It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Art Center. As we close our celebrations of 80 years this year — and begin to look forward, we continue to ask ourselves, “What does it mean to be a community arts space in Richmond?” For us that means taking a closer look at our long, rich history, exploring how we connect with our community and finding ways to do it better.
We continue to strive for the Art Center to be a space where all feel welcome — whether you’re a first time visitor, someone trying out a workshop or class for the first time, or a long-time returning student. The Education Office is conveniently located right at the Studio/25th Street entrance. Lukaza, Marisa, and I are here for you — to lend a helping hand and provide support in ways we can.
And with the new year, we’re embracing a new look for our class catalog, a tree-friendly version — which acts as a simple brochure with additional details on our website. We’ll be sharing an online version of this new catalog after November 9, and we’re very excited for you to get a peek at our Winter quarter classes. You can register for classes and workshops on November 29.
We look forward to seeing you around the Art Center this quarter!
This year’s vibrant Fall Family Day, Skeletonfest, welcomed almost 350 people to the Art Center. Focused on traditional arts associated with Dia de los Muertos, kids and grownups enjoyed making paper flowers, mini pinatas, metal milgros and Calavera hats. DJ Agana kept the mood lively and we were so proud to share our space with so many of our RAC family members. Read more from the Richmond Standard, 4Richmond, Richmond Confidential, and check out even more photos on our Facebook page.
Celebrate the Fall and upcoming Day of the Dead at the Richmond Art Center with an afternoon full of fun and art-making for all ages. Make Calavera hats with Dawn Gonzales, mini honoring pinatas with Isaías Rodríguez, paper flowers with Lisa diPrima, and milagros and nichos with Malena Lopez-Maggi and Taylor Zarkades King. This event is free and open to all ages. Create and honor with us!
Back to school also means back to school for art. Check out these great class offerings for kids and teens to add creativity and color to their week! You can register online via the links below.
Calder Circus (Ages 6 – 8): Be inspired by the magic of Alexander Calder’s 1927 Circus to create dioramas, small wooden figures, animals and other fantastical creatures. We will work in variety of mediums including clay, found materials, fabric and paint.
Forms in Clay (Ages 8 – 11): Work with clay! In this class, young artists will learn a variety of techniques for making functional vessels in clay.
Home School (Ages 6 – 10): Students engage diverse art making approaches utilizing painting, clay, and drawing.
This year the Richmond Art Center turned 80 and we threw two big parties to celebrate! We’re looking forward to the next 80 years of sharing art, education and community with you.
Our Back to School Community Celebration was a family-friendly event, full of heart, art, and delicious food. All ages were welcome to share a meal with us at our new communal tables in the courtyard, and the first 80 guests received a special handmade ceramic bowl crafted by none other than our talented ceramics manager, Marisa Burman. Delicious rice bowls were cooked and served by RAC students and volunteers, and our bar was staffed by RAC staff. DJ Juice provided danceable music for hours and our teaching artists Michael Perkin and Joyce Shon showed people the ropes in how to screenprint their own limited edition tote bags (with hand-drawn art by our Studio Education Coordinator Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo).
Our 80th Anniversary Gala was a stylish, elegant event where guests mingled in the galleries, met some of the artists—including Hung Liu, Jim Melchert, Richard Shaw, William Wiley, Mary Hull Webster and Lia Cook—whose works are now on exhibition in Making Our Mark. With Board President Inez Brooks-Myers and Board member Susan Wittenberg driving months of planning, this gala was beautifully executed by our entire Board and a team of volunteers (with thanks to our Volunteer Coordinator Nisha Chauhan-McGrath). Custom screenprinted tortillas featuring RAC founder Hazel Salmi were a big hit, thanks to the Great Tortilla Conspiracy, and guests listened to jazz singer Terrie Odabi in our Main Gallery while enjoying refreshing Vodka cocktails and wine bar , which were supported by donations from St. George Spirits in Alameda, and Jacobs & Co. and Vintage 59 Imports.
Almost 200 guests enjoyed a 3-course dinner, catered by Richmond favorite Menbere Aklilu and her restaurant Salute E Vita. The evening ended with a lively auction offering donated art, trips, theater and sports events to a very generous crowd. The funds raised from the auction and the Fund-a-Need will go towards supporting the Art Center in the upcoming year.
