SAF Co-Founder and Judge

John Lakov is an internationally exhibited, Boston-based multimedia artist known for figurative works. He founded the Somerville Art Fair in 2025 with his wife, Michelle, out of a desire to help artists showcase their work as small business owners and connect with their community. Born in New Jersey, John’s mother taught him how to draw and paint from a young age and helped guide the start of his artistic path. He publishes his work under the name Sanidad Design as a tribute to his mother and Filipino heritage. His art can be found in private collections across the United States as well as internationally.

John’s work serves as a mirror, reflecting the evolving facets of how we define and express ourselves. Each piece seeks to contribute to this transformative narrative, inviting you to question old biases and give way to a more compassionate and equitable vision of who we are. Through his exaggerated figures that blend humor with unfiltered reality, the conventional boxes that once held the definitions of identity are being deconstructed, revealing an honest and more multifaceted tapestry of the self.

Judge

Carlie Febo is a photographer, museum educator, and creative collaborator based in Boston & Providence, RI.  Since receiving her degree in Photography from Lesley College of Art & Design in 2010 and her Master's degree in Museum Education from Tufts University in 2016, she has worked in multiple art institutions and organizations around Boston such as deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, Bow Market, Urbano Project, MassLEAP, and Boston Center for the Arts. Currently, Carlie champions small businesses at Bow Market through her role in marketing and lead photographer.

Carlie fuses her love of community, art, and photography in all that she does. She approaches her work through the lens of joy, as an active choice. She intentionally captures artists, makers, chefs, and small businesses that live their passions loudly each day. Carlie is interested in fostering experiences that focus on self-empowerment and reclamation.

Judge

Michael Talbot is a Jamaican-born, Boston-based Freelance Artist and visual story-teller who has worked on a wide range of projects, murals, exhibitions, and showcases since 2012. His work, often narrative-driven, is most characterized by the keen use of motion, negative space, as well as a limited palette reminiscent of graphic novels and other forms of sequential art. 

Michael believes that all art is inter-connected in some facet; informing, complimenting and/or enhancing each other. And although his passion and interest for storytelling is forefront in his practice and craft, he tends to draw from his knowledge in multiple areas of study to help strengthen this process. Whenever possible, he uses his rich cultural background from his early life in Jamaica to infuse, improve, and “season” whatever project he tackles, often mixing both digital and traditional media.

Co-Founder

Michelle Lakov is the co-founder and organizer of the Somerville Art Fair and serves on the board of Mudflat Pottery in Somerville, Massachusetts. She works with artists and arts organizations to create opportunities for local makers to share their work, connect with audiences, and build sustainable creative practices.

Professionally, Michelle is the Senior Director of Product Marketing at EMARKETER, where she brings more than a decade of experience helping companies understand markets, audiences, and growth opportunities. She translates that experience into practical marketing guidance for artists, teaching marketing and branding workshops through organizations like Artists For Humanity and mentoring artists one-on-one.

Michelle is passionate about helping artists build confidence in sharing their work, connect with new audiences, and develop sustainable creative careers.

Guest Judge and SAF 2025 Alum

Julia Emiliani is an award-winning freelance illustrator & designer living in Boston. She work with large companies, small businesses, and local business owners to create warm, accessible, vibrant artwork for murals, packaging, maps, advertising, brand design & more.

The natural world is a source of inspiration for Julia’s artistic work – landscapes, plants, fruits, and the sky catch my eye the most. She is intrigued by the vibrant life in elements we otherwise pass by, overlook, or consume. Julia’s work is a means of exploring and documenting these elements. With rich color and a keen sense of natural light and shadow, she aim to convey the chromatic aliveness of this subject matter.