SPARC PLACE: Oakview Residency
The purpose of the SPARC Place residency program is to provide Alachua county artists with focused time and space to develop artwork, and to test out a format to build on for a potential future residency program. This residency hosts artists in most mediums such as visual arts, digital design and media, dance, music, writing and more at Oakview Community Center.
Artists in Residence
Ian Jackson
Ian Jackson is a born and raised Floridan. He is a multidisciplinary artist who makes art and literature about the unsung, unacknowledged, and unappreciated. In his practice, he uses experimental methods to explore and challenge preexisting notions surrounding various subjects. He has contributed to the publication of over 300 literary and visual works with organizations such as Poetry Northwest and Tea Literary & Arts Magazine. Currently, he is Editor-in-Chief of the zine EarlGrey.
Recently, he has been experimenting with a new collage technique he calls Fragmentals. In this series, he builds characters almost entirely from small pieces of paper, which he attaches to larger sheets of heavyweight paper. The core objective of the series is to demonstrate that meaningful art can be created with limited resources. At the same time, it challenges conventional notions of fine art by prioritizing interdisciplinary storytelling over more traditional forms such as painting, ceramics, or photography.
His portfolio can be found at cherryhybrid.wordpress.com.
Oriana Sheffield
Oriana Sheffield is an R&B singer born and raised in Gainesville, Florida. She began singing in church at around five or six years old. She sings about many topics including love, healing, faith, and womanhood with an amazing voice and emotional resonance. Her music is a tool to heal, empower, and reflect the love, struggles, and spirit of her community.
Over the past few years, Oriana has grown not only as an artist but also as a content creator in her community. She is always seeking new ways to uplift and unite those around her, whether through music, food, laughter, or anything that brings people together.
Turbado Marabou
Turbado Marabou, born in Gainesville, Florida, is a multifaceted artist, educator, and cultural storyteller deeply embedded in the Afro-Trans-Atlantic narrative. A graduate of Florida A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and an M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Turbado is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Arts Education at Florida State University.
For over thirty years, he has explored the complexities of the Black aesthetic, using visual and performing arts to celebrate African cultural legacies and spirituality. In 2020, he founded Deeproots Arts & Culture Creative Services L.L.C., aiming to elevate cultural awareness and aesthetic intelligence through workshops and lectures. He and his family reside in Gainesville, Florida, and Turbado continues to impact the region’s artistic landscape, particularly in the Florida-Georgia area.
MyQueal Lewis
MyQueal Lewis is a filmmaker, muralist, and photographer born and raised in Gainesville, Florida. He dedicates his work to honoring the stories, culture, and resilience of the East Gainesville community that shaped him. MyQueal has collaborated with organizations and brands like the NAACP, Beats by Dre, and Cricket Wireless, but his true passion lies in creating work that centers healing, identity, and representation.
With a background in Social Work, he uses his art as a bridge between storytelling and restoration blending visual expression with community care. Whether it’s through film, public murals, or photography, he’s committed to making space for the voices that are often overlooked and preserving the beauty found in culture.
See his films on YouTube.
Kione Forrest
Kione Forrest is a digital media content creator. He has run a digital clothing brand and organized multiple Christian artist showcases at Westside Park, helping to bring the community together through music and faith. Currently, he runs a media production company. His most recent projects include serving as the director, videographer, and editor for a documentary on climate change in collaboration with Alachua County, as well as producing a mini-documentary for an underground artist showcase in Gainesville. He is developing a photo-documentary series titled “Stories From The Block”, which will feature intimate portraits of Gainesville residents across various communities.
His portfolio can be found at fromthewell.co
Ashiana Moné
Ashiana Ndandou, also known as Ashiana Moné, was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, but later moved to Clermont, FL. She earned a degree in Telecommunication from UF’s College of Journalism and Communications. Ashiana is currently working at the UF and looks forward to pursuing a masters degree in the performing arts. Singing and dancing has always been a part of her life growing up. She would often use a remote or anything she could find to use, to sing and dance in front of the T.V. Through many obstacles in her life, she has never lost her passion for performing and singing. Ashiana has sung in church, musical theatre, and performed in choir and singing groups. Ashiana has always dreamed of releasing her own album. Even though she is new to the community and the SPARC352 family, Ashiana wants to be a light and be a positive influence for this generation and to everyone she encounters. She wants to use the gifts that God has given her, share her gifts with others, and bring glory to God in everything she does. She is excited to share the most inner and heartfelt pieces that God has orchestrated for her, even when he is intricately putting back together the pieces. See her work on her YouTube channel.
