Due to poor air quality this week, we are postponing our Mural Reveal Celebration with RYSE Center on Friday. We’ll let you know when it’s rescheduled so you can celebrate with us and the talented young artists who’ve created the wonderful mural in our courtyard.
This is a series of images representing the Òrìṣàs African deities of the traditional Yoruba Ifa religious system that was carried to the West Indian islands and the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade. Where upon arrival slaves were baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. Forced to practice their native faith in secret the slaves masked their African rituals and deities with the practices and saints of the Catholic church. Evolving into Vodun religion found in Haiti, Santaria in Cuba and Candomblé in Brasil the syncretism of these traditions have became one of the most complex and flourishing faiths of the African diaspora. Òrìṣà also spelled Orixas, orichá or orixá are ancestors who have been deified. They are the link between the spiritual world and the world of humans. Each orixa represents a certain force in nature, elements of air, water, fire, as well as to mountains and animals. In addition, each deity has a specific attribute: a color, a metal, a day of the week, a favorite dish, a certain drumbeat, etc…. The Orixas act as mediators guiding us back to our origins of strengths and connecting us to our higher power. In the complex multi-faceted world of today we are constantly distracted. In our need to create we have built so many things that it has formed a disconnect to our natural spiritual energy. More and more we are seeking to connect back to this true essence, to tapping into that inner voice that links us to that higher power. The inner voices guides and protect you. It can be seen as our conscious, ancestors, saints, forces of nature or Orixas. This series of art works represent your Orixa, your protector, your guiding voice, your connection to those that no longer exist who have left words of wisdom and keys to unlock your natural spiritual energy.
Artist Nichole Talbott is a Colorado native with a background in graphic design. Relocated to the Bay in 2011 to pursue a career in Arts Education. She has become an arts advocate who believes that art has the power to change lives. She spends her time creating spaces that help individuals find their voice, that allow individuals to collaborate and learn from one another, spaces where they build community and re-imagine the world. Pulling from her background in graphic design Nichole likes to explore combining different mediums to build one cohesive piece not to limit herself to one style or technique. Seeing how different mediums work together to create a layered effect of complexity.
Nichole’s website
We’re looking for extraordinary art made here in our studios to feature as our next (and future!) catalog cover image. Maybe it’s yours.
Image requirements:
Questions? Email Julie Sparenberg at julie@richmondartcenter.org
Deadline is October 17.
Bring your unused fabrics to the RAC! We’ll make sure the artists at the Social Justice Sewing Academy can use them for their upcoming quilt projects. (We will be exhibiting their work in partnership with The Latina Center this Winter!)
What is the SJSA? Founded in 2017, the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) is an art program where youth create art that engages and educates communities. Through quilt making, the organization empowers youth to become advocates for social change, while at the same time opening the door for dialogue and action within the wider quilting community.
Position: Development Assistant and Database Coordinator
Schedule: 24 hours weekly: non-exempt, days/hours to be determined
Supervisor: Director of Development
Essential Functions:
Under the supervision of the Director of Development, the Development Assistant and Database Coordinator (1) manages the fundraising database, (2) supports all activities of the annual fund including handling all gift acknowledgements and annual fund mailings, (3) has responsibilities in the areas of foundation and corporation research, grant writing, and reporting, (4) assists in all fundraising events and donor stewardship.
Database management:
Annual fund:
Research and Administration, Foundations and Corporations
Fundraising events and donor stewardship:
Other:
Other duties as assigned by Director of Development
Minimum Qualifications
Examples of Database Assistant skills:
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
About the Richmond Art Center:
A non-profit organization, the Richmond Art Center has provided 80 years of excellence in arts education and exhibitions for the East Bay region. The Art Center’s mission is to be a dynamic arts organization that empowers and transforms individuals and the community through creative exploration, experience and education. The largest Art Center in the East Bay, the 1951 vintage modern facility is part of Richmond’s Civic Center Plaza and receives partial funding from the City of Richmond. The Art Center offers one of the most extensive schedules of exhibitions and art instruction programs in the East Bay, presenting 13 -16 exhibitions in four galleries, and providing 50-60 art classes and workshops in six studios four times a year to 400-450 students each quarter, ages 5 and up of all skill levels. In addition, the Art in the Community program offers after school art experiences to schools and various community centers, engaging nearly 1700 underserved student age children. The Art Center has over 600 members, 100 volunteers, 11 full-time and four part-time staff. The Center has an operating budget of just over $1.3 million.
