Richmond Art Center
Richmond Art Center

Press Release: Richmond Art Center Announces Artists-in-Residence Liberación Gráfica

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 6, 2022

Richmond Art Center Announces Artists-in-Residence Liberación Gráfica

Residency to include community screen printing events, summer youth class and a major exhibition 

Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center (RAC) is excited to announce Liberación Gráfica, a community-based art collective, as this year’s Artists-in-Residence. With major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Liberación Gráfica will lead two summer art programs that will engage Richmond youth and the greater Richmond community through hands-on screen printing workshops. 

Beginning in mid-June Liberación Gráfica will be out in the community bringing screen printing to events and locations throughout Richmond (details and schedule below).

Additionally, Liberación Gráfica will teach a summer youth class at Richmond Art Center focused on screen printing through a social justice lens. Students will be introduced to basic materials and techniques of silkscreen printing, while choosing a theme that is related to community, culture, social justice, and/or societal issues. This six-week class is open to Richmond youth by referral.

The residency will culminate in a fall exhibition in Richmond Art Center’s Main Gallery showcasing work created by Richmond youth, Liberación Gráfica, and other invited community artists. The exhibition will run from September 13 through to November 17, 2022. Public programs tba.

Screen Printing in the Community: This summer Liberación Gráfica will be out in Richmond engaging youth and families at community events and local gathering places with live screen printing demonstrations. The prints will raise awareness to social issues faced in Richmond while reflecting the joy and resilience of the community. The goal of this project is to bring art directly to the people and inspire the community to engage with Richmond and each other through art. 

Schedule:
Liberación Gráfica at the Richmond Juneteenth Festival
Saturday, June 18, 12pm-3pm
Nicholls Park, 3230 Macdonald Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804

Liberación Gráfica at Low Rider Sundays
Sunday, July 31 12pm-3pm
23rd Street Between Grant Avenue and Rheem Ave 

Liberación Gráfica at Richmond Flea Market
Sunday, August 21,12pm-3pm 
716 W. Gertrude Avenue, Richmond, CA 94801

More dates and locations to be announced. If you are interested in inviting Liberación Gráfica to a community event this summer, please contact Roberto Martinez at roberto@richmondartcenter.org

About the Artists-in-Residence: Liberación Gráfica is a community based art collective whose mission is to provide opportunities for self and community expression through silkscreen printing. The collective is made up of Richmond-based artists, teachers, and community organizers: Eddy Chacon, Lisette Vera, Daniel Cervantes and Francisco Rojas. Liberación Gráfica was established in 2019 and since has worked towards teaching youth the process of silkscreen printing through a social justice lens with the intention to bridge gaps between communities of color and bring awareness to social injustices faced by the Richmond community. 



Images: (top artwork) Daniel Cervantes, Real G’s Grow Food, 2020, Screenprint; (above logo) Eddy Chacon, Liberación Gráfica Logo, 2022; (above photo) Liberación Gráfica printing at Richmond Art Center’s Family Day, May 2022


 
About Richmond Art Center
 
Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org
 
For more information contact:
Roberto Martinez, Curator, roberto@richmondartcenter.org

 

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Press Release: Announcing Richmond Art Center’s Summer Exhibitions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2022

Announcing Richmond Art Center’s Summer Exhibitions

June – August 2022
Richmond Art Center
2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804
Gallery Hours: Wed-Sat, 10am-4pm
Exhibitions and events are all free and open to the public


Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center will present four new exhibitions this summer that shine a spotlight on artists with vital stories to share: Collective Care Is Our Best ProtectionThe Eastern Shore: Works by J.B. BroussardWomen Weaving Stories, and Emmy Lou Packard: Artist of Conscience.

Collective Care Is Our Best Protection

South Gallery
Exhibition Dates: June 22 – August 20, 2022
Reception: Saturday, June 18, 2pm-4pm

Collective Care Is Our Best Protection brings together a group of women artists who are at the forefront in activating public consciousness through muralism and printmaking. Created during the pandemic, the work on display illustrates the healing and protective power that resides in the act of collective care. Included are two large scale portable murals: one painted by Elaine Chu and Marina Perez-Wong from Twin Walls Mural Company; and the other painted by Keena RomanoLeslie Dime LopezVanessa Agana Espinoza Solari and Yazmin Shi Shi Madriz. Complementing the murals is a series of collages and prints by Favianna Rodriguez.  

The Eastern Shore: Works by J.B. Broussard

West Gallery
Exhibition Dates: June 8 – July 23, 2022
Reception: Saturday, June 18, 2pm-4pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, July 9, 12pm-1pm


In his solo exhibition, The Eastern ShoreJ.B. Broussard presents a selection of bronze sculptures, drawings and paintings that honors the legacy and expressions of freedom of the great 19th century abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.

This exhibition is part of Art of the African Diaspora: Luminaries, a series of four solo exhibitions that shine a spotlight on the remarkable work of artists who have participated in Art of the African Diaspora but who have maintained an inconspicuous public image throughout their storied artistic careers. 

