Ama Posey

I’m Ama, an artist and art educator, and a queer woman who has made it a priority to stand beside queer and trans youth. At Ama Posey Studios, the art school I founded, I build classes around the work of marginalized artists, because I believe young people deserve to see themselves reflected in the art they study. I also teach painting at Chico State, and I’m the mom of two teenagers, so I know how much growing up can hold. I worked with the care team during its first few years, and I’m so excited to be back after earning my MFA at Sac State. I believe deeply in two things: the healing power of art, and the power of connection. Making something with our hands connects us to ourselves, and to each other. When words feel too heavy or too tangled, art can hold what we can’t say yet. Art gives feelings somewhere to go, creates new neural pathways, and helps us notice what we’re carrying and what we need. And the more we practice our creativity, the more we discover that it has no limit: every blank page holds endless possibilities, and so does our future. What I love most about this work is the one-on-one connection with youth. I believe our community needs mentorship, because no young person should have to figure out who they are alone. I see my role as a kind of mirror: a reflection of how capable, creative, and awesome each young person already is, so they can remember it and see it for themselves. When we show up for one young person, we strengthen the whole community, and I’m honored to be one of the people in their corner.