Richmond Art Center features pro wrestlers, upcycled art and more
By Kathy Chouteau
September exhibitions at the Richmond Art Center (RAC) will see artistic inspiration derived from a variety of extraordinary sources, including Oasis Pro Lucha Libre wrestlers and Coastal Cleanup Day.
An Opening Reception will kick off the month of exhibitions at the RAC this Saturday, Sept. 7 from 1-3 p.m. in an event that’s free to attend. The afternoon of art will include Right Here, Right Now, Richmond—showcasing the work of Anthony Delgado, Art Hazelwood, e bond, Erin McCluskey Wheeler, Helia Pouyanfar, Quinn Keck and Taro Hattori. The exhibition celebrates the visionary art and ideas of local artists in Richmond, according to the RAC. Also up for exploration will be Sentinels & Saviors, Abi Mustapha: Recent Work and The Art of Sumi-e. An RSVP is not necessary for the Opening Reception.
Next up, on Friday, Sept. 20 from 5-8 p.m. will be a rare chance to not only mingle with the aforementioned Right Here, Right Now, Richmond artists after dark, but also meet the Oasis Pro Lucha Libre wrestlers who are the photographic subjects of Anthony Delgado’s exhibition. Adding to the revelry will be a Richmond-themed art project led by artist Quinn Keck, cocktails from The Factory Bar, light bites from local food vendors and a soundtrack by DJ Graham LP. Admission is free and RSVPs aren’t needed.
Inspiration for art is everywhere, you just need to find it. Driving home this point will be artist Erin McCluskey Wheeler, who invites the community to join her at the “40th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day” Saturday, Sept. 21 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Shimada Friendship Park in Richmond to collect beach litter to use in her mixed media artwork. “Join Erin in finding artistic inspiration while contributing to the cleanup of Shimada Friendship Park’s shoreline,” said the RAC. Registration is required.
Are you interested in participating in Art of The African Diaspora? New artists, as well as past participants seeking a refresher, are invited to attend a zoom info session to learn about the 2025 program. Read the artist guidelines and come prepared with your questions.
Note, this info session is hosted by the AOTAD Steering Committee. If you have questions please contact them at aotadexhibition@gmail.com (Richmond Art Center is closed 8/31 for Labor Day Weekend).
Two exciting programs launching this fall. First, join me in welcoming Andres Serrano as our new artist-in-residence. Andres, a lifelong Richmond resident, brings a ceramics practice that explores themes of queerness, home, and culture. Additionally, the third iteration of the Right Here, Right Now, Richmond Biennialwill open in our main gallery, showcasing the talents of seven local artists.
Both the residency and the biennial are made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. We are immensely proud to receive this national recognition for programs that uplift and celebrate local artists.
Are you a local artist or a creative at heart? I encourage you to explore our fall offerings—whether it’s by signing up for a class, applying to participate in the Holiday Arts Festival, registering for Art of the African Diaspora, or just getting messy at Fall Family Day. We hope that Richmond Art Center can support and inspire your creative journey.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
José R. Rivera
Top image: e bond installing her work with assistance from fellow exhibiting artist Erin McCluskey Wheeler. Come see their work when ‘Right Here, Right Now, Richmond’ opens on September 4.
Hello Richmondside readers. Here are some highlights of things to do and know this coming week and beyond. Monday is Labor Day so you can expect city and other government offices and banks to be closed. If you’re looking for something for fun to do over the long weekend, head to Baltic Kiss in Point Richmond where you’ll find a five-day lineup of music and comedy. Later next week, you can view inspiring artwork, attend a neighborhood meeting or learn about fraud prevention.
For additional events, check our calendar and be sure to add your own listings as well.
Community-based exhibits open Sept. 4 at Richmond Art Center
Four new exhibits open Fri., Sept. 4 at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave.
The works will be on view from Sept. 4 to Nov. 21. The art center galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. An opening reception will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thur., Sept. 7.
The “Right Here, Right Now” Richmond-inspired exhibit features artists Anthony Delgado, Art Hazelwood, e bond, Erin McCluskey Wheeler, Helia Pouyanfar, Quinn Keck and Taro Hattori.
Much of the artwork reflects the Richmond community and some of the issues it is facing such as trash along the shoreline and the experiences of refugees.
An exhibit of two artists’ works designed to help inspire as well as guide people through turbulent times also opens that day at the Richmond Art Center’s South Gallery.
The “Sentinels & Saviors: Iconic Avatars” exhibit showcases two Oakland artists, Joell Jones and Kim Thoman with a goal to “remind us to pay attention to our inner lives and those avatars or symbols of our own choosing that can be our signposts giving guidance and encouragement,” according to the art center.
Jones’ work captures her “adventure into her unconscious or inner self.” It is “made safe” by Thoman’s work that portrays “guardians standing strong.”
A work by Oakland artist Joell Jones on view starting Sept. 4 at the Richmond Art Center.
“I have painted a woman engaged in a struggle for transformation, and my paintings portray her as a fluid, shape-shifting creature adrift in liminal environments,” Jones said in a press release.