To apply, please submit the following materials via email:
Resume and a cover letter introducing yourself, stating how your work experience qualifies you for this position, how this opportunity supports your career goals. Also include the names and contact information for three professional references. Open until filled.
Send all materials to Catherine@richmondartcenter.org
Compensation & Benefits: Depending on experience.
DOE, includes vacation, sick, and holidays, contribution towards group health plan.
The Richmond Art Center is an equal opportunity employer, values diversity and respects differences.
Principals only. Recruiters please don’t contact this job poster.
This year, our Art in the Community program (AIC) worked with a total of 48 student groups in ongoing arts learning
experiences, as well as holding a weekly drop-in class at the Richmond Public Library, engaging over 1700 students. In collaboration with the WCCUSD office of expanded learning, we provided after-school art classes in eight local elementary schools and two middle schools.
In its fourth year, our school-wide spring residency at Washington elementary focused on printmaking, mixed media and fibers/weaving. Half of our partnerships occur in non-traditional learning spaces which include local nonprofits, City of Richmond community centers, and housing-affiliated community centers.
This year Art Center staff and teaching artists shared strategies for artmaking with 40 elementary school teachers through our Bring Art to Your Classroom professional development workshop series. Strategies for artmaking that were explored during our workshops emphasize teaching practices that build ownership of artistic processes and skills, comfort with problem-solving/ leadership thinking, reflection, and self expression.
This spring, AIC partnered with Korematsu Middle School to kick of our first
class exploring the world of 3D model and design! During the semester students worked with teaching artist Vince De Jesus to learn drawing and design applications in 3D modeling. Students spent the semester conceptualizing sculptural themes and translated their designs into an array of 3D printed objects.
This year’s 6th annual Art in the Community Show, Richmond Creates, highlighted work created via partnerships with 20 local satellite sites. The artists shown here range from ages 5 to 85. For many, this was their first structured arts learning experience. This exhibition showcases work made in a variety of media; printmaking, sculpture, animation, weaving, painting, ceramics and mixed media. The talented teaching artists facilitating these classes are dedicated to sharing the joy and power of the creative process!
We’ve been nominated for Best Art Classes in Best of the East Bay! Help us win: it’s fast and easy! Voting happens here: https://www.EastBayExpress.com/BestOf
You’ll find Best Art Classes listed on page 3. Thank you for sharing the work of the Richmond Art Center!
Voting ends on July 11.
Presented by the Richmond Art Center in partnership with the Northern California Surface Design Association, What Knot? will feature contemporary art by Californian artists working with fiber and textile construction techniques, and offering new twists on traditional processes, materials and concepts. The exhibition will be juried by Camille Ann Brewer, Curator of Contemporary Art at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, D.C.
AN INTERVIEW WITH PHIL LINHARES
by Amy Spencer, Exhibition Director
Unlike many exhibitions juried online, the scale of the work for Small Works actually translated very well to a computer screen. Where you thinking about this as you viewed the works?
The submissions came off pretty well. Years ago I dealt with juried shows where the actual artwork was brought in. It was a real hassle. For the centennial of the San Francisco Art Institute Annual we had 16,000 artworks brought in to be juried. So for the Small Works exhibition, being that the works are a small scale, it was especially effective to see them online.
The way I jury a show is I look at everything first to understand the range. Then after looking at the whole field I go back a few times to start making selections. For Small Works we ended up with nearly 60 pieces. If we had more room in the gallery I could easily have selected more.
Some of the artists in the exhibition always work on a small scale. While others work in varying sizes and simply selected a small work to enter. What did you observe about how different artists approach scale?
Some of the works entered in Small Works looked like small works but others you could blow up to six feet and they would still work very well. In some regards art needs to justify its size. Most of the submitted artwork I did not recognize who the artist was by simply looking at the piece.
What do you think artists can learn from participating in juried exhibitions?
Juried shows give artists an opportunity to present their work in a public sphere. It gives them a line on their resume that could allow them to go beyond that venue. I think people have a lot of respect for the Richmond Art Center. It’s important for artists to show work with their peers, meet other artists, and look at new work for inspiration.
What do you learn from jurying exhibitions?
There’s always something unexpected. Something that stands out. Something I continue to think about long after the jurying is over. Looking at new art sustains me everyday.
