There’s no place like home for the holidays, and this year you won’t have to go far to procure the perfect gifts for friends and family. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it seems like local holiday fairs are popping up everywhere.
Check out The Chronicle’s guide to holiday-focused markets and festivals, with an emphasis on shopping and an abundance of seasonal merriment.
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Richmond Art Center Holiday Art Festival Each year the festival offers visitors a chance to shop for unique gifts from more than fifty local vendors, enjoy food and beverages, buy a raffle ticket, check out open glass and ceramics studios and participate in art-making activities for the whole family.
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 4. Free admission. Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond. 510-620-6772. richmondartcenter.org
A Message from Richmond Art Center’s Board President
Hello RAC Community,
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment it occurred. Perhaps it was when a beautiful new mural returned life and color to the Community Gallery’s long corridor? Or when the Board of Directors was able to meet in person after two years of isolating zoom calls?
No matter when, there came a time when everyone at Richmond Art Center sensed a new optimism on the corner of Barrett Avenue and 25th Street. Under the watchful gaze of Guillermo the Golden Trout, we had survived the pandemic! But victory had come with a steep price: the galleries had been closed for two years, in-person classes canceled, and many staff members laid off as financial resources dwindled.
Our optimism was fueled from many directions: the arrival of a new executive director who led the charge to increase the flow of funds into RAC, including two PPP grants from the federal government. Also, special Angels among our friends and supporters made significant donations that enabled us to renovate the interiors of galleries and classrooms. New staff members were added slowly as budgets permitted, and program offerings expanded.
But our spirits were darkened when we lost 23% of our income in July when we learned that two major funders would no longer be contributing to our annual budget. With this devastating news, the Board of Directors estimated that it will take a further eighteen months to complete the full recovery of RAC operations, staffing and programming.
Our goal of returning Richmond Art Center to full operational capacity by the end of 2023 is focused on these tasks:
Education: Expanding our current capacity to deliver once again a full roster of classes both at the Center and through our community outreach programs.
Infrastructure: Maintaining our efforts to execute necessary upgrades in the physical plant and utilities of the Center. Next May, we will celebrate the 25th birthday of RAC’s iconic sculpture Guillermo the Golden Trout by honoring its creator Andrée Singer Thompson and restoring the artwork.
Programming: Returning to the practice of medium- and longer-term planning in support of our mission; and to continue increasing diversity and bilingualism in our outreach and programming.
WE ARE THE RICHMOND ART CENTER!
We teach art! We create art! We show art! We work in service to Richmond and the East Bay!
PLEASE HELP US COMPLETE THE RENAISSANCE AT RICHMOND ART CENTER. YOUR DONATION WILL HELP TO RESTORE RAC AS A JEWEL IN THE HEART OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND’S CIVIC CENTER.
Richmond Art Center is pleased to serve as gateway for local artists to display and sell their works. At the Holiday Arts Festival we’re also highlighting community organizations with vital messages.
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.
It is Día de los Muertos and we are remembering friends and family members who are no longer with us.
Thank you to everyone who came to our Día de los Muertos Family Day event on October 15. We came together for community and creativity in celebration of our loved ones. It was a beautiful day!
Holiday Arts Festival at Richmond Art Center Celebrates Its ‘Diamond Jubilee’ 60th Year
Arts and crafts festival with over 50 local artist vendors and community partners, famous ceramics sale, open studios, and art activities for all ages
Holiday Arts Festival Sunday, December 4, 10am-5pm Richmond Art Center 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804 richmondartcenter.org/haf
Richmond, CA: The Holiday Arts Festival returns to Richmond Art Center. After running for two years as a virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Festival is back in-person to celebrate its ‘diamond jubilee’ 60th year in Richmond.
The Holiday Arts Festival offers visitors a chance to buy unique gifts from local arts and crafts vendors, experience our open studios, enjoy snacks and beverages, and participate in art-making activities for the whole family. The Festival runs from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, December 4 at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond.
Visitors will be able to shop local and handmade holiday gifts by over 50 local, independent artists. Available merchandise will include unique jewelry pieces, art glass, tin boxes, botanical illustrations, upcycled incense holders, crocheted fantastical hats, and food prep items made from repurposed wood. Artisanal goods at the Festival will include gourmet chocolates and confections, and handmade natural skincare products.
“I’ve always felt joy come through when creating for and participating in the Holiday Arts Festival. I’m able to connect with the Richmond community and beyond, and share joy. What fun!”
