Art YOU Ready? Campaign Launch!
The COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice-related unrest, and present climate crises….
The COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice-related unrest, and present climate
crises highlight the importance of connectedness and community in
the face of uncertainty.
Fires and hurricanes thrive in greater intensity and number every year. Marginalized communities respond to unchecked police power and brutality.
The pandemic poses threats to everyone we know and love. The moment calls, now more than ever, for investment in community, in the shared mental and spiritual condition.
Our children will change the world, and we know that art empowers
them to grow.
AHC helps children and families prepare for the future through art. Through the Art YOU Ready? campaign, we aim to distribute 3,000 Art Kits to Alameda County children and families to direct them to crucial emergency resources
and to create self-awareness and community engagement through art.
We hope to embolden the communities first affected by present crises.
Art skills empower child development and community engagement. At AHC, we have served Bay Area families by empowering artistic expression since 1989. With this new campaign, we aim to address this pivotal moment by empowering students to express themselves through artistic response. When you give today, your gift puts quality art materials in a child’s hands alongside disaster readiness information; keeping families creative and safe!
AHC recognizes the opportunity to invest in children and their families through the
Art YOU Ready? campaign.
Your donation enables distribution of Art Kits that artfully prepare
students for emergency.
We're Moving!
AHC is moving to a new location, and facing new challenges.
"Since Love Is Eternal, Change Need Not Be Viewed As Fearful"
The 11th principal of Attitudinal Healing reminds us to keep calm during times of change. AHC is moving to a new location, and facing new challenges. This is a unique time; between the Covid-19 pandemic and increased operational costs we have been forced to think creatively about our future.
Our new space (pictured below) is significantly smaller and the transition has been especially labor intensive. While situated in this new location, we will begin looking for a permanent home in West Oakland. We appreciate the continued support of our work during this time of transition.
Health Update for AHC Founder Kokomon Clottey
In January of 2020, our dedicated leader, co-founder and father of AHC….
Dear Friends of AHC,
Since love is eternal, change need not be viewed as fearful.
2020 has offered many surprises and opportunities to go inward, reflect,
connect and shift what we are accustomed to.
In January of 2020, our dedicated leader, co-founder and father of AHC,
Kokomon Clottey had a stroke. This indelible occurrence left him fighting to
recover mobility, speech and much more. Along with the onset of Covid-19,
Kokomon had taken this hit with an unwavering stride and was on the road
to recovery until July 2020 when he suffered a heart attack and another
set of strokes.
These unfortunate events have created a profound shift in our direction
and scope. Over his 30 year commitment to AHC, Kokomon has helped us
gain credence, fiscal viability and brought a global perspective that helped
root our work in indigenous African wisdom and methods. He is deeply loved
and respected by so many.
We ask now for your prayers and thoughtful messages for recovery. We know
through the teachings of Mindful Drumming that when we join as one and in
rhythm, miracles can happen. We need your rays of magical healing light now.
And so it is!
If you would like to support AHC founders Kokomon and Aeeshah Clottey
in our GoFundMe effort to offset their cost of hospital bills, medications and
home care, please click here. The development of AHC has been their life's work.
They have freely and compassionately given their love, time and resources
to building AHC.
Thank you in advance for your love and blessings.
Peace,
Amana Harris
Executive Director, AHC
Earn2Learn Provides Jobs for Oakland Youth!
Earn2Learn is a youth-employment program that provides Oakland youth…
Earn2Learn is a youth-employment program that provides Oakland youth with training and employment opportunities. This year participants have been able to work with local businesses such as Sankofa African Arts and Jewelry, Flax Art Store, and Community Foods Market amongst many others.
The goal of the program is to provide youth in Oakland an opportunity to earn income while developing their employment skills, and building self-esteem through work experience. Earn2Lean is managed by AHC in coordination with Lao Family Community Development Inc. and the Oakland Housing Authority.
Oakland youth graduate from our Earn2Learn program (2019)
Let’s Stay Creative! Art Kit Drive
Covid 19 is impacting our cities in unimaginable ways. Attitudinal Healing Connection (AHC) is teaming up with art organizations for an art kit drive to deliver supplies to children and youth in our most vulnerable populations.
Attitudinal Healing Connection (AHC), Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA),
Vision Quilt and Junior Center of Art and Science are teaming up to show LOVE, and are continuing to inspire learning through creativity. Realizing that students may not return until the fall and Teaching Artists may be out of work for the remainder of the school year, we have identified some simple and unique ways to provide alternative options for children to access arts instruction.
