Xperiential Joins Celebration of Creativity in the Bay Area

Pixar Veteran Elyse Klaidman, CEO and Co-founder of Xperiential, attended the Creative Youth Awards 6th annual Creative Youth Celebration on Saturday, June 27, 2026. The Creative Youth Awards, founded by the Bay Area Creative Foundation, celebrate artistic expression and creativity among high school students from all nine Bay Area Counties across a range of disciplines. Submissions are reviewed by renowned leaders in the arts who share our commitment to uplifting and honoring the next generation of creative voices.

The program culminated in a full-day ceremony, the Creative Youth Celebration, recognizing the achievements of the youth artists. The event was held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, featuring award-winning student art installations, live performances, and youth and professional speakers. These emerging artists were showcased and celebrated across seven creative disciplines: creative writing, dance, film, music performance, original music, photography and visual art. Winners received awards amounting to $100k in cash along with a free one-year subscription to the online learning platform MasterClass.

The room, ready for the workshop

Elyse Klaidman explaining Pixar's storytelling process

High school students working on their "What If?" ideas.

Elyse Klaidman asking students about their story ideas

Elyse Klaidman explaining the feedback process

Elyse Klaidman taking a breather!

Elyse Klaidman presenting to high school students during the "What If? Story as a Creative Superpower" workshop

As part of the celebrations, Elyse Klaidman hosted a storytelling workshop: What If? Story as a Creative Superpower, inspired by the storytelling process used at Pixar, the hands-on experience showed how story is a critical skill across all creative fields from design to entrepreneurship to media. Participants turned something they cared about into a “What if?” idea, shared it, and saw how it evolved through feedback and iteration.

"CYA is a beautiful celebration of the extraordinary youth talent in the Bay Area. It is an affirmation of potential and a wonderful way to encourage and support creative exploration. I was honored to be a small part of the celebration!" said Elyse Klaidman after the event.

This major event has become the most anticipated annual youth arts event in the San Francisco Bay, providing a space for inspiration, creativity, learning, and community. The Creative Youth Celebration is a free public event and is open to the public. View the virtual creative gallery: https://www.creativeyouthawards.org/2026-gallery For more information about the Creative Youth Awards and how to get involved visit: https://www.creativeyouthawards.org