District Arts Office Artist In Residence - Charlie Ciali -  Art Elective Program   2018 - 2021

Charlie Ciali has a B.F.A. degree in Ceramics from Daemen College in Buffalo N.Y and has done graduate studies at Edinboro University in Edinboro, PA. He has served as a Public Arts Commissioner for the City of Palm Springs, President of the Palm Springs High School Arts Institute and President of the Artist Council for the Palm Springs Arts Museum in additional to holding board and leadership roles in many arts organizations.

Charlie has won numerous awards, including, “Best of Show” at the Palm Springs Art Museum and has been featured in many publications. He is a certified Instructor for AKUA Inks by SpeedBall and Enkausikos, a leading supplier of encaustic art supplies. His work has been shown in several galleries and is currently represented by Janssen Art Space in Palm Springs.

In addition to creating a second grade arts program for PSUSD, he taught for three years at several grade schools, and has taught printmaking for PSUSD High School students as an artist in residence. Currently, he teaches art at Landau Elementary and Desert Learning Academy. During Covid he created 34 short art instructional videos for PSUSD. He has taught numerous adult workshops for the Palm Springs Art Museum, Idyllwild Arts, Riverside Museum of Art, as well as workshops for Speedball Inks in printmaking.

“I love to teach”! “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a child or adult have the moment where “they get it” and art all comes together for them. I believe the key to teaching is learning at the same time. The creation of art is never a one-way experience, it is an exchange of ideas, whether it be a septuagenarian, a sixth grader or a 6 year old. Currently, teaching K-12 is both rewarding and exhilarating as an artist. My goal is to teach young people not necessarily how to make art but how to “see”. To open their eyes to the possibilities that the creation and appreciation of art hold.

District Arts Office Artist In Residence - Tysen Knight - Art Elective Program -

Tysen Knight is Pop Urban Artist. He is most popularly known for his street art based on Buddha's teachings and pop art sense. Tysen is inspired by the works of famous street artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. His art style also reflects the styles of Fine Artist Pablo Picasso and Pop Artist Andy Warhol. Tysen was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and grew up in New Jersey, where he finished high school. He decided to skip the idea of going to college and obtained his barbers' license instead and worked with some of the region's top athletes. He moved to California to pursue his passion in the arts and currently resides in the Palm Springs,California.  As a teenager, Tysen communicated his artwork through graffiti on walls and vacant buildings.He was hugely inspired by Andy Warhol. From an early age, Knight got hands-on drawing cartoons and airbrushing them on jeans for $25. He also created business logos.  

Tysen’s documentary, The Art Of Hustle: Street Art Documentary, was a success that motivated him to become a regular gallery contributor, from being a street artist. It won the ''Best Feature Film" Award 2018 at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival.  The production of the documentary, The Art Of Hustle, began in October 2016. Tysen worked sixty hours a week at a barbershop, and when he got days off on Sundays and Mondays, he filmed the documentary for nine months straight. Knight directed the documentary to deliver an inspirational story about all the endeavors and dedication required to achieve goals and dreams and also shed a positive light on street art and graffiti.  

Knight was responsible for a project, "Street Bench Art Pilot" conceived by the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission, the City Council Downtown Subcommittee, and Main Street Palm Springs, which involved decorating the benches throughout downtown Palm Springs. He created a series of benches with the theme, "Urban Desert Palms and Icons" on Palm Canyon Drive between Arenas Road and Museum Way. The icons included Garland, Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Frida Kahlo, and Lucille Ball.  

Knight launched his latest collection of paintings and drawings on October 23, 2019, at www.RobertJamesGallery.com. The works are part of his new Masterpiece Mash-Up Series where he re-imagines paintings by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Grant Wood. The collection debuted in NYC (Time Square) in the last quarter of 2019.  
Knight has worked with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity to build homes for the less fortunate. He has also been involved in activities like preparing meals alongside Midnight Mission for the homeless and mentoring young ‘troubled’ kids to pursue the arts at no cost.  

Knight partnered with The Palm Springs Unified School District and the BAM (Boys Art Mentorship) program in California and utilized his brand of street art to inspire and mentor at-risk youth. During this mentorship program, Tysen engaged students with an interactive program and taught them how to express themselves artistically, which has in return seen the drop-out rate of men of color in these programs reduced.  

Tysen Knight accomplishments and awards include:

• Best Feature Film, at Oregon Documentary Film Festival, in 2018, for his documentary, The Art Of Hustle: Street Art Documentary.
• Best Director Award 2019 at the Marina Del Rey Film Festival for his second film The Art Of Hustle: Homeless Street Artist Documentary. 
• Artist “Spotlight” Award at Red Dot Miami (Art Basel Weekend)  
• Artist Educator-in- Residence for the Palm Springs Art Museum: Jan 23- February 9, 2020 (Sheffer/Scheffler Arts Education Space)  
• Selected as featured artist for (Black History Month) Exhibition on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum: January 17- February 9, 2020  
• Exceptional Community Leader Award’ 2020 (Palm Springs Unified School District)  
• Best Local Visual Artist by CV Independent Readers’ Choice 2021-2022