Encanto
San Diego 
Black Arts & Culture District

About Graffiti Gardens

[ the journey ]

a sanctuary for the spirit, a container for creativity, and a community hub for artistic and personal growth.

Inclusions

Graffiti Gardens is a vibrant sanctuary where creativity, healing, and community meet. Rooted in the belief that art is a pathway to inner truth, the space invites people to slow down, express themselves freely, and reconnect with their imagination. Through murals, collective art-making, and immersive experiences, it offers a grounding environment where creativity feels both sacred and accessible.

As both a creative hub and a community container, Graffiti Gardens cultivates belonging and personal growth. Workshops, gatherings, and programs like “Conversations About Nothingness” encourage reflection, dialogue, and exploration beyond the surface. Artists, neighbors, and visitors of all ages are welcomed into a space that centers authenticity, curiosity, and collective well-being.

More than a studio, Graffiti Gardens is a living canvas — constantly growing, shifting, and blossoming with new energy. Every wall, conversation, and creative moment becomes a seed of transformation. It is a place where expression is celebrated, stories take shape, and community members are inspired to imagine, heal, and grow together.

Staff

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Maxx Moses

Maxx Moses is a visionary muralist, educator, and community builder whose vibrant, transformative works blend graffiti, culture, and spirituality. Through Graffiti Gardens and global public art, he inspires creativity, connection, and self-expression across generations and communities.

    • transforms blank walls into richly symbolic, dream-like, energetic visual spaces — a fusion of Wild-style graffiti lettering, surrealism, African symbolism, organic forms and cosmic energy. wall-therapy.com+2SD Voyager+2

    • His work often draws from inner visions, dreams, ancestral roots, and a spiritual sensibility — aiming to connect people with deeper self-identity, imagination, and communal energy.

    • Over decades, Maxx Moses has painted murals and installations around the world — major cities in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, South America, Africa, and more. BlackNews.com+2indianvoices.net+2

    • At home in San Diego, he founded and runs a creative space / collective called Graffiti Gardens — an indoor/outdoor studio and community hub, providing art classes, workshops, youth programming, and collaborative projects. Canvas Rebel+2maxxmoses.com+2

    • His art is deeply rooted in community activism — using murals, public art, and empowerment workshops to give voice to underrepresented communities, to foster belonging, creative expression, and cultural pride. Times of San Diego+2San Diego Foundation+2

    • For him, graffiti and street art are more than visual — they are spiritual, social, and transformative. His graffiti-roots gave him a voice, and he aims to use that voice to inspire, uplift, and heal. SD Voyager+2Poetry & Art San Diego+2

    • He views self-expression as a human necessity. Through art, he believes people can tap into deeper energies, memories, identity and possibility — breaking beyond conventional boundaries. San Diego Foundation+1

    • His book Say Word (Art & Affirmation) extends this philosophy — combining visual art and affirmations designed to encourage strength, creativity, self-belief, and collective positivity. BlackNews.com+1

Giselle Rocha

Giselle Rocha is an artist, arts educator, and community advocate dedicated to creativity, youth empowerment, and cultural connection. With over a decade of experience, she blends visual arts, mentorship, and community engagement to inspire belonging, growth, and creative expression across communities..

  • Giselle’s artistic voice blends vibrant color, symbolism, and emotion, drawing from lived experiences, community stories, and cultural identity. Her work often bridges fine art and community arts practice — weaving illustration, mixed media, and creative facilitation into pieces that center healing, belonging, and authenticity.
    As both artist and educator, she sees creativity as a tool for liberation and collective growth.

  • Across organizations including heARTSpace, Agency 515, San Diego Creative Youth Development Network, and Monarch School, Giselle has shaped programs that uplift young people, emerging leaders, and community storytellers.
    Her work spans curriculum design, arts education, community engagement, and collaborative creative projects that foster confidence, self-expression, and intergenerational connection.
    She continues to serve arts organizations, collectives, and youth through mentorship, workshops, and community-driven initiatives.

  • For Giselle, art is a pathway to empowerment. Her approach centers care, cultural grounding, and accessibility — ensuring creativity is a space where everyone can see themselves, heal, and grow.
    She believes that community-rooted arts have the power to shift narratives, build relationships, and spark personal transformation. Through her teaching, organizing, and art-making, she works to cultivate spaces where imagination thrives and people feel seen, valued, and inspired.