My Creative Journey: Empowering Artists, Enriching Community
San Diego Made’s My Creative Journey | Mi Viaje Creativo is an ongoing program dedicated to supporting creative entrepreneurs in our city’s Promise Zone neighborhoods. Through free workshops, speaker series, public art displays, and community events, we showcase local talent, foster collaboration, and provide opportunities for emerging artists to learn from established creatives.
Selected artists participate in a paid residency, gaining free workspace and a platform to share their creative processes, traditional art practices, and cultural heritage. This initiative not only celebrates artistic innovation but also strengthens community connections by ensuring that creative success stories are shared and accessible to all.
This program is made possible with support from the City of San Diego’s Commission for Arts and Culture, the California Arts Council, the Prebys Foundation, and the San Diego Made Factory.
Current Resident Artist: Dia Soto
Residency Dates: August - November 2026
Dia Soto, also known as Colores del Barrio, is a San Diego-based photographer, writer, and multidisciplinary artist born in Tijuana and raised in San Diego. Working primarily with 35mm analog film, she creates barrio-based photography that moves through street photography, portraiture, writing, and community practice to document everyday life, protest, labor, style, migration, and the visual language of the neighborhoods that raised her.
As the new Artist in Residence at the San Diego Made Factory, Soto will develop My Creative Journey / Mi Viaje Creativo, a project centered on image-making, lived experience, and the creative worlds that exist within the barrio.
Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the residency gives her space to expand this ongoing body of work while creating opportunities for people to gather, make art, and see their own lives reflected in contemporary visual culture.
Studio Visit Hours
Our My Creative Journey | Mi Viaje Creativo resident artists host weekly Studio Visit Hours, giving members of the public an opportunity to stop by, ask questions, receive creative mentorship, see works in progress, and connect with the artist’s process. Studio Visit Hours for this residency are listed below.
Wednesdays | 3:00–6:00 PM
Available by RSVP only. Please email in advance to schedule a time.
Thursdays | 11:00 AM–3:00 PM
Drop in anytime during these hours to visit the studio, see works in progress, and connect. No RSVP is required.
Appointments Outside These Hours
Meetings are available by appointment and must be scheduled in advance by emailing colors.ofthebarrio@gmail.com.
Upcoming Residency Events:
Past Selected Resident Artists
Residency Dates: July 2024 - September 2024
Residency Dates: October - December 2024
Residency Dates: January - March 2025
Residency Dates: April 2025 - June 2025
Residency Dates: April 2026 - July 2026
More Information
For more information, contact our Director of Programming Sarah Anderson at info@sandiegomade.org.