JOSHUA SOFAER
Social Practice Artist, joshuasofaer.com, @joshuasofaer
"Working in the arts, especially in social practice, there is a thin line between art and life. The work is our life and we put so much of our life into the work. With Justina’s support during River Crossing: I want to communicate with you, I was able to maintain a healthy balance between work and life and feel confident in the project’s progress, even from across the globe.
Justina brought the right amount of urgency to each task and understood what was required to get things done. From the start of the project, her writing and communication skills were immensely helpful. Through emails, phone calls, in-person meetings, and outreach events she helped move the project through each stage smoothly, raised public awareness about the project, and engaged thousands of community members in the participatory stage of the project.
It could have been incredibly frustrating working on this project from London, wondering if someone got your message and if they are ‘on the case’ with it. Happily, communication between us was a dream and I always felt confident knowing that Justina would be back in touch, if not immediately, then at her nearest available moment. It was great to know that I could trust Justina to be there and handle the immediate needs of the project."
AIDA LIZALDE
Artist, aidalizalde.com, @aida_lizalde
"Justina’s analytical feedback and written edits were key in writing an informative, yet concise application. Before I hired her, I saw her research work and could see that she was great at writing and editing so I knew she’d be able to help me. Many people pretend they know what they are doing or just wing it but Justina is professional in her qualifications, proactive and willing to do the work."
CYNTHIA SPEAKMAN
Executive Director of OnStage Theatre Arts, onstagesac.com,
"I enjoy working with Justina because she is patient, kind, professional, and has a sense of humor. She helped my organization, Onstage Theatre Arts, survive the pandemic by helping us develop virtual theatre programs that stimulated new audiences from the comfort of their own homes. She is easy to work with and has helped my organization stay afloat financially. She has helped me compose compelling grant applications and win grant awards, most recently a $20,000 California Arts Council Youth in Schools grant which has allowed us to develop a new children’s after school program in an underserved Sacramento public school."
SHEVAUN ZAKHIR
Artist, Horticulturist, and Business Owner, Mother Natives, mothernatives.com
"I hired Justina to help me apply for an emerging artist grant from the California Arts Council. I had no hesitations about working with Justina and have since recommended her to multiple artist friends for help with grant applications. What I liked best about working with her is that the process felt more like conversations versus filling out forms. It felt personal and that made it easier for me to talk about myself and my artwork. Prior to working with Justina I was overwhelmed by the complexity of the grant questions. Now I feel better equipped to break each question down individually and focus on answering questions individually without stress. What Justina does is so incredibly important and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her!"
MICHAEL PRIBICH
Artist, michaelpribich.com, @michael_pribich
"I suspect people underestimate Justina. She is professional, educated, punctual, fashionable, funny, and prepared to work. I came to her with an important registrar project which needed to get done quickly and Justina helped me complete it successfully. Her sense of curiosity and generosity is fabulous and she was a joy to work with."
NICK SHEPARD
Photographer, nickshepard.com, @nickeshep
"I believe that the Sacramento art scene is in need of robust critical discourse. Because of her involvement in the local art community and connections with local artists through her studies at UC Davis, Justina is well-positioned to comment on the serious art happening here. Though I was initially reluctant to hire anyone to write about my exhibition, I commissioned Justina to write an essay for my “Revision 1” exhibit catalog. It was rewarding to be interviewed by Justina about my work and to read her completed essay. Justina’s essay is an important part of the catalog that I’ve distributed to critics, gallerists, collectors, and other artists over the last couple of years."