E. Stanley Richardson
E. Stanley Richardson is a multifaceted artist and author of the award winning book of poetry “Hip Hop is Dead – Long Live Hip Hop: The Birth, Death and Resurrection of Hip Hop Activism” (2017) He is known for his work as a poet, actor, playwright and producer. He blends poetry, performance, storytelling and activism to create powerful and impactful art, particularly focusing on aspects of the African American experience. He often incorporates elements of music, specifically, traditional West African drumming, ring shouts, field hollers, work songs, gospel, blues, jazz, soul and hip hop, reflecting the diverse artistic historical landscape of Black Culture, reminiscent of the Black Arts Movement.
E. Stanley Richardson is the founder and executive director of ARTSPEAKSgnv, Inc. He is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Alachua County, Florida.
Visit www.artspeaksgnv.org and estanleyrichardson.com to learn more
Essence Thomas
Essence Thomas is a fierce and tenderhearted artist, advocate, and lived experience expert who turns her story of foster care and homelessness into a powerful light for others. After aging out of the foster care system at 18 and facing homelessness, Essence found her path to healing through the transformative power of dance and higher education. Her resilience and determination led her to the University of Florida, where she earned a BFA in Dance—marking the beginning of a lifelong mission to uplift and empower youth who share similar stories.
As a proud first generation, UF Dance alumna and a Lived Experience Leader representing the State of Florida through FosterClub, Essence carries her journey not as a burden, but as a bridge — connecting young people ages 18 to 28 who have been unaccompanied or impacted by the foster care system to healing, hope, and higher education. She is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, further deepening her ability to support youth through trauma-informed care, policy advocacy, and creative intervention.
Through her artist residency at SPARC352, Essence is launching No Lost Ones, a virtual counseling series that opens doors and hearts—offering not only pathways to college but also a sacred space for youth to reclaim their stories and find their voice. She walks alongside each participant with compassion and expertise, guiding them through critical resources such as the Postsecondary Education Services and Support (PESS) program, the DCF Tuition and Fee Exemption waiver, and the McKinney-Vento Education waiver—which together can provide full-ride scholarships to college for eligible youth until age 28. In addition, she connects participants to FAFSA funding, housing assistance, mental health services, and the essential skills needed for college readiness.
No Lost Ones also introduces youth to state-funded transition programs, campus-based support services, and lived experience-led initiatives that guide college-involved students through the complexities of adulthood—offering mentorship, emergency aid, academic coaching, and connections to programs like Keys to Independence, Educate Tomorrow, AOK Scholars, NSORO Scholars, Bridging the Gap, and other support programs in Higher Education.
Essence has also raised her voice on campuses like Miami Dade College, University of Florida, and University of South Florida—bringing awareness and inspiration to system-impacted youth and allies, and helping to create communities rooted in understanding and resilience.
At the core of Essence’s work is the belief that healing begins when we connect — to our stories, to each other, and to the creative spirit that lives inside us all. This summer, Essence will be attending 36 Chambaz of Stylz—a two-week street dance intensive in New York City, where she will train with street dance and hip hop pioneers in the heart of Manhattan. Immersed in a culture that turns struggle into rhythm, pain into poetry, and movement into revolution, this experience will breathe new life and fire into her art and advocacy.
Essence Thomas invites us all to witness the extraordinary power that rises when brokenness is met with grace, when voices find their strength, and when healing becomes a shared dance — a dance of survival, of hope, and of unshakable courage.
Cheyenne Rudolph
Cheyenne Rudolph is a multimedia artist and educator based in Gainesville, working with craft, film, and performance. Her practice is rooted in her Southern heritage and engages with themes of class, gender, and cultural mythologies. She earned an MFA in ceramics from the University of Florida and serves as an adjunct professor of art at Santa Fe College, where she teaches drawing, sculpture, and art appreciation. She also conducts community sewing classes. Her artistic practice includes craft, garment sewing, puppet-making, and digital filmmaking.
In 2020, she co-founded a film collective dedicated to reviving analog special effects techniques through small-scale productions. The collective’s work explores visual illusion using in-camera effects, handcrafted props, and low-tech ingenuity. They regularly produce short films that reflect both a commitment to craft and a playful, critical approach to American iconography. Their unconventional films have been screened nationally at various film festivals.