Thoman’s work was inspired by her recovery from cancer.
“I decided I’d like an army of bodyguards for protection in this life,” Thoman said.
Also opening are “Abi Mustapha: Recent Work,” by Sierra Leonean/American contemporary artist Abi Mustapha of Santa Cruz, and a student showcase of Japanese ink brush paintings from Fumiyo Yoshikawa’s beginner sumi-e class at Richmond Art Center. Sumi-e is a traditional East Asian painting technique that uses black ink (sumi) on paper.
September 4 – November 21 Opening Reception: Saturday, September 7, 1pm-3pm Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804 Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm Exhibitions and events are all free and no rsvp is necessary
Richmond, CA: This fall, Richmond Art Center’s galleries will showcase a dynamic range of art, spanning innovative local visions and ideas, to traditional Japanese ink paintings, and beyond.
In the Main Gallery, Right Here, Right Now, Richmond celebrates local artists’ innovative work. Now in its third iteration, this biennial exhibition features new work by Anthony Delgado, Art Hazelwood, e bond, Erin McCluskey Wheeler, Helia Pouyanfar, Quinn Keck, and Taro Hattori, reflecting on Richmond’s history, environment, and vibrant communities.
“As the artists created new work for this show, a theme to emerge is ‘home’ in its many forms—physical, cultural, and emotional,” says Roberto Martinez, the biennial’s curator. “Maybe it’s obvious, but in a rapidly changing city, home is always worth exploring.”
Also opening at Richmond Art Center this fall are three more exhibitions:
Sentinels & Saviors: Iconic Avatars presents work by Joell Jones and Kim Thoman, who create space for introspection. Jones’ paintings explore a woman’s journey into self-discovery through pictorial art. Thoman presents abstract steel figures inspired by Chinese Terracotta Warriors, symbolizing guardianship and protection during her illness recovery.
Abi Mustapha‘s solo exhibition shares her new series of paintings that fuse portraiture with vibrant botanical landscapes. Mustapha states, “My hope is to elicit a sense of reverence for the magic of our interconnectedness.”
Finally, the Community Gallery will feature The Art of Sumi-e, showcasing Japanese ink brush paintings by students from Fumiyo Yoshikawa‘s beginner sumi-e class at Richmond Art Center, along with works by Sensei Yoshikawa herself.
An Opening Reception for all exhibitions will be held on Saturday, September 7, from 1pm to 3pm. All are welcome to attend.
Richmond Art Center will be open late on Friday, September 20, from 5pm to 8pm for a Sunset Social. The courtyard and galleries will be transformed into a space for celebrating the artists featured in Right Here, Right Now with performances, live art demonstrations, and more. It’s not often we open our galleries after dark – don’t miss it!
Richmond Art Center is located at 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Admission is free.
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
Right Here, Right Now is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Top image: Abi Mustapha, Dionaea, 2024, 30″ x 24″, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
September 4 – November 21, 2024 Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804 Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm Exhibitions and events are all free and no rsvp is necessary
Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center is proud to present Right Here, Right Now, Richmond. Now in its third iteration, this biennial exhibition celebrates the visionary art and ideas of local artists in Richmond, California.
A year ago, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, seven artists who live or work in Richmond were invited to create new work that expanded their creative practices. These artists are: Anthony Delgado, Art Hazelwood, e bond, Erin McCluskey Wheeler, Helia Pouyanfar, Quinn Keck, and Taro Hattori. The resulting work for Right Here, Right Now, Richmond offers a creative lens on Richmond and the Bay Area’s history, environment, and the experiences of its vibrant communities.
“As the artists created new work for this show, a theme to emerge is ‘home’ in its many forms—physical, cultural, and emotional,” says Roberto Martinez, the exhibition’s curator. “Maybe it’s obvious, but in a rapidly changing city, home is always worth exploring.”
Erin McCluskey and Art Hazelwood respond to the impact of capitalism’s consumerist tendencies on Richmond’s natural and social environments. McCluskey’s micro-plastic mosaic sculptures, made from reclaimed trash collected from the shoreline, reflect the lasting impact that excessive consumption and waste has on our bodies and planet. In a similar spirit, Hazelwood’s gothic prints depict the mechanisms of capitalism as monstrous entities, countered by the hope of community unity overcoming these oppressive forces.
Set against the backdrop of Richmond’s urban landscape, Anthony Delgado’s photographic documentation of Lucha Libre dramatizes the eternal struggle between good and evil, capturing a visual opera that transcends language and borders.
Taro Hattori and Helia Pouyanfar open up conversations around home, memory and belonging, centering the refugee experience in our understanding of community. Hattori’s sonic installation created in collaboration with refugees and non-refugees, provides a stage for songs and stories that illuminate our shared human experiences, helping find points of connection and revelation. Pouyanfar’s sculptural works speak to a more intimate conversation, a grappling of the refugee body and its negotiation and reconciliation with place. Through the use of mirrors, drywall and other building materials, Pouyanfar materializes memory and forces us to think about the meaning of home.