Women Weaving Stories – Mujeres Tejiendo Historias – Eje xuj nchachmon qa o che ex tuj

Community Gallery
Exhibition Dates: June 1 – August 20, 2022
Reception: Saturday, June 25, 2pm-4pm
Collaborative Learning Circle: Saturday, July 30, 1:30pm-3:30pm


Women Weaving Stories is an exhibition of a newly released art zine created by members of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) an organization of Latina and Indigenous immigrant women with a dual mission of promoting personal transformation and building community power for social and economic justice. This project was done in partnership with NAKA Dance Theater. The zine was created by Latina and Indigenous immigrant women who came together in a series of collaborative learning circles where art was used as a medium to share stories, learn from each other, and give voice to their lived experiences as immigrant women in the United States. This exhibition is presented in Mam, Spanish and English. Oakland and the larger Bay Area is home to the largest Mam speaking community outside of Guatemala. 

Emmy Lou Packard: Artist of Conscience

Main Gallery
Exhibition Dates: June 22 – August 20, 2022
Reception: Saturday, June 18, 2pm-4pm
How Emmy Lou Packard Made Her Prints (demo): Sat, July 16, 12pm-2pm
Rebel Art: Emmy Lou Packard’s Legacy (panel): Fri, July 29, 6pm-7:30pm
Film screening of Rivera In America: Thurs, August 11, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Closing Reception Ft Great Tortilla Conspiracy: Sat, August 20, 12pm-2pm


Artist of Conscience explores the life and work of Emmy Lou Packard (1914-1998), a remarkable artist known for her paintings, prints and murals, as well as her activism. Packard’s linoleum prints celebrated ordinary people — their work, their history and their environment. Through artworks, photos and ephemera, the exhibition is be organized around key periods of Packard’s life. Packard was mentored by Diego Rivera and became his principal assistant on the mural he painted on Treasure Island for the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1940 (currently on view at SFMOMA). During WWII Packard worked at Kaiser shipyard’s newspaper, Fore ‘n’ Aft, in Richmond. Later in life, Packard mentored a generation of mostly female and Chicana artists in the Bay Area. She also led the movement to save the Mendocino headlands from development. 

This exhibition is curated by Robbin Légère Henderson and Rick Tejada-Flores.

Images (clockwise from top left): Twin Walls Mural Company, Protectors of the Sacred, Power: A Prayer for Buffalo Nation, 2020; Image: J.B. Broussard, The General, 2021; Emmy Lou Packard, Artichoke Picker (detail), circa 1955; J. Ramirez Pablo, Untitled, 2021
 
About Richmond Art Center
 
Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org
 
For more information contact:
Roberto Martinez, Curator, roberto@richmondartcenter.org

 

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Press Release: Emmy Lou Packard: Artist of Conscience

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Exhibition Announcement:

Emmy Lou Packard: Artist of Conscience

June 22 – August 20, 2022

Richmond Art Center
2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804
Gallery Hours: Wed-Sat, 10am-4pm

Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center announces Artist of Conscience, an exhibition exploring the life and work of Emmy Lou Packard (1914-1998), a remarkable artist known for her paintings, prints and murals, as well as her activism. 

Presenting artwork, photos and ephemera, and organized around key periods of Packard’s life, Artist of Conscience will tell the story of this remarkable, though over-looked, artist. 

Packard was mentored by Diego Rivera and became his principal assistant on the mural he painted on Treasure Island for the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1940 (currently on view at SFMOMA). During WWII Packard worked at Kaiser shipyard’s newspaper in Richmond, Fore ‘n’ Aft, creating images that urged ending racial segregation and supported voting rights. After that, she turned to printmaking, creating portraits of workers, explorations of the joys of childhood, the beauty of nature and the importance of history. One of her signature images distributed around the world, Peace is a Human Right, shows three children, Asian, Black and White, seated around a sunflower. The message is framed in human terms — children are not political; they are just children. Later in life, Packard inspired and mentored a generation of mostly female and Chicana artists in the Bay Area. She also led the movement to save the Mendocino headlands from development.

This exhibition is curated by Robbin Légère Henderson and Rick Tejada-Flores.

Emmy Lou Packard: Artist of Conscience will be presented at the same time as SFMOMA’s exhibition Diego Rivera’s America (opening July 16, 2022), offering audiences the opportunity to learn about Packard’s mentor and understand her oeuvre within a broader artistic movement focused on social change and justice. Richmond Art Center is working in partnership with SFMOMA on a collaborative public program (to be announced).

The exhibition at Richmond Art Center is supported by funding from California Humanities and The Jay DeFeo Foundation. Collectors and organizations generously loaning work include Mendocino Art Center, and Emmy Lou Packard’s son Donald Cairns and granddaughter Shannon Cairns. 

Exhibition and Public Programs Schedule

Exhibition and events are free to attend. All programs will take place at Richmond Art Center.

