Open House - Capital Campaign Phase I Showcase & Celebration - June 22nd, 2024

DATE: Saturday, June 22nd, 2024

TIME: 1:00 - 3:00pm

Program begins at 2:00pm.

LOCATION: 3111 West Street, Oakland, CA 94608

ArtEsteem launched our capital campaign to ensure sustainability in Oakland’s ever-changing cityscape. The establishment of The Center for ArtEsteem at 3111 and 3115 West Street, less than two blocks from our original location on 33rd and West where we formed our identity and made decades of healing, creative, and educational impacts is indicative of a universal pull to maintain our deep-rooted legacy in West Oakland.

Our Phase I building at 3111 West Street is constructed, complete, and ready to be filled with ArtEsteem’s foundational energies of love, joy, and creativity. This Open House will serve as a showcase and celebration, demonstrating the building’s design, features, and potential as an arts, healing, and administrative space.

ArtEsteem hired two dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds and abilities to create culturally-connected architectural, landscape, and urban designs. Christopher Andrews, a Black architect and town planner, and Catherine Chang, a native Hawaiian architect and landscape designer, each bring over 30 years of experience to their practice and have extensive experience with environmentally and culturally sustainable methods to the design process. Their general practice and approach to The Center for ArtEsteem’s new buildings celebrates the critical juncture between architectural and urban space, articulates and advocates for environmental and social concerns, and helps preserve, enhance and create beautiful neighborhoods and buildings. Christopher and Catherine have worked with the ArtEsteem team from design to build, providing support with project management as well as managing and navigating city planning and permit processes.

Madrone Design Studio, Catherine Chang’s sustainable development and design firm, is staffed by a diverse team of culturally informed and responsive junior architects who operate from a culture of listening and respect. This collaboration has allowed our capital campaign to prioritize our unique cultural and programmatic needs, resulting in a unique space that stands out to ArtEsteem’s residential neighbors and provides an optimal community resource.

We want to serve as an example of an organization that uplifts and provide spaces for resilience, imagination, and ingenuity, an imperative aim to mitigate the oppressive systems that have divided and degraded marginalized peoples and spaces. We welcome you to our Open House, and ask you to instill love, optimism, and hope into the space.

FEATURING:

Art activities including gel plate printing, tablecloth decoration, and screen printing.

Video engagement with the HEAR HERE Community Billboard Truck.

Catering from ASÚKAR Palestinian Cuban Fusion.

NAVIGATION:

Our new property is located in the residential neighborhood of the Hoover Corridor at 3111 West Street.

Parking is limited to spaces on the surrounding streets. We recommend that you walk, bike, take public transportation, carpool, or rideshare to ease your arrival experience.

COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS:

We strongly recommend wearing a mask and having up-to-date vaccinations.

According to Alameda County Public Health: “Wearing masks is strongly urged in indoor settings and required in certain high-risk settings. You may choose to wear a mask in outdoor crowded settings, and in non-public indoor settings, like a private residence, when you are around people who may be unvaccinated, elderly, or immunocompromised. While fully vaccinated people are well-protected from severe illness due to variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, they may get asymptomatic or mild infections. To protect everyone, wear a mask to help slow the spread of the virus.“

Please be mindful of social distancing, and respect everyone’s space.

Graffiti as Artistic Expression: One on One with Teaching Artist Cristina

Before we explore the creative expression of our students at the upcoming 26th Annual ArtEsteem Exhibition on April 13th, let’s delve into the minds of one of our ArtEsteem Visual Arts teaching artists: Cristina Delgado.

Cristina (she/they) has brightened classrooms with us since 2021. She was born in Autlán, Jalisco, Mexico, raised in Tongva land (Los Angeles, CA), and is currently based in Ohlone land (Oakland, CA). She is a first-generation graduate from UC Berkeley with a BA in film and media studies and a minor in education. As an undergraduate, Cristina participated in CREATE (Creative Residencies for Emerging Artists Teaching Empowerment) where she taught classes in visual arts, creative writing, and art therapy to local schools and community organizations. Post graduation she worked at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and Kala Art Institute before landing with The Center for ArtEsteem.

