MEET THE TEAM
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Lenore French is the President and Founder of Transformation Arts. Named Impact Maker-Los Angeles by CityLab, French brings together people from public, private, community, and government agencies to create change through the arts. She has served as curator/project manager on numerous public art projects, including the recently completed Wilmington Town Square project (“WTS”), a partnership between CD-15 (the Office of Councilmember Tim McOsker), LANI-Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative and Transformation Arts.
In addition to co-founding the Mar Vista Art Walk, French is also co-founder of the Venice-Mar Vista Arts Coalition, a coalition of 30 WLA arts nonprofits and artists as well as a member of the Board Directors of historic Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice, CA.
As a former Paramount Studios television executive she worked with many broadcast luminaries -- Jim Brooks, James Burrows, the Charles brothers, Gary Marshall, Norman Lear, David Wolper, Sam Goldwyn Jr., and author Alex Haley – on numerous award-winning television programs.
She began her career working on 25 Black history documentaries for the New York Times' Arno Press. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University and attended the Masters in Fine Arts Program in Film and Television at NYU.
French is one of twenty-five women profiled in the recently released book We Were There: The Third World Women’s Alliance and the Second Wave (Feminist Press), about the well-known 1970s radical feminist collective for women of color of which she was an early member.
lenore@transformationarts.org
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Art Consultant
A former political science and international relations student, Jideofor (“Jide”) Chikeruba transitioned into the art realm during his college years. Before joining Transformation Arts, he served as an exhibition designer at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) including at its Hammer Museum.
Additionally, Jide has curated art exhibits for Aziz Gallerie in Leimert Park where he collaborated with a team of Howard University graduates to mount multiple exhibitions and organized events synchronizing multi-disciplinary, cinematic projection, musicians and other multi-genre performers.
He currently also serves as Program Assistant at the Los Angeles exhibition space of the renowned Jeffrey Deitch Gallery.
jide@transformationarts.org
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Marketing & Administration
As our 2023 Los Angeles County Arts Intern, Brandon assisted in the organization rebranding to Transformation Arts, working with all members of the marketing team (content, web design, graphic arts and SEO) and participating in all phases of the process. A Fine and Cinematic Arts major at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) matriculating in 2025, he has distinguished himself there by serving as an ASU Senator, Founder of its Black Student Union and Founder of the Photography Club. As a volunteer for My Friend’s House, he participates in free food and clothing giveaways in Los Angeles’ Skid Row.
brandon@transformationarts.org
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Arts Equity Intern
Our current Los Angeles County Arts Intern, Joannah, is a LA County based multi-disciplinary arts creative. She graduated from Long Beach City College (LBCC) in 2024 with honors and an AS-T in Film as well as an AA-T in Art History. During her time at LBCC she served as the Secretary and Head of Marketing of Umoja, a club aimed at giving black students a social network within an academic setting. She is determined to help enrich the creative culture within Los Angeles County, especially when it comes to underserved communities or ones that are currently struggling with gentrification. She believes the best way to go about this is by uplifting LA based artists and giving them the tools and resources they need to contribute to the legacy of our city.
joannahj@transformationarts.org