Emmy Lou Packard: Artist of Conscience
Curated by Robbin Légère Henderson and Rick Tejada-Flores
Exhibition Dates: June 22 – August 20, 2022

Open Reception
Event Date: Saturday, June 18, 2pm-4pm

How Emmy Lou Packard Made Her Prints
Demonstration of Packard’s press by master printer Art Hazelwood
Event Date: Saturday, July 16, 12pm-2pm

Rebel Art: Emmy Lou Packard’s Legacy
Artist panel moderated by art historian, curator and writer Terezita Romo
Event Date: Friday, July 29, 6pm-7:30pm

Screening of Rivera In America (featuring interviews with Emmy Lou Packard)
Film by Rick Tejada-Flores
Event Date: Thursday, August 11, 6:30pm-8:30pm

Closing Reception with The Great Tortilla Conspiracy
Featuring edible art inspired by Emmy Lou Packard
Event Date: Saturday, August 20, 12pm-2pm

About the Curators

Rick Tejada-Flores is a documentary filmmaker whose works have explored art and politics, including profiles of Diego Rivera, Jasper Johns, Jose Clemente Orozco and Cesar Chavez. They have been shown on PBS, Sundance Channel, History en Español, and Channel 4 UK, and at the National Museum of American History and British Museum. Tejada-Flores printed for Packard in Mendocino, and remained a friend for the rest of her life.   

Robbin Légère Henderson organized exhibitions focusing on art and politics as director and curator of Berkeley Art Center for 20 years. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley, Henderson has served as curator at Intersection for the Arts and was a co-founder of Southern Exposure Gallery. For 10 years she has freelanced as a curator and speaker on her illustrated history of a woman labor organizer in the 20th century.

About Richmond Art Center

Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org

For more information contact:
Amy Spencer, amy@richmondartcenter.org

Images: (top) Emmy Lou Packard, Artichoke Picker, circa 1955; (above left) Emmy Lou Packard, Peace is a Human Right, 1949; (above right) Diego River, Detail of Emmy Lou Packard in the Panamerican Unity mural, 1941

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Press Release: Luminaries Exhibition Series

Exhibition Series:

Art of the African Diaspora: Luminaries

Diamela Cutiño, JB Broussard, Donna Gatson, Daniel W. White

Exhibition Dates:
April 6 – May 21, 2022: Diamela Cutiño 
June 8 – July 23, 2022: JB Broussard 
August 3 – September 17, 2022: Donna Gatson 
September 28 – November 12, 2022: Daniel W. White

Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm
Location: Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804

Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center announces Luminaries, an exhibition series presented as part of the 25th Anniversary of Art of the African Diaspora, and an integral part of the year-long series of programs and exhibitions that commemorate this achievement. 

Luminaries presents four solo exhibitions that shine a spotlight on the remarkable work of four artists who have participated in Art of the African Diaspora but who have maintained an inconspicuous public image throughout their storied artistic careers. The four artists featured are: Diamela Cutiño, JB Broussard, Donna Gatson and Daniel W. White. Each solo exhibition will have a unique curatorial focus and will provide a space for the artists to present newly commissioned work. 

The exhibitions will be presented in Richmond Art Center’s West Gallery throughout the year on the following schedule: Nadie es ilegal en tierra robada: Photography by Diamela Cutiño, April 6 – May 21, 2022; The Eastern Shore: Work by JB Broussard, June 8 – July 23, 2022; Assemblages by Donna Gatson, August 3 – September 17, 2022; and Paintings by Daniel W. White, September 28 – November 12, 2022. Each exhibition will have its own reception and public program (t.b.a.). 

Luminaries is generously funded by the East Bay Fund for Artists at the East Bay Community Foundation.

Top Images (clockwise from top left): Artwork by Diamela Cutiño, JB Broussard, Daniel W. White, and Donna Gatson

About the Artists: 

Diamela Cutiño is a photographic storyteller born and raised in Havana, Cuba. Cutiño is most known for her work documenting Black existence. Cutiño’s most recent body of work documents Indigenous culture and the emotional and spiritual undertones of freedom movements. 

JB Broussard is the second generation of his family to be born in Oakland. He began drawing at age of seven, took art classes during secondary school, and years later attended U.C. Berkeley as an Art major where he focused primarily on sculpture. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley he settled into a career in education. Now retired Broussard spends his time engaged in art projects. As a teenager he was exposed to the work of Charles White. Broussard describes the experience of viewing White’s work as “an awakening.” White’s dignified images of Black people had a lasting impact on him.

Donna Gatson is primarily a self-taught artist. She was born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula, with deep ties to the South and Southwest. Using mediums including watercolor, graphite pencil, metal and found objects, her work ranges from Black Country Folk Art, to a style she refers to as Afro/Deco Cubism. Gatson is one of the few African American jewelry silversmiths in the country. She was taught traditional Native silversmithing by renowned Hopi silversmith Gerald Lomaventema on the Hopi reservation. Gatson uses traditional techniques to create her own Afro, Asian, and Anasazi influenced designs in silver and copper jewelry. 