This year for her students at Encompass Academy, Cristina developed a project integrating graffiti arts and one of ArtEsteem’s core curriculums, the Self As Super Hero (SASH), developed by Executive Director Amana Harris.

With artist Aeos One (DeVante Brooks) sharing his skillset as a style writer, sculptor, sign painter, and muralist, Cristina's classes are expanding their world views and artistic education with each lesson in the project series.

The following interview allows us a view into Cristina’s unique perspective as teacher and artist.


What is your intention behind this project? How did it all come together?

I was inspired to create this lesson plan because when I was talking to students at the beginning of the school year in August/September many expressed an interest in graffiti, and I wanted to incorporate something they were interested in into their SASH portraits. I know graffiti is a subculture and often criminalized because it's associated with gang culture. However, graffiti is another way we can visually communicate, self express, and represent ourselves and our communities politically, humorously, bluntly, or any way we feel like it. 

I met DeVante a couple years ago at First Fridays. He was vending with AeroSoul. I saw his work and was so amazed by his talent that I bought a jean jacket he painted. I followed him on social media and I've been seeing his work online with calligraphy, graffiti, and repurposing signs with positive messages and words. I DM'ed him and asked him if he would be down to do a graffiti skill share with elementary students in East Oakland and he replied with “I’m open to helping the youth of Oakland.” He suits this project because he was born and raised in Oakland, has been doing graffiti for about 15 years, and his philosophy in creating art is uplifting his community. 

I merged SASH with graffiti art concepts by doing a mixed media collage portrait painting. Students learned about can control by spray painting their canvas, which will be the background to their SASH portrait. They were also encouraged to come up with one word for their superhero; it can be their name, an adjective, or a word that represents them. DeVante took the time to write each word using graffiti techniques, and the students will paint their word with paint markers using graffiti techniques and tricks. 


From your perspective, how have the students engaged with and reacted to the project?

Students have been brainstorming and developing their SASH portraits, and have now begun sketching and painting with watercolors. When we returned from winter break I told them we were going to have a guest artist come and teach us about graffiti.

All the students were excited to use spray paint as a medium. I think their first impression of graffiti was that it was a bad thing to do because there is a lot of stigma associated with it and it is often described as vandalism. But after hearing Mr. Aeos One (DeVante) share his story and work with the students I think their perspective changed. They now understand how graffiti is an artistic expression and can lead to a career if that is something they're interested in pursuing. Additionally, we will soon begin painting the graffiti words that Mr. Aeos One did for them, and they will get the opportunity to paint and decorate their graffiti word in their own stylistic way. I hope this process can highlight key elements to graffiti and demonstrate to them that graffiti is more than spray painting.  


What do you hope the students will take away from this project? What do you want audiences to feel at the Exhibition?

I hope the students enjoyed this project and got to authentically express themselves in their SASH portraits. I hope the audience can have a greater appreciation for the community and culture that graffiti stems from.

A Rising Tide Benefit Screening - March 24th, 2024

This benefit screening, the creation of Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project Wall #5 , and the restoration of Wall #2 are funded by the Bay Area Creative Corps program, a joint initiative by the San Francisco Foundation and California Arts Council.

PAST DATE: Sunday, March 24th, 2024 | 12:30pm

PAST LOCATION: The New Parkway Theater | 474 24th St, Oakland, CA 94612

Our Panelists

 

Nikko was an ArtEsteem student and Oakland Legacy Project leader from 2016 to his high school graduation in 2021. He participated in the design process and narrative writing of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project Wall #5, which is set for the west wall of the Market Street I-580 underpass in summer 2024.

After the traumatic experience of having lost his older brother Joshua to cancer, Nikko took that pain and used it as a catalyst to push himself into forging the person he is today. Nikko describes himself as an optimist as he thinks it important to look on the bright side of things and maintain a positive attitude when faced with challenges.

