpas Brain online. I’m a Black and Trans Illustrator & Designer navigating life here in Denver! When it comes to my artwork I love to focus on mental health, the outdoors, and the LGBTQ+ community. I love mixing various elements that emphasize the feelings of humor, bizarre/funky, nostalgia, and so on.

Instagram: @grandpasbrain

Saint Salsberry

Saint (he/they) is an artist based in Denver, Colorado, with 2 years of professional experience and around 4-6 years of practice. His vibrant, popping abstraction and graffiti allusions create a colorful world that invites critical conversations about topics that impact the African American, Afro-Latino, and LGBTQ diaspora. Saint's works with acrylic, charcoal, and digital design to be a reflection of his dedication to examining and celebrating his intersectionality as a Multi-Hyphenate creative.

Instagram: @sjksiv

Luisa Zamora

Having lived in Denver for 20 years, Luisa Zamora (they/them/elle) has been involved in a wide range of community organizations and social justice movements. Luisa is an arts educator, avid learner and multidisciplinary artist who seeks equity-based models for public engagement in the arts and education. They are currently seeking joy in the day-to-day and crafting their skills in wonder.

Instagram: @brown_queerdo

George Michael Karas

George (he/him) is an artist and educator with about 17 years experience as a professional artist and 5 years as an educator. He grew up in Colorado though practiced his craft in Chicago for about 6 years before returning to Colorado. This will be his 4th year as a youth art mentor, and he can’t wait to get back to doing something he cherishes so dearly. 

Instagram: @g.m.karas

Noah Pacheco

Noah Pacheco is a prolific artist from Denver. You can find Noah playing guitar in various musical acts, as part of the Rattlesnaker comedy duo, selling personally made and modified clothing, reading and sharing poetry, and painting walls and canvases in Denver. Noah is proud to be from Denver and working towards artistic progress, especially as it relates to the youth. Noah believes in liberation through artistic expression and is determined to assist students claim the power of voice.

Instagram: @noooo___ahh

Wina Ephraim Mboka (Rahmi)

Rahmi is a visionary artist whose creative journey is a fusion of cultural richness and personal expression. Born with an innate passion for art, he hails from a diverse background that has greatly influenced the vibrant tapestry of my work. Rahmi was born to Congolese parents in Rwanda, raised in Kenya, and recently moved to the US.

Instagram: @rahmi_creations

Genna Clemen

Genna (they/she) is a teaching artist and community organizer rooting in environmental justice, mutuality and community care. Their work is a multi-disciplinary practice rooted in storytelling and advocacy. Their work ranges from collaborative public installations to 2D animation and experimental photography.

Instagram: @gennaclemen

Catherine Robinson

Catherine (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work focuses on human relationships with the natural world.  She often uses the practice of book binding to explore ideas of memory, anthropology, indigenous rights and mythology.

Instagram: @Robinson_Fineart

Got Questions About Youth Art Mentoring?

Please email your completed application and/or any questions about Art Mentoring to our Art Education Coordinator, Shaunie Berry.

Support for Youth Art Mentoring

RedLine would like to thank Caring for Denver Foundation, Colorado Health Foundation, Hemera Foundation, Margulf Foundation, Strear Family Foundation, Sidney E. Frank Foundation and the SCFD for their support of our Youth Education programs.