Daniel W. White grew up in Kansas City, Missouri where he attended Kansas City Art Institute but did not finish his degree. He was determined to complete his education and enrolled in San Francisco Art Institute some 20 years later, earning a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in 2001, majoring in painting. White’s work runs the gamut from super realistic fine art portraits, abstract paintings, photography and writing. His current work is influenced by Josef Albers and Mark Rothko. Jacob Lawrence, J. M. W. Turner, as well as Henry Ossawa Tanner are among his favorite artists. 

About Art of the African Diaspora: Established in 1996, Art of the African Diaspora is the longest running event of its kind in the Bay Area. Annually it supports hundreds of artists of African descent through representation (exhibitions and open studio opportunities), professional development, and building a creative community. In 1996 artists Jan Hart-Schuyers and Rae Louise Hayward established the event as The Art of Living Black at Richmond Art Center. After the deaths of Hart-Schuyers and Hayward, organizing efforts were carried on for many years by members of their families. Today, with a new name to reflect a new era, Art of the African Diaspora is organized by a steering committee of participating artists. www.aotad.org

About Richmond Art Center: Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org

For more information contact:
Roberto Martinez, Curator, roberto@richmondartcenter.org

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Press Release: Spring Family Day

Special Event:

Spring Family Day

Saturday, May 14, 12pm-3pm | FREE
Richmond Art Center (courtyard), 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond
Event webpage: richmondartcenter.org/familyday2022

Richmond, CA: Kids of all ages and their grown-ups are invited to Richmond Art Center’s Spring Family Day on Saturday, May 14, 12pm-3pm. This free, family event is an opportunity to celebrate the gifts of spring through art-making, dancing, and music.

Activities will include making clay flowers, live printing by Liberación Gráfica, succulent art planters, flower photo booth, and bomba dancing by Quenepas. Visitors will have an opportunity to work with Fencelines to contribute to a public art project, as well as meet the folk from Richmond Our Power Coalition to learn about organizing work around the environment and housing happening in Richmond.

Richmond Art Center is located at 2540 Barrett Avenue in Richmond.

Covid-19 Prevention: Mask wearing is a condition of entry to RAC’s galleries, studios and public indoor spaces. Vaccinations are strongly encouraged. Masks may be removed in our courtyard.

Thank you to Richmond Rotary Club for sponsoring this event.

About the Program and Participants:

Bomba by Quenepas: Bomba music and dance originated over 400 years ago in the sugar cane plantations of Puerto Rico where enslaved Africans played, sang, and danced to survive and to resist colonial oppression. Quenepas is a vibrant Puerto Rican Bomba music and dance youth ensemble that had its inception in 2008 at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley. Quenepas youth have been studying and performing under the direction of Hector Lugo and Shefali Shah for over 15 years and many of the youth have been involved in the practice of Bomba through observing and participating in community jams and performances with their families. Contact: bombaaguacero@gmail.com, 510-681-1036

Live Printing by Liberación Gráfica: Liberación Gráfica is a collective of young printmakers from Richmond whose members create work to uplift social justice, the Richmond community, and young voices. As educators the collective has developed a curriculum that helps young people engage in printmaking through exploring historical political posters and creating their own posters on topics they feel connected to. The collective has held multiple live screen printing workshops around the community at events, high schools, and local organizations like RYSE, Urban Tilth, APEN and Richmond Art Center.

Workshop by Fencelines: Join the Fencelines team for an art-making workshop to paint messages and stories about environmental justice onto colorful fence slats. Fencelines is a participatory art project that responds to the Chevron petroleum refinery. The project’s team are artists, designers and community organizers, who have collaborated for years on projects for urban environmental and infrastructural transformation here in Richmond.

Richmond Our Power Coalition: Special guests Richmond Our Power Coalition will have an information table set-up for folks to learn more about the work ROPC does in organizing around issues of the environment and housing here in Richmond.

Succulent Art Planters: Take home a spring succulent in an artful planter made by students at Richmond Art Center. These weird and wonderful creations can be yours for a small donation.

Amazing Clay Flowers: Join teaching artist Lauren Ari to sculpt and decorate clay flowers using air dry clay. Lauren Ari is a Richmond-based artist and educator.

Family Photo Booth: Rally your friends and family, strike a pose, and take home a special polaroid photo to remember Spring Family Day forever!

Pottery Demo with a Kick Wheel: Artist Colleen Garland will demonstrate the fun of throwing pottery on a kick wheel. Colleen grew up in Richmond and works as a potter and ceramics teacher at Richmond Art Center.

Gallery Search and Find: Have fun exploring Dewey Crumpler’s Crossings exhibition in the main gallery with a unique search and find activity. Find Pikachu, Miss Piggy and their friends to win prizes!