Thanks to his day-dreamer tendencies, he is naturally drawn to the arts and the art of storytelling as they assist in guiding and directing his thoughts and interests. During his time with ArtEsteem, Nikko took it upon himself to act as a role model for not only himself but for his peers and others. He wanted his peers to enjoy and grow alongside him during their time with ArtEsteem as he had.

Although he struggled with his own self confidence, he frequently encouraged other students to be their best selves. As a result, he made countless connections throughout his community. Nikko strongly believes that everything holds a purpose behind it, thus he is especially passionate when creating something of his own.

After graduating, Nikko later attended the very same residential career training and education program his late brother took part in (Job Corps) for the next two years in San Francisco. Plastering became Nikko’s trade of choice, as he believed it would be the best path to better teach himself to discipline his mind and body.

 

Nikko Cabrera

Alumnus of ArtEsteem’s Oakland Legacy Project

 

Born as the youngest of six to Roland and Georgella Broach, Ronald Broach Sr. was brought up with strong values and a keen emphasis on education. Despite a sheltered childhood, he was exposed to the harsh realities of his environment in East Oakland, which shaped his understanding of the world's complexities. Excelling in middle school academically and in sports, he faced personal challenges but found direction through a commitment to making morally sound choices, marked by his Master’s Degree achievement in NMDS (No More Dumb S***).

His involvement with Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) marked a significant phase in his life, where he transitioned from contributing to community issues to solving them. Starting in the PREP program and moving up to become an Intake Specialist at the BOSS Career Training and Employment Center, Ronald Broach Sr. played a crucial role in aiding returning citizens reintegrate into society. His work was recognized and honored by the esteemed 100 Black Men organization.

Now, Ronald Broach Sr. stands as a beacon of hope and transformation. From overcoming personal and societal hurdles to becoming a homeowner, faithful husband, and loving father, he continues his mission to heal and empower marginalized communities, showcasing the power of resilience, dedication, and the desire to make a positive impact.

 

Ronald Broach

Director of Shelter Networks at Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency

 

Jonathan is the Director of the Alameda County Office of Homeless Care and Coordination. A systems strategist and former non-profit executive, prior to this appointment in March 2024 he was most recently the Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at Bay Area Community Services (BACS), a nonprofit behavioral health and homelessness services provider and housing developer working across five counties in the greater Bay Area. In that role, he oversaw all strategic direction, program design, new business and fund development, government and external relations, real estate development, data analytics and evaluations, and community engagement, advocacy, and policy. With years of experience leading direct service teams on Skid Row in Los Angeles and overseeing agency-wide program operations throughout the Bay Area, he brings both a deep-rooted practitioner knowledge base and a grounded systems and policy expertise to his work at the intersections of homelessness, behavioral health, and racial and housing justice. He resides on Ohlone Chochenyo land in the city of Emeryville.

 

Jonathan Russell

Director of the Alameda County Office of Homeless Care and Coordination

The Center for ArtEsteem (AHC) hosted a benefit screening of Oakland filmmaker Cheryl Fabio's A Rising Tide to uplift the voices of Alameda County's unhoused residents and ignite conversation about preserving the visions of our youth through public art.

AHC is proud to join the growing number of community entities hosting screenings of this vital documentary as we aim to spark conversation and community action related to the housing crisis and our community beautification effort, the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project (OSHMP). The OSHMP cultivates, educates, and engages youth in community issues and solutions through the power of public art. Since its inception in 2011, the OSHMP has engaged over 500 youth and beautified over 16,000 square feet of I-580 underpass wall space in West Oakland. Through this screening, we will spark conversation about the intersections between community health and public art, and envision what’s required to inspire youth voices while rebuilding healthy and vibrant communities.

