Budding Artists was conceptualized in January 2018 between two friends – Sarah Tanberg and Dakota McMahand, who are experienced and accomplished educators, artists, and social justice advocates, who are passionate about creating sustainable change in under-resourced communities. Our organization was formed out of a response to create a pathway in attracting more students, specifically underrepresented ethnic groups and women into STEM fields, utilizing the arts as a catalyst for change. We fully embody STEAM; it is the movement and implementation of adding fine arts, which is the “A”, into the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. By connecting the art element into STEM fields it equips students who are interested in the STEM career paths with foundational artistic and design skills while also recruiting students into the wonders of STEM who traditionally have not entered the field. Budding Artists serves the Los Angeles County community.

Within our first year, 25 preschool-age children and 20 adults engaged with our process-based art classes through our 2019 Summer Exploration Program at the Lucy Avalos Community Center in partnership with the City of Lynwood Department of Parks and Community Services. More than 90 people attended our Annual Culminating Exhibition which documented our student's creative exploration over the summer. We've served over 300 children and adults since our conception.
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In light of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, we have designed fun Process-Based Art Kits for families with young children between the ages of three and five. These free kits will include art materials, a step-by-step instruction guide in English and Spanish to support our emergent bilingual community, and a link to our online resource materials. The online content includes: instructional videos, allow parents/guardians/learners to connect with our teaching artists, and various social media engagement opportunities, among other resources.