About Richmond Art Center: Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org

For more information contact:
Amy Spencer, amy@richmondartcenter.org

Images: Former Family Day fun at Richmond Art Center

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Press Release: Dewey Crumpler: Crossings

Dewey Crumpler: Crossings

Invention and prophecy in Dewey Crumpler’s shipping containers

Exhibition: April 6 – June 4, 2022
Reception: Saturday, April 2, 2pm-4pm
Artist’s Talk: Saturday, April 30, 1pm

Gallery Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 10am-2pm
Location: Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804

Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center announces Dewey Crumpler: Crossings, the first survey of Dewey Crumpler’s shipping container series work to be exhibited in the Bay Area. The exhibition will include over 120 works that ask us to consider the history, lived legacy and future impact of the global shipping industry.

Dewey Crumpler: Crossings will present work from sketches to large scale paintings that show twenty-five years of investigation into the beauty and power of ribbed, metal cargo boxes. Growing up in the Bayview, Crumpler became interested in ports, especially the massive forms of shipping containers. As a young artist he often sketched plein air along the waterfront. Since the late 1990s, he has been developing his studies into paintings of containers that move between abstraction and representation. More recently Crumpler has added sequins, collage, gold leaf and pop cultural references to his work, suggesting the bling and flash of commodification, as well as spiritual awakening.

In Crumpler’s work shipping containers are dense metaphors; encompassing stories of mass migration, transformation and voyages destined to be repeated. They trace transatlantic trade routes that emerged in the 15th century and are still used today. They also show industry that has irrevocably shaped port cities like San Francisco, Oakland and Richmond. Through connecting historical and contemporary systems, time in Crumpler’s work becomes a loop of rebirth and decline pressed forward through the crossing of water. Crumpler explains, “At the heart of these works is memory.”

This exhibition was originally scheduled for spring 2020, but was postponed for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In this short time the world has seen financial crisis, climate disruption, global pandemic, and wars with no historical parallel, and Crumpler’s shipping containers have become even more prophetic; predicting the collapse of globalism and events that continue to shape the first decades of the 21st century. 

Dewey Crumpler: Crossings will be on view in Richmond Art Center’s Main Gallery from April 6 through to June 4, 2022. An exhibition reception will be held on Saturday, April 2, 2pm-4pm, and an Artist’s Talk will be held on Saturday, April 30 starting at 1pm. Exhibition and events are free and open to the public. A print publication featuring a new essay by Thea Quiray Tagle will accompany the exhibition. Dewey Crumpler: Crossings is organized with assistance from Marguerite Thompson Browne.

About the Artist: Dewey Crumpler is an Associate Professor of painting at San Francisco Art Institute. His current work examines issues of globalization and cultural co-modification through the integration of digital imagery, video and traditional painting techniques. Crumpler’s works are in the permanent collections of the California African American Museum, Triton Museum of Art Los Angeles and Oakland Museum Of California. Crumpler has received the Flintridge Foundation Award, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, as well as The Fleishhacker Foundation Fellowship Eureka Award. Collapse was Crumpler’s most recent exhibition at Seattle University’s Hedreen Gallery. He is represented by Jenkins Johnson Gallery. deweycrumpler.com

About Richmond Art Center: Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org

For more information contact:
Amy Spencer, amy@richmondartcenter.org

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Press Release: 59th Annual Holiday Arts Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2021

59th Annual Holiday Arts Festival

Get creative and give creative this holiday season

Online and In-Person Activities | November & December 2021
Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA
Event webpage: richmondartcenter.org/haf

Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center invites creative gift-makers, holiday shoppers and art lovers to experience the 59th Annual Holiday Arts Festival!

In 2021 we’re getting into the holiday spirit over two months – November and December – with both in-person and online activities that celebrate the joy of making, discovering, and gifting arts and crafts.* With the Arts & Crafts Hub, Ceramics Sale, and free gift-making workshop series, the Holiday Arts Festival has something for everyone to get creative and give creative this holiday season.

Visit richmondartcenter.org/haf to view the workshop schedule, artist listings, and ceramic sale hours.


Online Arts & Crafts Hub

Online Artist Listings
November 4 – December 31, 2021

The Arts & Crafts Hub is an online space for Bay Area artists and makers to share and/or sell their work during the holiday season. It is a retail space for holiday arts and crafts shopping, but it is more than that too! Local artists and makers share recent work, holiday specials, project links, posters for change, messages for peace, and more in this interactive catalog of Richmond Art Center’s creative community.

The Hub launches November 4! Interested artists should CLICK HERE to join.

Ceramics Sale

In-Person Ceramics Store at Richmond Art Center
Thursdays and Saturdays, 10am-2pm, November 4 – November 20, 2021
Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA

Our popular Ceramics Sale is back in-person this year with an opportunity to shop local and handmade for your holiday gifts! Stop by Richmond Art Center anytime during gallery hours from November 4 through to November 20 and purchase beautiful and usable ceramics. All items are made by our students, teachers and friends. The Ceramics Sale will be set up in our galleries and new pieces will be added weekly.

All sales benefit Richmond Art Center.

Make a Gift That Brings Joy

Free Workshops Online and In-Person
Workshop announcements and registration links coming soon!

Is there anything more special than receiving a holiday gift that is handmade by the person giving it to you? This free workshop series is designed for folks who need a nudge towards starting their holiday craft gift projects.

