The Illuminaries are a collective of professional street and mural artists based in the Bay Area. The core members include Steve Ha, Tim Hon, Romali Licudan, and Eric Nodora, who specialize in creating high-impact and energizing murals and designs. They are known for their vibrant, collaborative work that revitalizes public spaces through the creative use of traditional and digital mediums.
Arely Cardenas is a first-generation Mexican-American, queer artist from San Jose, CA. Her work, vibrant and intricate, draws inspiration from her cultural heritage, Mother Nature, and the female form. Focused on uplifting and empowering individuals, Arely’s portraits celebrate strength, beauty, and resilience. She was the designer of the 2024 San Jose Sharks Pride Jersey, bringing her vision of inclusivity and cultural pride in her hometown.
Suhita Shirodkar is a visual journalist, illustrator and an educator who teaches locally and around the world. Her body of work varies widely in subject, but it all ties back to a single, underlying aim: to see and capture the world around her as a traveler would, viewing both the everyday and the unfamiliar with fresh eyes. Suhita has been the recipient of grants to support her community-focused art from the Knight Foundation (for her body of work on vintage signs of San Jose) and the Belle Foundation.
Sarah (@sarahphamtattoo) is a first-generation, Vietnamese-American born and raised in San Jose who is currently a tattoo artist at the Holy Scythe Tattoo parlor located near SAP Center. Sarah was the designer of the 2023 Sharks Lunar New Year Jersey.
Edgar Ochoa is a Mexican-American artist born and raised in San Jose, California. His family immigrated from Guamúchil, Sinaloa in 1989. As many immigrants do, they came with very little and struggled to get situated in the United States. During their first years in the states, his family lived in a small garage in downtown San Jose, and eventually moved to a cramped one bedroom home. Regardless of the setting, his affinity for drawing and painting started in those small homes, and has remained present ever since he could hold a pencil. In grade school, he would spend the majority of his time drawing animals, letters, comic book characters, and cartoons. The amount of time spent putting pen and pencil to paper eventually landed him his first job as an artist. He began working as a caricature artist at an amusement park at the age of 15. During the same period of time, his interest for graffiti and aerosol art grew.
From a young age he had always been fascinated by graffiti lettering and street murals, and in his teenage years he decided to take to tunnels and train tracks to begin painting large scale murals of his own. His artistic style is heavily influenced by graffiti art and cartoon illustrations. It's a mix of vibrant energetic coloration contrasting against the outlines of dark shapes and lines. To this day, he still enjoys drawing and painting the same things he did in his youth, and remains heavily connected to the artistic and creative community.
He currently serves as Director of Community Engagement Program at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Aside from his role at the Plaza, he teaches art to local youth and is a freelance muralist, caricaturist and illustrator.
Chetna Mehta (she/they) is a granddaughter of Indian and South African diasporas. She is a multidisciplinary artist, alchemist, facilitator and founder of Mosaiceye Collective. They offer resources, programs and spaces for creative reflection, learning, play and expansive connection with women and non-binary changemakers. Chetna holds a BA in Social Sciences from Cal Poly University SLO and a MA in Counseling Psychology from The Wright Institute. She is currently living, making and tending on Muwekma Ohlone tribal land, known as San Jose, CA.