Please help us with this immediate need to keep children and families engaged.
Self As Super Hero: Expanding to New Locations
Self as Super Hero (SASH) is a year-long self-exploration art project where students reinvent themselves into superhero characters that combat issues directly facing their communities.
Self as Super Hero (SASH) is a year-long self-exploration art project where students reinvent themselves into superhero characters that combat issues in their communities. The final result is a 5 by 4 ft tall
self-portrait. The SASH program has expanded to include classes at
the Creative School For Community Education (CSCE), and
San Francisco University High School.
This project has many components that equip and aid the young artists in creating these imaginative characters. Through design, critical thinking, and the use of narrative devices students explore the many avenues and possibilities that allow them to build their self-as-heroes from scratch. In the beginning of the year, students brainstormed and documented all of their world building ideas. As a class, we created portfolios that included design and costume ideas, superpower development, and storytelling. Students studied the building blocks for creating art-- the Elements and Principles of Art and Design.
Instructor Etty Alberto (right) helps students with their SASH portraits at CSCE in Oakland.
Youth from Summerbridge begin the SASH curriculum.
In preparation, students viewed past examples that are permanently displayed at AHC headquarters. This proved beneficial as a group activity since they were able to see the proper formatting for stories, artwork titles, and creativity. The remainder of our year will be spent focusing on the completion of their life-sized self portraits.
- Etty Alberto, ArtEsteem Instructor, CSCE
Youth visit AHC for artistic and literary inspiration (above).
Students share the inspiration behind their portraits.
More information can be found in
Self As Super Hero, Handbook on Creating the Life-Size Self-Portrait
by Amana Harris.
More from AHC
Hoovers Students Help Design MLK Banners
Students from Hoover Elementary School help design banners on Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
Last week our student-designed banners were installed on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland. The students' involvement in the community banners project has been in development since January of 2019. The project was presented to AHC by the San Pablo Area Revitalization Collaborative (SPARC). It presented AHC with the opportunity to lead a beautification project that would have a lasting legacy in the Hoover-Foster community. The first and original theme of the banners was centered on community identity, whereas the second and final installment of banners pay homage to the great social justice activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The first set of banners were installed on San Pablo Avenue, between Brockhurst and 29th Street. The second set of banners are installed on Martin Luther King Jr. Way,
between 32nd and 29th Street.
San Pablo Avenue & 31st Street
The MLK banners were student-designed and led with the support of community members of Resident Action Council (RAC), primarily Ms. Annette Miller. The students from Hoover Elementary were offered the opportunity to submit an artistic rendition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as an entry to win the opportunity to convert the artwork into a banner to be installed on MLK Jr. Way. Over forty student submissions were retrieved. A winner was selected unanimously by RAC.
Martin Luther King Jr. Way & 32nd Street
With the additional support of Gold Metropolitan Media and the City of Oakland, the MLK banners
were installed the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, just in time to celebrate and remember the
many teachings of one of the world's most iconic civil rights leaders. One year later, the entire process
has expanded and strengthened the community as a whole. Collaborative efforts were exercised and generational connections were established for years to come. - Eduardo Escobedo, ArtEsteem Instructor
ArtEsteem ArtMobile at the Lunar New Year Bazaar
The Lunar New Year Bazaar is an annual Oakland event. Through the ArtEsteem ArtMobile, AHC was able to be out in the streets, connecting with the community directly during the celebration.
AHC was excited to participate in the 2020 Lunar New Year Bazaar. Through the ArtEsteem ArtMobile, we were able to be out in the streets, connecting with the community directly during this annual celebration. The Lunar New Year Bazaar is a free annual event hosted in the heart of Oakland's Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese New Year. There is a cultural entertainment stage with live performances and over 80 vendors selling traditional new years decorations, flowers, candies, and gifts.
According to Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the year of the Metal Rat. AHC was able to customize an art project for the event; a temporary 5’ x 15’ mural featuring a metal rat, dragon and red Chinese lantern symbols. There was also face painting and coloring book activities for youth.
The holiday is traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It is also a time to bring family together for feasting. The main Chinese Lunar New Year activities include: putting up decorations, eating reunion dinner with family on New Year's Eve, fireworks, and gifting red envelopes filled with money.
