Exhibition: July – September, 2024 Reception: Tuesday, September 10, 4pm-6:30pm
Richmond City Council Chambers, 440 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, CA 94804
In celebration of the Richmond Art Center’s new partnership with the Richmond City Council, our inaugural Council Chambers exhibition explores the relationships between nature, people, and the built environment—elements central to life in Richmond.
This exhibition features artwork created by the Richmond Art Center’s expansive community, including pieces from our students, teachers, staff, members, and volunteers.
With an 80-year history of serving the people and City of Richmond, our first Council Chambers exhibition pays homage to the vision and legacy of Richmond Art Center’s founder, Hazel Salmi. From the early days when Hazel would bike around town with art supplies in her basket to serve the burgeoning Richmond arts community, to the post-war decision to include an art center with studios and galleries in the Civic Center complex, to our current efforts to educate and empower local artists of all ages—we’re honoring the enduring commitment to the arts shared by the Richmond City Council and Richmond Art Center.
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this exciting new collaboration. More to come!
About the Program: The Youth Artist Xchange is a series of free summer intensive classes. The program gives middle and high school students, as well as young adults (up to 24 years), in-depth, hands-on arts learning experiences in our studios led by professional artists.
How to Join:
Prospective students are invited to complete a short online application to let us know their arts interests and class preferences.
Available classes are listed below (click the LEARN MORE button to see the class schedules)
Dreams of Liberated Futures: A Zine & Printmaking Series
An intensive six-week summer class (with 12 sessions) for 8-12 youth (ages 14-24) that combines hands-on visual arts learning with storytelling. Taught by artist Shani Ealey, the class is rooted in traditional African Indigenous wisdom to provide inspiration for students to explore visual storytelling through zinemaking.
Learn the art of storytelling through filmmaking! Participants will explore the language of creating visual narratives using professional filmmaking processes. From storyboarding and directing to shooting and editing, students will gain hands-on experience in crafting their own short movies. All materials and tools are included. This class is a youth space for ages 13 to 17.
Current Members are invited to vote to elect new Board Members at our Annual Members Meeting
At the Annual Members’ Meeting meeting there will be a ballot to elect new members to the Board of Directors. There will also be a vote to make amendments to Richmond Art Center’s By-Laws. All current Richmond Art Center members are invited to vote. The meeting will happen at Richmond Art Center on Saturday, June 29, 2024 starting at 12pm.
PROSEPECTIVE NEW BOARD OF DIRECTOR MEMBERS
Richmond Art Center’s Nominating Committee and Board of Directors have nominated each of the following seven people for a three-year term on Richmond Art Center’s Board of Directors, beginning July 1, 2024. Biographical information is available HERE. You may vote for up to seven candidates.
Amy Feitelberg
Amy Zheng
Cristina Saavedra
Dawn Gonzalez
Sandra Kozma-Kennedy
Tia Foss
PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE BY-LAWS
At the meeting there will also be a vote to make amendments to Richmond Art Center’s By-Laws. The proposed amendments are HERE.
Artist Quinn Keck is collecting words, stories, poems, and images for a project that will be part of the Right Here Right Now exhibition opening at Richmond Art Center in September 2024. Community members are invited to submit their memories and moments of Richmond to be included in a new artwork that will be part of the show.
Important Parking Notification during RPAL’s Juneteenth Carnival
RPAL’s Juneteenth Carnival
Set-Up through Deinstall: Monday, June 9, 12am (midnight) – Monday, June 17, 5pm
Carnival: Friday, June 14, 5pm – Sunday, June 16, 11pm
Starting Sunday, June 9 at 12am (midnight) through Monday, June 17, 5pm the City parking lot opposite Richmond Art Center (on the 400 block of 25th Street between Barrett and Nevin Avenues) will be reserved for the Juneteenth Carnival being sponsored by the Richmond Police Activities League. As a result students and visitors to Richmond Art Center during this period may need to find alternative parking.
PARKING OPTIONS:
There are City parking lots adjacent to 1st Northern California Credit Union or across from Richmond Library
Residential street parking on the other side of Barrett Avenue from RAC might be the best option
For information about the Juneteenth Carnival Celebration call Richmond PAL at 510-621-1221 or visit their website at www.rpal.org
The Richmond Artist Residency offers one community-responsive artist a dedicated studio for 8 months, $8,000 artist stipend, opportunities to teach, exhibit, take classes, and develop strategies for community-based arts programming.
Last week in the “Women in Ceramics” class, students drew inspiration from the renowned artist Toshiko Takaezu. They created hollow orbs using Takaezu’s technique of paddling large closed-form pots until they achieved a “rounder than round” shape.
Further emulating Takaezu’s approach, the students then suspended their work in hammocks outside in the courtyard. (Local sculptor John Roeder’s statue looked on.)
Takaezu said of her work, “People ask, why are you doing the same thing? So I usually try to tell them I’m trying to get a perfect piece. And what is a perfect piece? And if I had it would I know it? And I’m sure I’ve gotten some that are perfect, and yet I don’t want to admit that because then I would stop. So I keep on saying “I’m going to make a perfect piece.” And that’s what I’m striving for.”
Thank you, Toshiko Takaezu, for inspiring us to keep striving also.
“Women in Ceramics” is taught by artist Colleen Garland @colleenandclay. There are a few spots left in Garland’s “Evening Handbuilding” class starting on June 13.
