By June Peers

Candid Journalism is an up-and-coming online art journal that collects student art primarily from the San Fernando Valley. Since its establishment in the summer of 2024, founder Maya Shtangrud has been on a mission to spread artist voices. Their future plans include publishing monthly issues on their website.

Currently, they have 12 leadership members and have performed outreach to 200 students nationwide, including New York, Michigan, Washington, and Texas. Candid’s rapid growth is a demonstration of how an online presence has the ability to engage talented individuals globally.

Candid is in the process of creating its first online issue, accepting art submissions from any student artist. To prepare for the upcoming issue and gain more readers, Candid has been holding workshops aimed at endorsing creativity and educating the public on ways in which they can connect with figures in the art industry.

On July 13, Candid partnered with Create CA and California State Summer School for the Arts for the third annual Arts Advocacy Day. On the CalArts campus, students participated in arts & crafts, interactive workshops, and games. Candid hosted a booth to inform students about the organization’s mission. They also had students participate in a “speed-run art-making challenge,” highlighting how creating art can be a spontaneous process.

Throughout August and September, Candid held a series of online workshops, allowing students to learn from art experts and gain insight into student leadership opportunities in the arts. At their first workshop, Candid collaborated with Women’s Voices Now (WVN), a nonprofit that utilizes film to promote feminist activism.

WVN’s Executive Director Heidi Basch-Harod informed students about ways they could contribute to the organization’s mission as either a film reviewer or blog writer. At other workshops, Candid highlighted the accomplishments of Emmy-award-winning filmmaker and TEDx speaker Sarah Moshman, and Create CA Senior Manager of Youth Engagement Caitlin Lainoff.

The name Candid reflects Shtangrud’s belief that art should be authentic and emotional. She believes that local art is important for youth to recognize. Though schools offer courses where students can demonstrate their artistic abilities, Shtangrud explains that this isn’t sufficient.

“Going into school, the arts are deemphasized, which was a big surprise for me,” senior Maya Shtangrud said. “Because of that, I wanted to go into the arts sector and provide these opportunities for students across the Valley.”

Ultimately, many mediums can be used to depict art and Candid strives to celebrate all forms of art. The magazine showcases how both journalism and visual art can effectively complement each other, creating an aesthetically pleasing magazine as the end result.

“Words can be used to create poetry,” Shtangrud said. “Words can be effective in communicating a story, but I wanted to allow students to tell their own stories… whatever they felt was interesting and do that through a photograph [or] a drawing.”

Candid Journalism is just one example of how students can make a meaningful impact on their community all while demonstrating their passions. If you are a journalist interested in writing for Candid Journalism or an artist interested in submitting artwork to earn service hours, visit candidjournalism.org. You can also visit their Instagram @candid.journalism.