In celebration of National Women’s History Month, Arts Connection, the Arts Council of San Bernardino County, held a Downtown San Bernardino (DTSB) Art Walk on March 27, 2026 after the transformation last year of Sole Alley, previously known as 4th Street Alley, from overlooked corridor to community art space that holds four events per year in the space. Arts Connection’s recent Art Walk aimed to celebrate National Women’s History Month and featured vendors and artists of all types and ages that were invited to participate–including live painting by Morgan Blake Turner, art activities by teaching artist Emily Kopacz, music performance by local indie rock group Glitter Ghost, and poetry recitations by staff and students from Norton Science and Language Academy. 

“Musicians, local artists, businesses, and, of course, our students got to be a part of [the Art Walk],” said David Tellyer, Norton high school English teacher and Poetry Out Loud coordinator. “Many artists, vendors, and students honored women for National Women’s History Month, sharing their own experiences or the impact that important women in their lives have had.”

To honor women, teachers, students, and artists shared original and classic poems on a stage within Sole Alley. Norton students Aaliyah Boddie (‘26), Aaliyah Higgins (‘29), Malayah Leonard (‘27), for instance, performed an original poem inspired by Maya Angelou entitled “Still We Rise Every Single Day” that they recited collaboratively. Their performance used a rhythmic, call-and-response structure to highlight the mental weight and double-standards society places on women of color–and the solidarity and perseverance that they find in the face of it. 

“Every single day we are expected to give you something new, something better, something smaller, something easier for the world to understand,” Boddie (‘26), Higgins (‘29), and Leonard (‘27) recited. “And when you are black and a woman, the weight grows heavier. We carry history on our skin. We carry expectations in our spine. We carry voices from generations… We are daughters of survival, granddaughters of resilience… no matter the weight, no matter the words, no matter the expectations still we rise every single day.”

Additionally, Tellyer performed two original sonnets–one to honor his mother–a retired teacher with 37 years of experience–and one to honor his sister–an important friend and mentor throughout his life.

“My mentor, the golden flames of her heart burnish tiny wicks of newly crafted candles, seeding generations planted in the soil of the soul’s mix of loving candles,” Tellyer shared in the poem about his mother. “Through the magic of her faith, she grows a garden of hope, watered by charm, singing.”

Other students, including Luis Barajas (‘28) and Anthony Albert (‘27), presented poems, too. Barajas recited “Conscience” by Henry David Thoreau and Albert read Isaiah 55 from the Bible. Local poet Brandon Allen also shared multiple pieces throughout the evening.    

Poetry Out Loud Society Adviser Melissa Maldonado noted the impact and relatability of performed poetry from different voices. 

“Poetry shared out loud can connect people who might not be into something literary or artistic,” Maldonado said. “And because it was to honor National Women’s History Month many people could relate to the poems shared because everyone has an important woman in their life, whether it is a mom, friend, sister, or partner.”

Visual artists also engaged in collaborative practices to honor women. 

Kopacz, known for her physical prints and digital artwork that includes references to pop culture, recognized artist and activist Faith Ringgold’s collage-making techniques, gathering fabrics and other materials to make a cohesive piece that emphasizes community and advocacy against injustice.  

“Ringgold’s work and my own work is about believing anyone has the ability to create,” Kopacz said. “As an arts educator, I think that if someone has the materials and the inspiration, they can make something.” 

Turner also adopted a collage-style approach for her live painting, stockpiling art pieces bought from different vendors around the Art Walk to create a still life. Turner noted that live painting embodies the unedited imperfections of the human condition. 

“Happy mistakes happen all the time,” Turner explained. “I just go with it. A lot of my artwork right now is experimenting with new mediums.” 

Turner added that she feels it is important for diverse local artists to share their work at events like the ArtWalk because it challenges dominant mindsets about who and what deserves to be studied and remembered. She noted that Kara Walker, a Black female painter like Turner, is a huge inspiration for her–especially within the predominantly white canon of art history. 

“I enjoyed [my art history] courses,” Turner said. “But I also hated those courses because when it comes to art history there are not a lot of people that look like me. And that made me question who decides who is a great artist and who is not.”

Indie rock band Glitter Ghost performed at the end of the night, offering a different perspective on honoring women. Lead singer Pixel Nova explained that difficult emotions are often diminished, especially for women in society, and that writing songs that capture feelings of anger and hurt creates a place for listeners to process them free of judgement.  

“I want to talk about feelings that maybe aren’t explored publicly, that might be deemed taboo, like anger and resentment,” Nova explained. “I am not a person that thinks anger is negative or hurt is negative. It is a human experience like everything else… I feel like we need to stop demonizing all ranges of human experience and talk about it. Make it art, make it something expressive, and let it go.”

Nova also noted that local music spaces and events to perform at make people aware of talent in their own backyard. 

“This is my first band ever,” Nova said. “Local places like this to perform are important for artists… And I would love for my community to know who I am, so that I could also help other artists like myself around here.”

Participants shared that the Art Walk showed signs of growing a local art space, something that is often deemed not as prominent in San Bernardino compared to neighboring regions.  

“Events like this show we have a big enough arts community to put on events and grow a community,” Kopacz said. “San Bernardino has plenty of creative input here, so we don’t need to go outside and venture from our city and area. The Inland Empire can offer its own creative spaces like Orange County and Los Angeles.” 

“As a school we got to learn from community members,” Tellyer said. “Next time we can do better at getting more students and people to show up and participate. It is important that we advertise that anyone can share something meaningful.”

Correction – April 22, 2026 – An earlier version of the article stated that the Art Walk was the “first” since the transformation of Sole Alley. The article has been updated to reflect that other art/cultural events have been held in the past year at the location.