In the past five years, and more dramatically from the onset of the pandemic, Oakland’s murals have been devastated by the symptoms of structural, political, and social dysfunction–made especially visible with the destruction of OSH murals #2 and #3 from tagging, dumping, and fires. The murals also serve as a backdrop for residents facing homelessness in the Market Street and West Street highway underpasses. With this screening, AHC hopes to garner community resources to support the restoration of the murals and assist the underpass residents. A part of this effort includes informing our community on the intricacies of the housing crisis through A Rising Tide.

We need help to restore murals #2 and #3 to their original radiance and execute the final Mural #5. All donations raised at this screening will go into The Center for ArtEsteem's fund to support the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project.

Documentary Summary: "Through the eyes of children, their families, and the helping industry that has developed from the housing crisis, A Rising Tide follows the strategies of families and service providers struggling with homelessness." (CR: A Rising Tide Website)

Special thanks to:

The Homeless Action Center for giving us a starting point with advice and a guided session for outreach to the unhoused residents of the underpasses.

The Beautification Council for engaging the unhoused residents in cleaning the east wall of the Market Street underpass in preparation for the restoration of Mural #2.

The City of Oakland’s City Administrator’s office for providing connections to unhoused service organizations we could learn from and collaborate with.

COVID Notice

We strongly recommend masking at public events. Please refer to the California Department of Public Health’s masking guide for detailed advice.

Please read the New Parkway’s COVID policy update from November 2022 for more information.

Getting to the New Parkway: Theater Guide

Cycle of Gratitude Fundraiser - December 9th, 2023

Thank you for joining us!

 
 

This season of giving, we are basking in the spirit of gratitude—to

our team, to our supporters, to those we serve: thank you!

Purchase a ticket today to secure your spot. 

*Each ticket purchased may be tax deductible for all but $25 of its price. Please consult your tax advisor on the taxable status of your ticket purchase.

This year’s Cycle of Gratitude fundraiser honors the message of Attitudinal Healing Principle #3: Giving and receiving are the same.

Our work is made possible through your contributions, and we are excited for this opportunity to share time, love, and laughter with you all on December 9th.

We will be celebrating in Oakstop’s beautiful Gaines Gallery, featuring a spacious indoor gallery and outdoor roof deck with a view of Telegraph Avenue, overlooking the Fox Theater.

With words from our esteemed special guest Brandi Howard,

President & CEO of the East Bay Community Foundation.

Join us for…

Parking is limited in the area. We recommend walking, biking, public transportation, ride share, carpooling, or another form of travel to ease your arrival experience.

The Gaines Gallery is on the top floor of 1740 Telegraph Avenue. Access available by elevator or stairwell.

Arts Integration at OUSD's Summer HAcK Program

The Center for ArtEsteem collaborated with Oakland Unified School District’s summer Healing and Academics for Kids (HAcK) program once again to integrate art into their English and Biology classes. The projects culminated in a final exhibition at The Crucible to showcase the skills they learned and creativity they expressed. 

Teaching Artist Jamiani Gray created collages with Ms. Coleman’s English class based on the book “There There” by Tommy Orange. A polyphonic story centering 12 Native characters living in Oakland, students were invited to choose a character they connected with and create a multimedia self portrait illustrating how they relate to the stories and experiences of the characters Orange crafted. 

With the support of a Spanish translator, one student, David, shared his process: “I identify with Opal because of her immigrant experience, and I am an immigrant coming to the US. I chose to draw this because it is about my experience at school making friends. I came in 2020.”

District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife gave him several high fives. “Everybody is a hero in different ways,” she reflected. “Everyone is amazing.” 

Teaching Artist and ArtEsteem Artistic Development Manager Etty Alberto worked with Mr. Gonzalez’s Biology class to explore the Golden Ratio. They created papier mache models of the Fibonacci spiral and compared how this pattern is found on the human body, plants, and animals.

Dany Mendoza presented his projects: “I learned about fingers in the hand, and I figured it out using the skill of observation.”

When asked how his sculpture relates to his hand project, he explained, “I was able to see the Fibonacci sequence in hands and fingerprints.”

The audience was also invited to draw their handprint on a group art project exploring how the Golden Ratio is found in the natural world.