Sign up for up for our e-newsletter, or follow us on Instagram or Facebook @RichmondArtCenter to get workshop announcements.

Covid-19 Prevention: Mask wearing and signing a Visitor Waiver is a condition of entry to Richmond Art Center. We track attendee numbers to ensure spaces do not get too crowded. See RAC’s website for more information about what we are doing to prevent the spread of Covid-19: richmondartcenter.org/about/covid

* In-person activities are subject to change based on Covid-19 developments. Please check Richmond Art Center’s website before planning your visit to RAC. Due to the ongoing uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic the annual in-person vendor fair will not be happening this year.

For more information contact: Amy Spencer amy@richmondartcenter.org

About Richmond Art Center: Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org

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Noticia de prensa: Dia de los muertos

Dia de los muertos

Día de la familia de otoño 2021

Sábado 23 de octubre, de 12:00 a 15:00 horas | GRATIS

Richmond Art Center (patio), 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond

Página web del evento: richmondartcenter.org/familyday2021

Richmond, CA: El Día de la Familia regresa al Centro de Arte de Richmond con una celebración especial del Día de los Muertos el sábado 23 de octubre, de 12 pm a 3 pm. Los niños de todas las edades y sus adultos están invitados a unirse a nosotros en el patio del RAC para hacer arte, bailar, escuchar música y más.

Este evento familiar gratuito contará con un taller de Alebrije, actuaciones del conjunto de bomba juvenil puertorriqueño Quenepas y la narradora Olga Loya. Los artistas residentes de RAC Liberación Gráfica también imprimirán bolsas de tela y la Gran Conspiración de la Tortilla también imprimirá un poco de arte de tortillas.

Programa de actividades:

  • 12: 00-13:00 Primer taller de Alebrije con Rachel-Anne Palacios
  • 13:00-14:00 Actuaciones del grupo Bomba Quenepas seguido por la narradora Olga Loya
  • 13:00-14:00 Segundo taller de Alebrije

Papel de seda La fabricación de flores de papel mexicano, la búsqueda del tesoro, el grabado, el altar comunitario y la música de DJ Dion Decibels se llevarán a cabo de 12 pm a 3 pm.

Richmond Art Center está ubicado en 2540 Barrett Avenue en Richmond.

Prevención de Covid-19: El uso de máscara y la firma de una Exención de Visitante es una condición para ingresar al evento. Realizaremos un seguimiento del número de asistentes en el patio y las galerías para garantizar que los espacios no se llenen demasiado. Consulte el sitio web de RAC para obtener más información sobre lo que estamos haciendo para prevenir la propagación de Covid-19: richmondartcenter.org/about/covid

Para obtener más información, comuníquese con: Sarah Guerra sarah@richmondartcenter.org

Sobre el programa y los participantes:

Taller de alebrijes con Rachel-Anne Palacios: Los alebrijes son esculturas de arte popular mexicano de colores brillantes de criaturas fantásticas. En honor al Mes de la Herencia Latina / Día de los Muertos, la artista Rachel-Anne Palacios nos guiará en una breve presentación sobre los alebrijes y cómo crear los suyos propios con arcilla seca al aire. Sigue a Rachel-Anne en Instagram @devikaspalacio

Bomba de Quenepas: La música y la danza bomba se originaron hace más de 400 años en las plantaciones de caña de azúcar de Puerto Rico, donde los africanos esclavizados tocaban, cantaban y bailaban para sobrevivir y resistir la opresión colonial. Quenepas es un vibrante conjunto juvenil de danza y música bomba puertorriqueña que tuvo su inicio en 2008 en el Centro Cultural La Peña en Berkeley. Los jóvenes de Quenepas han estado estudiando y actuando bajo la dirección de Héctor Lugo y Shefali Shah por más de 15 años y muchos de los jóvenes han estado involucrados en la práctica de Bomba a través de la observación y participación en improvisaciones comunitarias y presentaciones con sus familias. Contacto: bombaaguacero@gmail.com, 510-681-1036

Narración de cuentos de Olga Loya: Olga Loya también es autora, artista de performance, oradora principal y maestra, que ha realizado y enseñado talleres en todo Estados Unidos y México. Loya presenta un gran repertorio de historias familiares y personales con el objetivo de explorar las luchas y la complejidad de ser bicultural, mexicano-estadounidense, en los Estados Unidos. Loya también cuenta folclore latinoamericano bilingüe e historias coloridas y a veces mágicas de África, India, Asia, las Antillas y Europa. Loya usa las historias como una forma de examinar temas como la curación, el racismo y el multiculturalismo. Incorpora una variedad de estilos de actuación, que incluyen improvisación, movimiento y danza, canciones e instrumentos. Más información: www.olgaloya.com

Liberación Gráfica: Liberación Gráfica es un colectivo de jóvenes grabadores de Richmond cuyos miembros crean trabajos para elevar la justicia social, la comunidad de Richmond y las voces jóvenes. Como educadores, el colectivo ha desarrollado un plan de estudios que ayuda a los jóvenes a participar en el grabado mediante la exploración de carteles políticos históricos y la creación de sus propios carteles sobre temas con los que se sienten conectados. El colectivo ha realizado varios talleres de serigrafía en vivo en toda la comunidad en eventos, escuelas secundarias y organizaciones locales como RYSE, Urban Tilth, APEN y Richmond Art Center.