In an exploration of our different experiences and relationships to home, Quinn Keck has woven together words, stories, poems and images of Richmond into a multi-media installation that abstracts, recombines and superimposes personal contributions and archival materials onto each other: deriving and capturing the infinite ideas and profound beauty that come together to evoke a sense of place.
Lastly, e bond presents a series of vibrant mixed media collage prints whose individual but infinite circular forms call for moments of singularity. bond’s work presents a deep exploration of images and words that map connections between our disparate thoughts and experiences, culminating in unity as a singular whole.
PROGRAM
EXHIBITION September 4 – November 21, 2024 Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804 Admission is free. CLICK HERE to learn about our Art Tours program, including free tours for Richmond youth.
OPENING RECEPTION Saturday, September 7, 1pm to 3pm | Free Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804 Join us for the opening reception of Right Here, Right Now. Also opening are fall exhibitions, Sentinels & Saviors; Abi Mustapha: Recent Work; and The Art of Sumi-e. All are welcome to attend. No RSVP necessary.
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW: SUNSET SOCIAL Friday, September 20, 5pm-8pm | Free Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804 Let’s gather at sunset for art and community as we bid farewell to summer. Richmond Art Center’s courtyard and galleries will be transformed into a space for celebrating the artists featured in Right Here, Right Now with performances, live art demonstrations, and more. It’s not often we open our galleries after dark – don’t miss it!
WATERSHED’S COASTAL CLEANUP WITH ERIN MCCLUSKEY WHEELER Saturday, September 21, 8am-5pm Shimada Friendship Park, Peninsula Drive and Marina Bay Parkway Artist Erin McCluskey will be participating in the 40th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day on September 21, collecting beach litter to incorporate into her mixed media work. Join Erin in finding artistic inspiration while contributing to the cleanup of Shimada Friendship Park’s shoreline. This event is organized by The Watershed Project and County Supervisor John Gioia. Please dress in layers, wear a hat and/or sunscreen, and sturdy closed-toe shoes. Cleanup supplies will be provided, but if possible, bring a bucket, reusable gloves, and a water bottle to help minimize waste. Learn more and register: https://thewatershedproject.org/event/coastal-cleanup-day-2024/
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
Welcoming Andres Serrano, Our New Artist-in-Residence
We’re excited to welcome Andres Serrano as the new artist-in-residence at Richmond Art Center. A lifelong Richmond resident, Andres brings a strong community connection and a creative practice focused on queerness, home, and culture through ceramics.
Andres holds an MFA in Art from San Francisco State University and a BA from UCLA in Spanish and Chicana/o Studies. His work has been showcased at the Berkeley Art Center, 500 Capp Street, and here at Richmond Art Center. Beyond ceramics, Andres is passionate about serving the Richmond community through various nonprofit organizations.
Outside the studio, you might find Andres biking around Richmond, experimenting with ceramic glazes, exploring Sprouts’ bulk bins, or enjoying the latest Real Housewives drama.
Andres shared his goals for this residency, saying, “I am excited to be working with the Richmond Art Center to continue supporting youth and local residents in our community through the arts, especially through ceramic arts. From my own lived experience, I had limited access to art and art studios, and this residency provides me with opportunities to spread the joy of ceramics and other expressive mediums within our vibrant Richmond community. This residency will allow me to deepen my connection within Richmond and provide space and opportunity for others to explore and enjoy themselves through art-making.”
About the Richmond Artist Residency: The Richmond Artist Residency is an 8-month program designed to support emerging and mid-career visual artists. The residency offers a unique opportunity for artists to pursue their creative work while actively engaging with the Richmond community. The residency also focuses on building skills in various studio disciplines such as ceramics, printmaking, and fiber arts, with access to technical support and shared studio equipment.
This Richmond Artist Residency is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Volunteers assist our team, help out in the studios, support outreach, and more. Volunteer benefits include a discount on classes. We can also support students (ages 16+) wanting community service hours for class credit.
*We especially need volunteers who can assist with light physical duties such as setting up and breaking down events.
Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA
The Holiday Arts Festival offers something for everyone, combining opportunities to explore, create, and shop for affordable, handmade goods from local artisans. Read the PRESS RELEASE for more info.
Unique, Handmade Gifts by 50+ Local Arts & Crafts Vendors
MEET THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE 62ND ANNUAL HOLIDAY ARTS FESTIVAL!
Richmond Art Center is pleased to serve as gateway for local artists to display and sell their works. Richmond Art Center does not receive any portion of the proceeds from sales – either in-person at the Festival or online via linked artist or organization websites – and the terms of all sales are set by the participants.
Calling All Arts and Crafts Vendors! Be part of the 62nd Annual Holiday Arts Festival!
Event Date: Sunday, December 8, 10am-4pm Vendor Application Deadline: Monday, September 30, 2024, 11:59pm
Applications are now open for local artists, artisans, and makers to showcase their work at the Holiday Arts Festival. This shop-local event offers a fantastic opportunity to present your work to an enthusiastic audience of over 1,000 people who value hand-crafted gifts.
There is no application fee and first-time vendors to the festival are encouraged to participate.
