Betsy Casañas is a studio artist and a public mural artist, a community activist and educator who was born and raised in the heart of “The Badlands” of North Philadelphia’s barrio. She studied art at Moore College of art and Design where she received her Bachelors in Fine Arts and has worked in the Latino community since 1994. Casañas has exhibited her work in various solo and group exhibits and has designed over 40 public murals and mosaics nationally and internationally. In 2007 Casañas, co-founded The Semilla Arts a grass roots initiative that uses collaborative art as a means of empowering individuals and communities in underserved areas. In 2010 Casanas opened “A Seed of Diamond Gallery” a community space where artists of different cultural background gather to tell their stories through spoken word, music and visual arts.