The Great Tortilla Conspiracy: The Great Tortilla Conspiracy es un colectivo basado en obras de arte comestibles. Después de mucha experimentación y desarrollos tecnológicos, los Conspiradores desarrollaron una receta secreta que muchos acólitos de quesadillas han calificado de deliciosa. La obra de arte comestible producida por la Conspiración es serigrafiada en tortillas y cocinada en una plancha para que la imagen se adhiera al sustrato. Simultáneamente, el queso se derrite en el reverso. La salsa es opcional. El consumidor de arte puede tanto comer como disfrutar de la sensación estética que es la Gran Conspiración de la Tortilla.

Acerca de Richmond Art Center: Richmond Art Center ha estado compartiendo arte y creando con la comunidad desde 1936. Nuestros programas abarcan clases, exposiciones y eventos en nuestras instalaciones en el centro de Richmond, así como actividades fuera del sitio que brindan arte gratuito y de alta calidad. creando experiencias para las escuelas y los socios comunitarios de WCCUSD. richmondartcenter.org

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Press Release: Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos

Fall Family Day 2021

Saturday, October 23, 12pm-3pm | FREE

Richmond Art Center (courtyard), 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond

Event webpage: richmondartcenter.org/familyday2021

Richmond, CA: Family Day is coming back to Richmond Art Center with a special celebration of Día de los Muertos on Saturday, October 23, 12pm-3pm. Kids of all ages and their grown-ups are invited to join us in RAC’s courtyard for art-making, dancing, music and more. 

This free family event will feature an Alebrije workshop, performances by Puerto Rican youth Bomba ensemble Quenepas, and storyteller Olga Loya. RAC artists-in-residence Liberación Gráfica will be there screen printing tote bags and the Great Tortilla Conspiracy will also be printing up some tortilla art!

Schedule of Activities:

  • 12pm-1pm First Alebrije workshop with Rachel-Anne Palacios
  • 1pm-2pm Performances by Bomba group Quenepas followed by storyteller Olga Loya
  • 1pm-2pm Second Alebrije workshop

Tissue paper Mexican paper flower making, scavenger hunt, printmaking, community altar, and music by DJ Dion Decibels will run 12pm-3pm.

Richmond Art Center is located at 2540 Barrett Avenue in Richmond. 

Covid-19 Prevention: Mask wearing and signing a Visitor Waiver is a condition of entry to the event. We will track attendee numbers in the courtyard and galleries to ensure spaces do not get too crowded. See RAC’s website for more information about what we are doing to prevent the spread of Covid-19: richmondartcenter.org/about/covid

For more information contact: Sarah Guerra sarah@richmondartcenter.org

About the Program and Participants:

Alebrijes workshop with Rachel-Anne Palacios: Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures. In honor of Latino Heritage Month/Día de los Muertos, artist Rachel-Anne Palacios will guide us on a short presentation about alebrijes and how to create your own with air dry clay. Follow Rachel-Anne on Instagram @devikaspalacio

Bomba by Quenepas: Bomba music and dance originated over 400 years ago in the sugar cane plantations of Puerto Rico where enslaved Africans played, sang, and danced to survive and to resist colonial oppression. Quenepas is a vibrant Puerto Rican Bomba music and dance youth ensemble that had its inception in 2008 at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley. Quenepas youth have been studying and performing under the direction of Hector Lugo and Shefali Shah for over 15 years and many of the youth have been involved in the practice of Bomba through observing and participating in community jams and performances with their families. Contact: bombaaguacero@gmail.com, 510-681-1036

Storytelling by Olga Loya: Olga Loya is also an author, performance artist, keynote speaker, and teacher, who has performed and taught workshops throughout the United States and Mexico. Loya performs a large repertoire of family and personal stories with the goal of exploring the struggles and complexity of being bicultural – Mexican-American – in the United States. Loya also tells bilingual Latin-American folklore and colorful and sometimes magical stories from Africa, India, Asia, the Antilles, and Europe. Loya uses stories as a way of examining themes like healing, racism, and multiculturalism. She incorporates a variety of performance styles, including improvisation, movement and dance, song, and instruments. More info: www.olgaloya.com

Liberación Gráfica: Liberación Gráfica is a collective of young printmakers from Richmond whose members create work to uplift social justice, the Richmond community, and young voices. As educators the collective has developed a curriculum that helps young people engage in printmaking through exploring historical political posters and creating their own posters on topics they feel connected to. The collective has held multiple live screen printing workshops around the community at events, high schools, and local organizations like RYSE, Urban Tilth, APEN and Richmond Art Center.

