Meet the Lead Artist Facilitators for Summer 2026!
This summer, two new faces joined the creative chaos of the BYA studio, and we couldn't be more excited to have them on our team.
Pran Gupta joined as our new Graphic Design Facilitator, bringing a practice that lives at the intersection of design, public health, and data storytelling, plus a deep belief that design should say something. Brandon Slewion joined as our Fine Arts Facilitator, an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and muralist whose work explores how our experiences and environments shape who we become.
Different mediums, same throughline: both Pran and Brandon see art as a way for young people to find their voice, and both are already putting that belief to work with Summer Apprentices.
Get to know them below.
Brandon Slewion
Brandon is a Baltimore-based interdisciplinary artist, educator, and muralist who uses painting and public art to explore how our experiences, relationships, and environments shape who we become. He brings six years of experience with young people and a background spanning the Baltimore Museum of Art, Toledo Public Schools, and lead mural work at Bowling Green State University.
This summer, Brandon is one of two lead facilitators on our National Aquarium project, guiding 27 apprentices and interns as they imagine a big question: what will the Inner Harbor look like in the future? 🌊 He teaches from a deep belief in our young people - that they can build healthy, successful, creative lives with a vision that reaches far beyond where they grew up, without ever forgetting where they came from.
Why BYA? "I want to be a positive influence in inspiring the creative dreams of our youth, to show them it's possible to be a healthy, successful artist with a vision that extends beyond the places they grew up, without ever forgetting where they came from."
Pran Gupta
Pran Gupta, BYA’s new Graphic Design Facilitator, is a designer (and MICA grad student) based between Baltimore and NY who makes design feel human, working at the intersection of public health, data, and visual storytelling. She loves breaking conventions, exploring systems, and designing with cultural and emotional intention… plus all things green and time in nature. 🌿
Alongside Brandon, Pran is co-leading our National Aquarium project, helping those same 27 apprentices and interns turn a bold prompt, “What will the Inner Harbor look like in the future?,” into design that communicates and connects. 🌊 This summer, our apprentices get to learn design that says something.
Why BYA? In her words: "I believe that having an accessible community is an amazing resource to grow creatively, especially as youth. BYA does that beautifully and thoughtfully."