– Riquelle Small, Pretty Fun Designs
“The warm, creative, down to earth community at Richmond Art Center is what makes this fair special. It’s always a lovely, well attended show.”
– Malena Lopez-Maggi, The Xocolate Bar
Our popular Ceramics Sale is back in-person this year with an opportunity to purchase beautiful and usable ceramics. All items are made by our students, teachers and friends. The Ceramics Sale will be set up in our ceramics studio and all sales benefit Richmond Art Center.
Other activities at the Festival will include open glass and metals studios to see professional artists in action; art-making activities for families to DIY their own cards and gift wrap paper; a raffle of donated items from local artists; the opportunity to buy artist designed Richmond Art Center totes and t-shirts; and the Holiday Café serving coffee, cookies, beer and wine.
“Join us on this exciting day to share holiday spirit, mingle with our team, and pick up some wonderful arts and crafts for your loved ones,” says José R. Rivera, executive director of Richmond Art Center.
Covid-19 Safety: Note, this is an indoor event. We will do what we can to keep people safe. Mask wearing will be required in the galleries and indoor public spaces. Masks may be removed while in the courtyard.
Accessibility, Parking and Public Transportation: Ample free parking is available in the 25th Street lot across the street from Richmond Art Center. Richmond Art Center’s facility is accessible to users of wheelchairs via two step-free public entrances. The Barrett Street entrance is adjacent to a parking lot with six accessible spaces. The 25th Street entrance is adjacent to a parking lot with three accessible spaces. Richmond Art Center is accessible by BART, AC Transit, R-Transit, and rideshare services.
Participating Vendors: Adrianna Gluck, Art Builds Community, Art of the African Diaspora, Awkward Ladies Club, Bird vs. Bird Designs, Catherine Ricketts, CERAMICSbyREGINA, Crystal Clear Crafting Club, Eyes For Trees, Gabriela Nunez, Hats and Spats & Tinybully Knits, Hope Meredith, Ilah Jarvis, Iris Chiu Art, JAMM the Artist, Ji Wook Choi Art, Judith T. Irwin Artistry, Julia Beery, KS Wood, LaanMao, LSK Creations, Marisa Burman Ceramics, Maya Kosover, Meg Pohlod, Megan Godino Art, mira vista soap co., Mister Scents, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, NIAD Art Center, Patricia Tostenson Jewelry, Pretty Fun Designs, Sea Pony Couture, Skincare by Feleciai, Sky_pottery, Sophie Tivona Illustration, Stoner Zines, Suzanne Carey Arts, Take Shape Studio, The Designing Chica, The Latina Center, The Xocolate Bar, Under Construction Creations / Frikkin Laser Sharks, Wiggle & Woof, Xan Blood Walker… and more to be announced!
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
For more information, images and artist quotes contact: Amy Spencer, amy@richmondartcenter.org
Amid the drug store offerings of Halloween consumer goods, any Dia de los Muertos-themed item invariably sticks out.
Decorations featuring iconic skulls and cempasúchil marigolds, or candy branded with characters from Pixar’s film “Coco” speak to the growing commercialization of a holiday once outside of the corporate limelight.
But the holiday has more cultural significance in Mexico, where it orginated. And on Saturday, the Richmond Art Center will share that tradition with a Dia de los Muertos-themed Fall Family Day, featuring art, music, and even remote-controlled miniature low riders from the collection of Cruz Arroyo, who runs a popular tamale stand in Richmond.
Sandra Martinez and her children, Giuliana and Alejandro, make calavertias (Sasha Schell photos)
“There’s instances where I’ve seen somebody put on a Day of the Dead event, but it’s more of an entertainment program or event. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it misses the actual ancestral connections that are really important and really real,” said Roberto Martinez, exhibitions director at the Richmond Art Center. “I think it’s important to teach, to educate people about such an important cultural event.”
Martinez has worked closely with a number of local artists like Daniel Camacho and Ernesto Olmos, among others, to plan a day of festivities to inspire the anticipated 300 to 500 attendees.
Camacho, whose exhibition “De Fantasías y Realidades” is currently on display at the Richmond Art Center, will lead the day by setting up a community ofrenda in the main hallway. His calaveritas workshops will make the skulls that adorn the altar alongside offerings of food and objects brought by community members hoping to celebrate those they have lost.
“The idea is to share a bit about my culture. It’s a very important day in Mexico. I know people want to express their feeling about those who have passed,” said Camacho. “This brings families together. That’s the important thing.”