The enrichment provided through arts integration shines through the students’ heartfelt and detailed artwork. ArtEsteem is proud to be a partner of Oakland Unified School District, and looks ahead with joy for future opportunities to cultivate creativity and knowledge.

Screen Printing at Oakland Unified School District's "The Center"

Last year, The Center for ArtEsteem collaborated with youth to design a radial mandala for The Center—Oakland Unified School District’s garden, kitchen, and education hub (see mandala below). This summer, lead teaching artist Etty Alberto and program assistant Darius Varize returned to teach the design and execution of screenprinting.

During their first class, students and staff were invited to create designs inspired by food justice and their experiences at The Center. Etty assembled these illustrations into class logo compositions and developed four different screen designs to be used for The Center merchandise. 

On printing day, the final designs were revealed to the students and staff. They were thrilled to see their illustrations come together cohesively in a single design. Students practiced their technique screen printing on paper before moving on to T-shirts and canvas bags. “I’m so excited to wear this! Thank you so much, Ms. Etty,” exclaimed one student as they finished drying their t-shirt.

The OUSD school board was having their meeting at The Center, and several board members stopped by during their break to observe the students’ work. They were introduced to ArtEsteem’s relationship with The Center, beginning last year when students supported designing and painting a ground mural using garden motifs. This year, students created illustrations for merchandise that will later be the foundational designs for The Center’s upcoming farmer’s market mural. “This is amazing,” says District 2 Director Jennifer Brouhard. “They are very talented.” In addition to learning to garden and cook, this program is giving students the opportunity to develop their skills and creativity as artists.

Shots of the Radial Mandala Process from September 2022

Environmental Exploration in the Summertime with Oakland Legacy Project

The students of ArtEsteem’s after-school leadership program, the Oakland Legacy Project, were invited to participate in an immersive three day summer camp. With City Slicker Farms (CSF) as a home base for classroom learning, Program Manager Charlena Wynn and Oakland Legacy Project Coordinator Athena Sabaria led participants in tackling environmental issues through creative self-empowerment.  

On day 1, participants met with Brian Beveridge and Meet Panchal of West Oakland Environmental Indicators (WOEIP) for a Toxicity Tour to better understand the history of environmental racism impacting West Oakland communities. Participants visited the concrete mill and metal recycling facilities near CSF and discussed how the weak industry regulation has allowed these businesses to pollute the neighborhood air, water, and streets. Through acute and prolonged exposures to these toxins, low-income communities of color are at a higher risk of developing respiratory illnesses and cancers. Brian encouraged students with the hopeful message that community advocacy and education incites change for the better.

Passing by idle trucks lining the port of Oakland, the next stop on the Toxicity Tour was Shoreline Park. They reviewed how the trucking industry and cargo ships is an unfortunate necessity of globalization. In order to get grapes from Chile during California’s winter months, trucks have to wait for shipments to arrive, leaching carcinogens and greenhouse gases into West Oakland neighborhoods. Participants reflected on how this knowledge will inform their consumer habits. 

When they returned to CSF, participants were asked to reflect on the environmental injustices they learned about and what they would want to change. “I would get rid of the trash,” says participant Bryan Saavedra. Using materials such as yarn, specialty paper, and buttons, they created mixed media maps showing how they would reimagine Oakland to look. 

The second destination of Oakland Legacy Summer Camp was the SF Exploratorium. Interactive exhibits offered insight into the sciences of color, temperature, sound, and the human body.  Participants were left to ponder: How can art be a tool in conveying educational concepts? 

The ¡Plantásticas! exhibit offered the most relevant learning experience to Legacy in environmental advocacy. Participants got to learn about the cultural relevance of native plants through tactile and olfactory engagement, culinary and medicinal uses, and ecological significance. Displays included descriptions in Spanish and Chochenyo, the language of the Ohlone people of the East Bay. These narratives shared the indigenous practices of reciprocity through our relationships with plants and the environment. 

