REDWOOD CITY, CA — A 10-year-old girl stands frozen in a black-and-white portrait, gazing at a yellow beaded bracelet wrapped around her wrist.
"I made this bracelet to remember my bunny," Dayanna says in an accompanying audio recording. "If my bracelet could talk, it would say my bunny misses me."
Her story is one of more than two dozen featured in "Objects of Belonging," a multimedia exhibit created by San Mateo County Youth Arts Fellow Taryn Hwang and now on display at the Center for Creativity in downtown Redwood City.
Each portrait is paired with a QR code that lets visitors hear participants explain why the object they are holding matters to them.
"One of the things I love most about art and history is their ability to reveal the stories behind our lived experiences," Hwang said. "Even though they were often very ordinary, the stories behind them were definitely extraordinary."
The San Mateo resident is one of five San Mateo County Youth Arts Fellows who recently completed a year of service through the County's Office of Arts and Culture. The fellowship selects one young artist from each supervisorial district to develop a public art project that engages the community.
"What stands out to me is how these local high school students find ways to bring people together through art," Mara Grimes of the Office of Arts and Culture said. "They're creating spaces for people to share meaningful experiences through music, photography, writing and design."
The exhibit includes stories from people of all ages. One participant holds mandala artwork symbolizing peace, another shares the story behind a college ID connected to a deceased parent, and a 79-year-old Army veteran poses with a bowl once used by her beloved cat.
A closing reception for "Objects of Belonging" will be held Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Center for Creativity.
The other 2025-26 Youth Arts Fellows also completed community-based projects during the program, including an LGBTQ+ storytelling project, a teen mental health workshop combining music and movement, an intergenerational writing and art collaboration, and a youth design initiative exploring the future through art.
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