The Great Tortilla Conspiracy: The Great Tortilla Conspiracy is a collective based on edible artwork. After much experimentation and technological developments the Conspirators developed a secret recipe that has been called delicious by many a quesadilla acolyte. The edible artwork produced by the Conspiracy is screen printed on tortillas and cooked on a griddle so that the image is affixed to the substrate. Simultaneously cheese is melted on the reverse side. Salsa is optional. The art consumer can both eat and enjoy the aesthetic sensation that is the Great Tortilla Conspiracy. 

About Richmond Art Center: Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org

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Press Release: Time and Again

Time and Again
An exhibition of Rigo 23’s statue of Native activist Leonard Peltier

Exhibition: September 9 – November 18, 2021
Main Gallery
Richmond Art Center
2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804
Gallery Hours: Thurs 10am-2pm, Sat 10am-2pm, or by appt 510-620-6772

Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center (RAC) is honored to present Time and Again, an exhibition centered on Rigo 23’s monumental sculptural tribute to Native American activist Leonard Peltier. Twelve feet tall, the sculpture sits at the center of the exhibition anchoring a narrative of Leonard Peltier’s 45-year long incarceration. For the first time, the sculpture will be presented alongside photographs, letters, artwork, posters and ephemera from Rigo’s archive. By sharing these, the artist invites the visitors for an intimate and informal conversation, one that illuminates the artist’s more than two decade long journey – as well as present some of the historical context which helps understand Leonard Peltier’s ongoing cruel predicament.

On Sunday September 12, a celebration will be held in honor of Peltier’s 77th birthday and attended by his daughter Kathy. Capacity is limited; contact RAC for reservations or to organize a press preview.

The sculpture (California redwood, foam, plywood, and metal) is based on a small hand-painted self portrait Leonard Peltier created in prison. The statue’s 9 x 6 foot base replicates the dimensions of a traditional prison cell. Each time the work is shown, the exhibition incorporates selections from the growing collection of photographs of supporters standing in solidarity on the statue’s feet.

Completed in 2016 and first shown at the Katzen Art Center at the American University, Washington D.C., the artwork was almost immediately censored, removed from display, and subsequently withheld from the artist for one year. The removal of the statue was in response to a bomb threat and to the University’s president receiving complaints from the FBI Agents Association – events which happened on the same day. Since its return to the artist, it has been exhibited at the Main Museum in Los Angeles (2018), SOMArts (2019) and most recently atop the roof of the San Francisco Institute of Art overlooking Alcatraz Island (2020).

The statue’s feet, which are detachable, have taken their own journey, traveling to significant sites of Native Resistance across the U.S. including Standing Rock, Alcatraz Island, Wounded Knee, Crow Dog’s Paradise, and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Supporters have been invited to stand on the feet as an expression of solidarity – and be photographed. In summer 2021, Richmond Art Center also welcomed members of the community to do so.

The current exhibition includes materials such as original sketches for the banner “It’s 1999, Why is Leonard Peltier Still in Prison?” mounted outside the Berkely Art Museum; photographs from the Tate Wikikuwa Museum installed at the deYoung Museum that same year; brochure and zine from theTate Wikikuwa Museum at the Warehouse Gallery in Syracuse University where the Leonard Peltier sculpture premiered, in 2011; and historical photographs by the late Michelle Vignes documenting seminal events in the history of the American Indian Movement.

Time and Again draws a very particular circle for both Rigo and RAC. In 1996, twenty-five years ago, RAC welcomed the artist to present his first solo exhibition: Time and Time Again: A Tribute to Geronimo Ji-Jaga. The following year, upon his release from prison, Geronimo would urge the artist to continue using his art to bring to light the plight of political prisoners in the United States. The two remained close friends until Geronimo’s death in 2011. In 1999 Geronimo visited the De Young Museum, in San Francisco, for an exhibition Rigo held there dedicated to Leonard Peltier’s plight.

About the Artist: Rigo 23 has exhibited his work internationally for over 30 years placing murals, paintings, sculptures, and tile work in public situations where viewers are encouraged to examine their relationship to their community, their role as unwitting advocates of public policy, and their place on a planet occupied by many other living things. His projects have included inter-communal collaborations with Native Tribes in North and South America; long-term partnerships with political prisoners; and alliances with underrepresented and disenfranchised individuals and communities. @rigo23studio @peltierstatue #freeleonardpeltier

About Richmond Art Center: Richmond Art Center has been sharing art and creating with the community since 1936. Our programs encompass classes, exhibitions and events at our facility in downtown Richmond, as well as off-site activities that bring free, high-quality art making experiences to WCCUSD schools and community partners. richmondartcenter.org

Images: (top) Design by Rigo 23; (above left) Kathy Peltier stands on the feet from the statue of Leonard Peltier, photo by Rio Yañez; (above right) Detail of statue at RAC

For more information contact:
Roberto Martinez, Curator, roberto@richmondartcenter.org

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Richmond Art Center
2540 Barrett Avenue
Richmond, CA 94804-1600

 

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