OLP Coordinator Athena reflects on their experience. “Growing up in the Bay Area, I often went to education museums like the Exploratorium. It makes me smile that in the ¡Plantásticas! exhibit, they are prioritizing sharing knowledge with people of indigenous and Latine descent. By putting English as the third language in the displays, you acknowledge who has been historically excluded in these spaces, and who has been dominating the narratives.” 

On the last day, participants visited the California Academy of Sciences. Having explored local and regional environmental advocacy during the past two field trips, the participants were able to dive further into these efforts on a global scale. The rainforest dome, aquarium, and natural history museum highlight the importance of community engagement in ecological restoration. “It’s cool to see the animals up close,” says participant Destiney Nava. The fauna and flora of these exhibits act as ambassadors for change in public opinion and policy to protect the delicate biosphere that we share. Education and advocacy in grassroots mobilization results in observable impacts on the macro level. By envisioning a more sustainable future, the collective public is able to shift from an extractive to regenerative relationship with the environment. 

ArtEsteem Students Imagine Their Artistic Future with California College of the Arts

Executive Director Amana Harris has been a professor at California College of the Arts (CCA) since 2008. By joining the Critical Ethnic Studies department, Amana sought to share her expertise in socially responsive art practice to CCA’s budding artists. Through her course “Your Art, Your Impact: Education and Community Development,” students learn how art can spark civic engagement in social justice movements, and work in classrooms alongside ArtEsteem staff and youth to experience first-hand how arts education is a robust tool for community empowerment and racial equity. 

This spring, her students Adounis Mustafa and Lily Chinn led a field trip to introduce ArtEsteem youth to the various disciplines of art and design offered at CCA. Students of West Oakland Middle School (WOMS), Street Academy, and ArtEsteem’s after-school leadership program the Oakland Legacy Project were invited to visit the CCA campus and learn about pursuing art in higher education. 

Lily began with an overview of the diverse undergraduate programs and studio amenities offered at CCA. She further explained how each discipline, such as design, can be applied to a plethora of careers outside of the field of study. 

Next, guest speaker Ajax gave a presentation about his start-up Pulpi, a sustainable alternative to dishware. Using everyday appliances and recyclable materials, he designed a line of functional household containers that aims to redirect waste away from landfills. Ajax emphasized how he used his design expertise as a tool to pursue his passion in building a more sustainable future. The WOMS students noted ideas for incorporating eco-friendly practices into their own entrepreneurial adventures, as they experienced product design processes while creating their own merchandise collection (WOMS Living) this school year. 

Finally, Adounis led the ArtEsteem students in a hands-on activity building their own speakers. He explained how technology is its own form of art, and invited the students to expand their interpretations of where they see art in their world. Upon completion, students used their visual arts skills to create their own designs on their speakers.

Connecting California and Alabama: Exploring Gee’s Bend Quilting at West Oakland Middle School

As a continuation of their Gee’s Bend studies and canvas quilt-making, West Oakland Middle School students in Teaching Artist Etty Alberto’s after-school class took a riveting field trip in March. The students toured the Mercury 20 Gallery to see Stopped in Motion: Pandemic Art Quilts then attended a lecture hosted by the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, featuring Mary Ann Pettway, Executive Director of the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective, and Collective members China Pettway and Julia Pettway. 

The importance of observing handmade quilts in an Oakland gallery and hearing directly from the Gee's Bend quilters cannot be understated for our students. They leaned into the quilts closely, pondering each intersecting patch of fabric and defined stitching style the seasoned textile artists incorporated. The intricate details were met with wide-eyed fascination. Questions burst free regarding fabric scrap origins and pattern choice. 

In tandem with the curious energy of their gallery experience, the students listened to the invaluable generational wisdom shared within the Gee's Bend quilters' stories with respect and awe. When planning the field trip, Etty "wanted kids to take away that despite adversities, we always find a way to survive, and that art is always at the forefront of it. The way we live is art, as simple as making a quilt, an everyday object we ritually use." The love, strength, and creative fluidity sewn within each quilt was evident to both the students and field trip chaperone Phyllis Hall, Program Director of The Center for ArtEsteem. She appreciated how the Pettways were "lovingly candid about the little things in their life." Moments like "sitting in the kitchen and being with their mom" and "doing quilts for days and days in a row... or [starting a quilt] because they were upset about this or that." 

