This summer, join the Fencelines team for a series ofhands-on art workshops that will provide space for the community to reflect on local conditions of environmental injustice in Richmond. Participants will paint on recycled wooden fence slats with images, messages and stories that respond to the following prompts:“What message do you have for the polluting industry here in Richmond?” and “What vision do you have for your community in the future?”
The slats created in these workshops will be used to form a temporary public art installation along a city-owned fence bordering the Chevron refinery and North Richmond neighborhoods in fall 2022. Additionally, this installation will be shown in an exhibition at Richmond Art Center in spring 2023.
Fencelines Community Art Workshops will be presented at Richmond Art Center every third Saturday this summer. Additional workshops will be presented out in Richmond at local community events. All workshops are free to attend.
Fencelines Art Workshops at Richmond Art Center
Saturday, June 18, 2pm-4pm
Saturday, July 16, 12pm-2pm
Saturday, August 20, 12pm-2pm
Saturday, September 17, 12pm-2pm
Fencelines Workshops in the Community
Saturday, June 18, 10am-12pm: Urban Tilth Volunteer Day at Unity Park
Saturday, July 9: Richmond LAND: Love Your Block Event in North Richmond
Saturday, August 6: APEN Refinery Explosion 10 Year Memorial Event; Hood Day in North Richmond at Shields-Reid Park
… and other summer 2022 events with Richmond Our Power Coalition TBD!
Fencelinesaspires to create a unique, celebratory monument with the community in Richmond by: facilitating the creation of artwork by the community itself, promoting conversation and connection between Richmond community members, bringing awareness to issues of environmental injustice, and beautifying and activating an otherwise underutilized space. The project design and participatory format is explicitly designed to center and amplify the voices of the community.
The Fencelines team is made up of local artists, organizers, and community members, Princess Robinson, Graham L.P., Dulce Galicia and Gita Khandagle. This project is presented in partnership with Richmond Our Power Coalition, Richmond Art Center, and Fencelines.
Top Image: Princess Robinson, co-creator of the Fencelines project, with her family
Richmond Art Center’s board plays an important role in supporting and guiding the organization. Different individual board members bring different experience, skills, knowledge and connections to their Board work.
People who live and/or work in Richmond, who are community-minded and thoughtful about how Richmond Art Center could better serve the community in and around Richmond
Artists and others who know and love Richmond Art Center
People with accounting/bookkeeping expertise with the potential to serve on the board finance committee and/or as board teasurer
A lawyer (for the general knowledge and issue-spotting ability lawyers tend to have)
People who can help us raise money for Richmond Art Center
Leaders with the potential to be board vice president and president in the future
What can you expect?
Board members attend board meetings (currently being held via Zoom), act as ambassadors at select evening and weekend events, give of their expertise and wisdom and make a personal financial contribution to the extent that they can. A Board member’s term is three years, with a two-term limit. Service on the Board of Directors is unpaid.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11:00am – 2:30pm June 7 – June 30, 2022 For this three-week course, artists ages 13-17 will join mixed media visual artist, Alex Martinez, in exploring what legends, characters, and icons that have informed their personal identity or cultural understanding and shape their visual language.
Summer Mural Program for Richmond Youth Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1pm to 4pm June 14 – July 28, 2022 With instructors Fred Alvarado and Keena Azania Romano, a cohort of twelve young artists (ages 14-24) will learn about different models of community art projects and create a collaborative mural project. Students will learn basic color theory, composition, and painting methods. This class welcomes Spanish speakers and is an inclusive bilingual space. El Artista Maestro habla Español.
S.P.O.T.S: Supporting Peoples Outlooks, Talents, and Speech
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1pm to 4 pm
Jul 5 – Aug 11, 2022
The painting spot, the gathering spot, the spot light or epicenter of action.
Public art is a powerful tool for community building. This program will introduce young artists to the means to create vibrant community art works. A cohort of twelve young artists (ages 14-24) will learn about different models of community art projects, help to define how the program will local youth, and create a collaborative mural project. Students will learn basic color theory, composition, and painting methods.
CLICK HERE to view the mural created by youth participating in the program in 2021.
Eligibility: This six week class is for youth ages 14-24 who live, work or study in Richmond.
Stipend: Each student will receive a $200 stipend for their work at the completion of the program.
Schedule: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1pm-4pm, Jul 5 – Aug 11, 2022
Instructors: Fred Alvarado and Keena Azania Romano
This class welcomes Spanish speakers and is an inclusive bilingual space. El Artista Maestro habla Español.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11:00am – 2:30pm
June 14 – June 30, 2022
For this three-week course, youth ages 13-17 will join artist Alex Martinez to explore the legends, characters and icons that have informed their personal identity and cultural understanding, while developing their own visual language in mixed media.
La instructora de clase es bilingüe ingles / español.
About the Artist: Alex Martinez (she/her/they) is a Queer Latinx mixed media visual artist and teacher who is based in Oakland, California. Her mixed media paintings and prints playfully juxtapose her ancestors with Mexican ephemera, folklore, legends, and pop culture characters that represent her personal identity and visual landscape.
Could there be a more perfect cover artwork for our Spring Catalog than instructor Chris Harper Triplett’s Flower Cowgirl? Some students may recognize this piece as Chris created it as a demo in her watercolor class back in 2018.
As Covid-19 case numbers continue to go down and the Bay Area gradually “opens up” you’ll see some positive changes rolling out at Richmond Art Center. Our gallery hours are expanding (Wed-Sat 10am-4pm), new staff hires are arriving (welcome Elaine Moreno, our new Visitor Services Coordinator), and more in-person classes will run as part of our Spring Session schedule. A highlight for me in the galleries this spring is—after a two year pause—the return of the WCCUSD Student Art Show. Be inspired by the skill and vision of the next generation of local artists.
There’s also a lot happening behind the scenes at RAC. Our education team is collaborating with RYSE Youth Center and East Bay Center for the Performing Arts to run a professional development training series for educators. The makeover of the metals studio continues and we are hosting the Metal Arts Guild Picnic. Artists-in-residence Liberación Gráfica are working in the print studio with a group of students from Richmond High. And we were excited to send three staff to the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference in Sacramento this past March. Marisa Burman, RAC’s Ceramics Manager, described the event as, “rich and stimulating”.
Join Richmond Art Center’s team. We’re looking for an Education Coordinator to support all Education Programs, Projects, Partnerships and Personnel – Online, On-site, and Off-site.
We are so happy to welcome Elaine Moreno to Richmond Art Center’s staff team. Elaine is our new Visitor Services Coordinator.
Please say hello and welcome to Elaine at the front desk next time you are at RAC!
About Elaine: Elaine Moreno is a Bay Area born and raised Visual Artist, primarily working with Film and Digital Photography. Elaine’s passion for the arts started at an early age, and brought her to California College of the Arts where she graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Photography and Visual Studies Minor. Elaine aims to give back to her community that helped propel her artistic journey in hopes to inspire and guide others along their artistic paths.
These eight Richmond artists will contribute work to an exhibition to be presented in Richmond Art Center’s South Gallery that will run from April 7 through to June 3, 2022. Participating artists are selected for their risk-taking and visionary creative practices. More info about the exhibition coming soon!
