Bren Bataclan

Thanks to a generous grant from the Burlington Education Foundation the Cambridge Street Gallery is exhibiting the work of artist Bren Bataclan. Bren is displaying work from the "Kulap" series that is about his immigration to United States from the Philippines and his personal story.

Bren Bataclan is a Cambridge-based artist who was born in the Philippines and grew up in the San Francisco area. Prior to becoming a full time artist, Bren taught design and computer animation at UMass Amherst and the Museum School. 

​In the early 2000s, Bren began giving away paintings in public spaces with a note saying, "This painting is yours if you promise to smile at random people more often." Since then, he has given away 3,000 paintings in 70 different countries and to all 50 U.S. states. Schools began to ask Bren to give presentations about his kindness-related street art project. His presentations led to 150 mural projects for schools, hospitals and businesses. Heinemann Press published an elementary school textbook entitled, "The Smile Artist," about his artwork. And in 2017, he gave a TEDxTalk about his street art project. Bren received his BA in design at UCLA (summa cum laude) and his MA in computer animation at the Ohio State University.