Art's unifying power of healing brings a past ArtEsteem student's sentiments to mind. Aniya from Community School for Creative Education shared: “Art is a way to release all of your bad feelings, all of your pain; you can turn your pain into something beautiful like a painting on a canvas or a mural in a freeway underpass.” In an IQ Learning Network interview, Mary Ann Pettway reflected upon a similar notion: “Being a quilter is very therapeutic… it’s like medicine. You don’t think about pain… it’s very relaxing.” The universal human experience with art as a vector of emotion and catalyst of expression resonated deeply during the field trip. 

Thanks to the work of the Mercury 20 Gallery, the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, and the wise women of the Gee’s Bend Quilting Collective, the ArtEsteem program is evermore enriched.

A Community Woven in Love: Exploring Gee’s Bend Quilting at West Oakland Middle School

Teaching Artist Etty Alberto cultivates core tenets of the ArtEsteem program's learning goals in her students through her curriculum. Cultural awareness, anti-colonial thinking, sustainable art practice—engaging with these concepts empowers our youth to question, challenge, and deconstruct the systems they develop within.

Etty's after-school class at West Oakland Middle School recently completed a canvas quilting project that encompasses the critical comprehension and positive self-expression we advocate for. Inspired by the quilting practice passed down by generations in Gee's Bend, Alabama, the canvas quilt was made by repurposing unfinished cotton canvases from past ArtEsteem students. Through a process of learning, designing, gessoing, painting, cutting, and weaving, the once-abandoned canvases now yield new life and meaning.

In her art practice, Etty is "highly influenced by patterns, including patterns that have cultural ties to [her] and [her] personal experiences. [She is] always inspired by communities with intricate and decorative craftsmanship in their handicrafts and artisanal objects. Patterns are always the common denominator [humanity shares] universally, and [she] was excited to share this with [her] class." During her research for the lessons, Etty learned about quilts from all parts of the world. She noted that reuse is a global practice for quilting, and tied this concept of sustainability and perseverance into the project's knowledge points around overcoming adversity within Black history.

In Gee's Bend, repair and repurposing have been essential for survival. The community has continuously struggled for resources and economic development, similar in experience to many descendants of enslaved peoples but distinctive in their geographic isolation. Located at a deep bend on the Alabama River, the waters nearly encircle the town. Their population, a majority of whom descend from enslaved people on the Pettway plantation, has historically fluctuated between a mite less than 100 and scarcely over 500 people.

These circumstances gave great importance to each item of clothing and the skills needed to repair and repurpose them. Quilting emerged from enslaved families' need for warmth and bedding in makeshift cottages without heating, and has continued as a practical and cultural tradition.

When first learning about the history of Gee's Bend, Azia, a 7th grader, noted with sadness that "when [Gee's Bend residents] were growing up, [they] didn't have a lot to do and used to sneak to go to school." Another classmate, a 6th grader named Robert, connected experiences of youth in Gee's Bend with Oakland's youth, expressing that ArtEsteem "is a very good class" and "[he] thinks everyone should go to it," citing his friends' improvement in artistic skills and focus in the classroom. 6th grader Clarence expressed his appreciation for the quilters' skills, wondering: "How did they make [the quilts] since they didn't have resources?" Pondering further, he made a parallel with Oakland's artistic culture, mentioning that "Blank walls become nice, beautiful murals."

As with Oakland's murals, Gee's Bend quilts enrich the culture of the community and serve as vessels of expression, remembering, preservation, and pride. While we should not forget the racist, classist, capitalist systems that breed the art of resilience we see, we can take a moment to revel in the realities and beauty within our communities' colorful expressions.