Un Mar de Colores · San Diego, CA
Free Visual Arts Workshops for San Diego Families
Kumeyaay history and living culture taught alongside visual arts — not token decoration.
Un Mar de Colores ofrece cultural arts & storytelling gratuitas para jóvenes de San Diego de All ages años, directamente en la costa de San Diego. Sirviendo a una comunidad del 55% BIPOC (1,386,932 residentes), nuestra instrucción se lleva a cabo en La Jolla Shores y Tourmaline, con entrenadores bilingües certificados y todo el equipo proporcionado. La inscripción prioritaria es para estudiantes de Kate Sessions Elementary, Mission Beach Elementary, Pacific Beach Middle.
Horario — programa en San Diego
Quarterly workshops + summer artist residencies · Completamente gratis
Quizás sientes esto
- —Latino surf culture history is absent from school — your child learns about Duke Kahanamoku but not Chicano longboarders.
- —Exhibition opportunities seem reserved for kids whose parents already know gallery owners in La Jolla.
- —Summer artist residencies charge tuition — immersive creative weeks feel impossible from inland San Diego.
Lo que cambia cuando los jóvenes entran al agua
- Exhibition and publication opportunities — galleries, community spaces, and film screenings.
- Integration with watershed and Ocean Stewards programming — art connected to environmental literacy.
- Latino and Chicano surf culture history centers voices commercial surf media erases.
Por qué operamos este programa en San Diego
San Diego is the second-largest city in California with a 30% Hispanic/Latino population and the 2nd-largest school district in the state. Our San Diego programming spans La Jolla Shores, Tourmaline Surfing Park, Mission Beach, and OB Pier, serving San Diego Unified's 98,000 students — with particular focus on Title I middle and high schools in PB, Mission Bay, and Point Loma.
- Población
- 1,386,932
- Residentes BIPOC
- 55%
- Hogares hispanohablantes
- 30%
- Distancia a la playa
- En la costa
Cultural Arts & Storytelling en San Diego — Lo que debes saber
Poetry and spoken word coastal workshops honor San Diego barrio voice — ocean imagery from inland neighborhoods, immigration narratives, and Tijuana River memory.
Free cultural arts workshops in San Diego center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano coastal voices at Un Mar de Colores — quarterly sessions and summer artist residencies with all supplies, guest artists, and exhibition opportunities at zero cost.
Por qué San Diego importa para nuestra misión
When we say free for San Diego youth, we mean wetsuits, soft-tops, rashguards, sunscreen, transportation, and instruction — the full stack commercial programs charge $50–$150 per session for.
San Diego's Spanish-speaking households (30%) get parent communications in both languages, every time. Coastal access fails when language is treated as an afterthought.
Socios comunitarios locales en San Diego
En asociación con el San Diego Unified School District y organizaciones comunitarias locales, reclutamos jóvenes de 5+ escuelas Título I.
Distrito escolar y escuelas Título I
- San Diego Unified School District
- •Kate Sessions Elementary
- •Mission Beach Elementary
- •Pacific Beach Middle
- •Mission Bay High
- •Point Loma High
Socios comunitarios
- ◆San Diego Unified School District
- ◆San Diego Junior Lifeguards
- ◆Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- ◆San Diego Public Library
- ◆Mission Bay Aquatic Center
Currículo del programa
Cultural Arts & Storytelling at Un Mar de Colores is where the surf, the coast, and community narrative meet. Quarterly workshops and summer artist residencies bring together youth, professional artists, and Kumeyaay elders to create work that reflects the living cultural traditions of the California coast. Programs center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices historically marginalized in coastal culture, and every workshop ends with a public exhibition, publication, or film screening that returns the art to the community that made it.
- →Coastal storytelling and oral tradition
- →Kumeyaay history and living culture
- →Latino and Chicano surf culture history
- →Visual arts (painting, mural, photography)
- →Poetry and spoken word
- →Film and documentary-making
Qué se incluye — Gratis para cada joven de San Diego
- ✓All art supplies provided
- ✓Guest-artist workshops
- ✓Exhibition and publication opportunities
- ✓Bilingual instruction
- ✓Culturally grounded curriculum
- ✓Partnership with local galleries and museums
Por qué Un Mar de Colores
Since 2018, Un Mar de Colores has served thousands of youth across San Diego County and the Cali-Baja region — with funding from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors keeping every program 100% free.
Lo que dice nuestra comunidad
“"He used to approach new activities with extreme anxiety — to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get out of the car. Now he goes much deeper into the water."”
Preguntas frecuentes — Cultural Arts & Storytelling en San Diego
Do participants get exhibition opportunities?+
Yes — every workshop cycle aims toward public exhibition, publication, or film screening. Un Mar partners with local galleries and museums to return San Diego youth art to the community — not sell it to tourists.
Can schools from San Diego Unified School District book arts workshops?+
Yes — we partner with Title I schools for culturally grounded arts field experiences. Contact Un Mar to coordinate a San Diego classroom or after-school arts session.
Is Chicano surf culture taught?+
Yes — Latino and Chicano surf culture history modules center longboard traditions, barrio surf scenes, and coastal narratives excluded from mainstream media and San Diego Unified School District curriculum.
¿Los programas de Cultural Arts & Storytelling en San Diego son realmente gratuitos?+
Sí. Todos los programas de Un Mar de Colores en San Diego son 100% gratuitos. Proporcionamos trajes de neopreno 3/2mm, tablas de surf, transporte desde escuelas asociadas como Kate Sessions Elementary, Mission Beach Elementary, Pacific Beach Middle, e instrucción bilingüe certificada. El financiamiento proviene de la San Diego Foundation, subvenciones comunitarias y donantes individuales.
¿Dónde se realizan exactamente las lecciones en San Diego?+
Las lecciones principales se realizan en La Jolla Shores. Todas las sesiones de agua ocurren dentro de las zonas salvavidas de la bandera.
¿Qué edades son elegibles en San Diego?+
Servimos a jóvenes de All ages años. Nuestra Beca One Ocean cubre las edades 6-12, Ocean Stewards After-School sirve a 13-17, y las Becas Atléticas de Surf están disponibles para jóvenes competitivos a través de nuestras asociaciones con San Diego Unified School District.
¿Cómo inscribo a mi hijo/a?+
Contáctenos a través de nuestra página de contacto. La inscripción prioritaria se otorga a estudiantes de Kate Sessions Elementary, Mission Beach Elementary, Pacific Beach Middle y otras escuelas de Título I en San Diego Unified School District. Los grupos de verano suelen llenarse con 3-4 semanas de anticipación.
¿Listo para entrar al agua?
Support the movement or enroll your youth — Un Mar de Colores is building coastal access for San Diego families.
Todos los programas de Un Mar de Colores son gratuitos para jóvenes de San Diego. Contáctanos para inscribirte, hacer voluntariado, o apoyar el movimiento.
Un Mar de Colores es una organización sin fines de lucro 501(c)(3) liderada por personas BIPOC, basada en Oceanside, California. Ofrecemos programación gratuita de surf, océano y educación ambiental para jóvenes en San Diego y Tijuana — conectando culturas, costas y comunidades desde 2018.
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