Daniel Camacho (wearing hat) leads a calaverita workshop for Dia de los Muertos. (Sasha Schell)
Ernesto Olmos, an artist and specialist in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican traditions, will give a presentation on the cosmology and history of Dia de los Muertos. For him, making offerings on an ofrenda are not mere gestures, but rather a vehicle connecting the living to those that came before.
It’s about honoring our ancestors, Olmos said, and about how we perceive the dead.
“If you’re going to build something, do it real,” he said. “Put fruit, talk to them, cry.”
Olmos fears that the true meaning behind the day is sometimes forgotten as the entertainment-oriented side of the holiday is highlighted. But traditions that had been hidden “in the kitchens, in the dress, in the language,” are being rediscovered as older people talk more about the custom, he added.
Organizations such as the Richmond Art Center are instrumental in preserving this history and these traditions, Martinez said.
The event at the Art Center is an opportunity to strengthen the cultural traditions that have been diluted through the process of assimilation, he said. “Places like this are important to keeping that.”
Class Registration Opens Wednesday, October 26, 10am
Winter classes are now posted on our website (don’t worry if the class says ‘Fully Booked’ this will change once registration opens). Browse listings now and plan which class or workshop you’ll sign up for. And don’t forget to get your scholarship applications in early for classes starting in January!
Celebrate your ancestors by making sugar skulls for Día de los Muertos with artist Keena Azania Romano. This video is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Artist Hector Munoz-Guzman Teaches New Class for Youth
We spoke with teaching artist Hector Munoz-Guzman about his artistic development, current projects, and the class he will be teaching at Richmond Art Center this semester.
As a new teaching artist at Richmond Art Center can you please introduce yourself to our community.
My name is Hector Munoz-Guzman. I am a painter and mixed media artist, and I’m from South Berkeley.
What has your artistic journey been like?
In high school I studied digital media at The Youth Institute in downtown Berkeley. This program introduced me to a lot of different media: drawing, collage, digital art. I also took IB Studio Art with Kimberley D’Adamo. This is where I really started to think seriously about what art I create and who it is for. The work I created in IB Studio Art got me accepted into Parsons School of Design. I later transferred to RISD [Rhode Island School of Design] where I started focusing on large scale paintings. I continued to make mixed media work as well.
I was raised by a single mom who was an immigrant from Mexico. So art didn’t seem like a possibility for a career. But I developed a tag – Gold Rust – that’s about finding the beauty from the limitations you have. I take this into my art practice; being resourceful with materials, making something out of my experiences.
Recently I was awarded a Civic Arts Grant from the City of Berkeley. With this award I’m creating a 7 foot by 24 foot mural depicting me and my family growing up in South Berkeley. I want to honor my family and the place that I grew up.
Artwork by Hector Munoz-Guzman
What other projects are you working on?
My work will be in a number of exhibitions over the next year. I recently did a studio visit with a curator from MACLA [Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana] in San Jose who is going to include three of my paintings in a show there that will open in December. I’m also going to be exhibiting my work in galleries in San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2023.
In the past I have exhibited at Fall River MoCa in Massachusetts and Bureau Gallery in New York.
What do you like about teaching?
I feel like teachers can be extremely impactful on their students. I’m still in contact with my teachers. They gave me a safe space to feel creative. And I was then granted the opportunity to study at renowned art schools. So I just want to use what I’ve learned and give it back to my community.
Can you tell us about the Mixed Media Illustration class you are teaching at Richmond Art Center this semester?
It’s a class for youth between the ages of twelve and seventeen. The emphasis of the class is using mixed media for personal expression. I will support students with skill development using different media – crayons, pencils, collage, paint – and help them find media they feel comfortable with. But the main focus of the class will be encouraging students to explore and develop their own narratives, characters and subjects. Students will develop a body of work that is connected to where they come from; that tells their stories and expresses the ideas that are important to them.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about the class?
I just want to offer a space for students to feel they are making work that is important to them. That they are making work for themselves first.
Artwork by Hector Munoz-Guzman
Visit Hector Munoz-Guzman’s Instagram account @hectorfmunoz to see more of his work.
Mixed Media Illustration will run on Thursdays, 5pm-7pm starting on October 26 and running through to November 16. CLICK HERE to learn more about the class. (And don’t forget we have needs-based scholarships available!)
Due to rising operating costs and changes in funding, we are making the difficult choice to increase our class prices. This increase will be starting Winter Quarter 2023.
We understand this will have an impact for students. We want to assure you that we will continue to offer needs-based Art Boost scholarships for community members, and encourage you to explore our membership program for class discounts.
