Demetri Broxton is a prolific artist.

In 2022, he was one of 30 whose work the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco acquired with a $1 million grant from the Svane Family Foundation.

Broxton was recently part of the group shows Allegedly the Worst is Behind Us at the Institute of Contemporary Art, San José, and Under the Sky at Berkeley’s Kala Art Institute—and he’s currently showing work at the Guardhouse at Fort Mason (through August 17th), as well as Black Gold: Stories Untoldat Fort Point (through November 2nd).

But even with a thriving art practice, Broxton (who is also a father) continues to give his time in support of art and artists, including years spent working as senior director of education at the Museum of the African Diaspora.

Demetri Broxton with 'Victoria'(Courtesy of the artist and Patricia Sweetow Gallery)

Now, Broxton is bringing his experience to Root Division, coming on as the executive director after the departure of former head Michelle Mansour after 17 years on the job (she’s now director emeritus).

Root Division is a unique nonprofit that offers artists studio space in return for volunteer work. They also have exhibitions of both emerging and mid-career artists (Lay of the Land opened this week), and classes for adults and children.

It's the organization’s mission and how it lines up with Broxton’s interests that convinced him to take on the job.

“I had friends tell me: you should apply to be an executive director somewhere—that’ll be your next move,” Broxton says. “I was like, ‘Never!’ but when I saw the position for Root Division open, I was excited—mainly because of the studio artist program. That was really the core for me. I also love that there are these beautiful galleries that we program with exhibitions. Also, I had been doing arts education, so it just kind of brings everything together.”

Broxton has plenty of ideas for the organization’s direction, and he implemented some of them at its annual fundraiser last month. Previously called Taste, the most recent iteration—Flourish—recognized artist alums of the program, and named its first annual “Arts Champion.”

Eleanor Scholz, 'Divining Debris,' Silver (detail), 2025 is one of the pieces on display at Root Division's new exhibition 'Lay of the Land.'(Courtesy of @rootdivision)

“Flourish was this opportunity to shift a little bit and to focus on artists as the center of what we do,” Broxton says. “We wanted to both honor our current studio artists and look to the past artists who had gone through Root Division and have been successful in their art careers, but are also giving back to the community—which is part of our ethos here.”

One of those artists, Kija Lucas, appreciates her work being recognized. Lucas came to Root Division in search of a spot where she could be around other artists after graduating from Mills College. That’s also one reason Alexander Hernandez joined the organization after graduating from California College of the Arts—that, and the teaching opportunities his fellowship gave him.

Nimah Gobir came to Root Division right after finishing a master’s in education with an emphasis on art at Harvard University. Getting subsidized studio space and a teaching fellowship in the Bay Area, where she grew up, was ideal, she says.

The inaugural Arts Champion award went to artist JD Beltran, president of the San Francisco Arts Commission. She wrote the foreward to the catalogues for Root Division’s shows featuring MFA graduates of Bay Area programs—a kind of attention for emerging artists that’s virtually unheard of—and has also contributed work to Root Division’s annual auction for the past 15 years.

Not only does the event raise money to support the organization’s work, but it’s a great opportunity for artists, she says. “Administration invites collectors, and if you get a great collector to start buying your work, it can help you land a professional gallery. It’s exciting to go to the auctions. They also have really high-end work by international artists.”

Beltran and all three artist alumni say they’re excited about Broxton’s leadership. Like Mansour, he understands the demands of their schedules.

Nimah Gobir, one of the artist alums recently honored at 'Flourish'(Drew Altizer Photography)

“He’s an artist, a parent, and has a full-time job,” says Lucas, who has three adjunct teaching jobs along with her art practice. “He gets it.”

When the organization started in 2002, Broxton says, San Francisco had a more affordable landscape for artists. He hopes to lessen the burden for them going forward.

“The concept was really about artists volunteering their time,” he said. “We want to reduce that, and we want to provide more resources for them in terms of all the artists having professional development opportunities and mentorship. We've been participating in art fairs to really expose them to more opportunities to grow their career.”

Those opportunities are invaluable, Gobir says. People who get art degrees can underestimate how hard it is to establish a career.

“Root Division does really well at getting artists through that awkward, gangly period of ‘I love making art, but how do I afford studio space?’” she says. Volunteering in different areas can also help newer artists learn about the art world. “You can volunteer to install work or to bartend at events. The exposure is important.”

Being honored at Flourish means a lot to Gobir.

“It’s cool to have a strong feeling about and strong appreciation for an organization and feel that reflected back,” she says. “We need galleries and other institutions, but it’s like Root Division is saying we need our artists as well.”

Demetri Broxton and artist alumni honoree, Alexander Hernandez(Drew Altizer Photography)