Speak Not So Easy was a socially engaged art project developed with young people in Monterey from 2023–2025. Through weekly gatherings, participants explored questions about themselves, their communities, and the world around them, creating space for thoughts and feelings that could be difficult to express elsewhere. The project developed through conversation, experimentation, and making rather than a predetermined curriculum. Participants created videos as forms of self-expression and collaborated on The Umbrella of Humanity, a participatory public art installation inviting dialogue, connection, and shared understanding.

The project became an important step toward Dream Lab, shaping my approach to creating artist-led spaces where young people can develop ideas, make decisions, and build culture together.