It was a great pleasure to see the enthusiastic gathering at the opening reception for Making Our Mark. The air buzzed with a sense of history – so many artists who had exhibited here in the past, including former director Kathryn Reasoner, former curator Michael Schwager, and former Board President, John Wehrle – all joined the astonishing group of artists in Making Our Mark: Dru Anderson, Megan Atherton, Christopher Brown, Ethan Caflisch, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Lia Cook, Sofia Córdova, Yvette Deas, Allan deSouza, Nathan Dollarhite, Michael Hall, Scott Hewitt, Mildred Howard, Hung Liu, Nicholas Makanna, Bruce McGaw, Jim Melchert, Richard Misrach, Kate Nartker, Deborah Oropallo, Shari Paladino, Johanna Poethig, Richard Shaw, Ehren Tool, Mary Hull Webster, William T. Wiley, Wanxin Zhang – who have filled the Art Center with their vibrant works and challenging ideas.
These first two weeks of the exhibition have drawn many visitors and groups of students from California College of the Arts, Contra Costa College, and UC Berkeley. If you have not had a chance to see the current exhibitions, Making Our Mark and Marking New Paths, highlighting current MFA candidates at UC Berkeley, do come by for these stimulating arrays of artwork. If you attended the exhilarating opening, we hope you will come back and bring a friend! And we would love to see you at our upcoming artists talks. The first series of talks features Chris Brown, Enrique Chagoya, Yvette Deas and Megan Atherton on October 15 at 2pm.
We’re happy to announce that the Richmond Art Center, in partnership with the City of Richmond and The Trust for Public Land, has received a new grant from Kaboom to create the Mathieu Court Alley Play Street.
“It’s exciting that elementary school students will have the experience of transforming an outdoor community space in a lasting way. We have a strong team of teaching artists who will be facilitating this project bringing students, families and neighbors together in the process.” says Rachel Schaffran, our Art In the Community director.
Elementary school students from Peres Elementary and Nevin Community Center, along with their families and RAC teaching artists Vreni Michelini Castillo and Sophie Siegmann will paint interactive games & artwork on a recently transformed “green alley.” This inventive play street will give families a fun, green, and clean place to play in a underserved and park-deficient neighborhood in the city.
The Art Center and grant partners will host a design and development activities to discuss ideas for the play street and will work with artists, local non-profits and volunteers to carry out the plan. Possible innovations to the space include games painted on the ground, fence art, a trash & recycling receptacle, and community garden boxes with seating areas. Proposed interactive educational signs will share the green features of the alley, and offer ideas on nutrition and healthy living. Safety in the area will be enhanced with a barrier that can be closed when families are playing and fencing for the play street. English and Spanish signage will be installed to encourage full use of this play street by non-English speaking area residents.
We’ll be sure to share more information with you as this project develops.
Starting off an exciting weekend with a highlight from KQED Arts’ The Do List:
Sept. 23-Nov. 12: Another 80th birthday now, this time for one of the Bay Area’s best and most innovative art centers. The Richmond Art Center celebrates with the show Making Our Mark by some of the great artists who’ve shown there, and their students, featuring work by Hung Liu, Christopher Brown, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, William T. Wiley, and more. This evening the RAC celebrates its role teaching art to thousands of local school kids, with a Back to School Community Celebration with art-making and food. Tomorrow the Del Sol Quartetplays music by Terry Riley at 2pm — just ten bucks for that. Details for the gallery show and other goodies are here.
The Art Center’s abuzz with lots of things to do, so here’s our short list for you!
Be sure to send in your application for the Holiday Arts Festival if you want to be a vendor. Deadline is end of day, September 22! Apply here.
RSVP to our Back to School Community Celebration: an event with dinner, art making and music! Make new friends and enjoy the Art Center with us. RSVP here.
From the article: “The Richmond Art Center celebrated its 80th anniversary last Saturday with the opening of “Making Our Mark and Making New Paths,” an exhibit that builds a family tree of artists and their mentees. The show includes work by 14 artists who jumpstarted their careers by showing work at RAC, alongside pieces by younger artists they have mentored and believed in.
“Making Our Mark and Making New Paths” was inspired by RAC’s mission, which is to give voice to new artists and open the galleries to new visions, said curator Jan Wurm. The idea behind the show was to “reflect the Richmond Art Center as a place where young artists could both show their work and find support as they grow into the different phases of their artistic, creative lives,” she said.”
Making Our Mark and Marking New Paths are on view in our galleries Tuesdays through Saturdays, free of charge. We invite you to visit this inspiring and important collection soon.
Dear Art Center Family,
It was a great pleasure to see the enthusiastic gathering at the opening reception for 
We’re happy to announce that the Richmond Art Center, in partnership with the City of Richmond and The Trust for Public Land, has received a new grant from Kaboom to create the Mathieu Court Alley Play Street.