The ArtEsteem ArMobile is a fully-equipped mobile art classroom, and an extension of our award-winning arts education program, ArtEsteem. The vehicle has allowed us to extend our services outside the classroom and directly into the neighborhoods that need access to arts education. Since the launch of the ArtEsteem ArtMobile, we’ve been able to participate in over 41 community-based events, offering customized projects involving table crafts, painting, drawing, large murals, face painting and much more. With our knowledgeable staff and on-board sound system we can make your next school event, festival or private party one to remember!
Click here to book. - Jamie Sanitate, ArtMobile Manager
Check out the ArtEsteem ArtMobile in action at festivals, schools and
community-led conferences.
IMAGINARY WALLS Screening at AHC
Racism is a complex issue and at times seems irreparable. The new documentary, Imaginary Walls, explores how how our founders, Kokoman and Aeeshah Clottey, have successfully helped people move beyond racism in their own lives.
Thank you for joining us at our private screening of IMAGINARY WALLS at our space in West Oakland. It was a packed house, and we enjoyed the dialog
the film sparked within our community.
Racism is a complex issue and at times seems irreparable. IMAGINARY WALLS explores how how our founders, Kokoman and Aeeshah Clottey, have successfully helped people move beyond racism in their own lives. For over 30 years, the couple has lead racial healing circles, where a diverse group of people can gather, with the specific intention of discussing their experiences and feelings about race. Aeeshah and Kokomon provide an environment that is safe, open-minded, and free from judgment. They stress that racism is a construct of an ill society; a mass delusion, and no one need feel guilt or shame about what they have felt or done in the past. The past is just that: the past. It can be released, let go, and participants can move forward in their lives.
IMAGINARY WALLS was produced by Anita Casalina and initially released in November 2019. If you would like to watch the film, you can request a copy for private viewing through their website.
We hope the documentary engages the audience and inspires them to find a new outlook on their own lives and feelings. By supporting this film, you are supporting the idea that we can all have a healthier, happier state of mind.
You can participate in a racial healing circle the last Wednesday of every month at 7pm. Check out the event page for details.
❤️ AHC
After the screening, Aeeshah and Kokomon Clottey took questions from the audience. Photos by Martin Backhauss Sol Gate Studios.
Ending Gun Violence, an ArtEsteem and Vision Quilt Collaboration
Vision Quilt and ArtEsteem have come together because they believe that through the act of art-making and public expression Oakland youth can both heal from the trauma of gun violence and contribute to its prevention.
Health is inner peace. Healing is letting go of fear. This is one of the Principles of Attitudinal Healing, created by mental health professionals in Tiburon in the 70s to help children with life threatening illnesses use their minds to heal their bodies. For decades, ArtEsteem has utilized the power of these principles in art classes in Oakland to help young people address and heal from the life-threatening presence of racism and violence in their communities.
Students learn the 12 Principles of Attitudinal Healing. (click to enlarge)
Today, gun violence is a national epidemic, and the United States is suffering deeply from its wounds. Every year, nearly 3,000 children and teens (ages 0 to 19) are shot and killed and approximately 15,600 are shot and injured. On average, 51 American children and teens are shot every day. In a recent national poll, 75 percent of high school students aged 15 to 17 cited mass shootings as a primary source of stress, and more than one in five reported that the possibility of a shooting at the school is a source of stress on a day-to-day basis. In a time when our children are needed to create a better future for their communities and the world, they are traumatized and anxious for their safety. How can young people embody things like hope and peace when they are busy recovering from trauma and their future is so uncertain? Can our youth use their minds to heal not just their minds and bodies, but their communities from the root causes of gun violence?
Members of the non-profit Vision Quilt work on design samples for students
Vision Quilt and ArtEsteem have come together because they believe that through the act of art-making and public expression Oakland youth can both heal from the trauma of gun violence and contribute to its prevention. Daytime art sessions are taught by seasoned artists with the aid of circles, talking pieces and the Principles of Attitudinal Healing. We have chosen the collaborative quilt as the form to follow, for its association with family, comfort, community, nurture, protection and recovery. The textile curriculum offers exposure to art and craft techniques like applique, lettering and portraiture, as well an encounter with the great talent of American quilters like Oakland's own Marion Coleman (recently deceased), Faith Ringgold, Jesse Telfare, and Bisa Butler, whose quilts tell stories, honor individuals, and send urgent messages.
The youth learn design fundamentals
Student cuts out her first design (West Oakland Middle School)
We are also grateful to have the support of local activists, such as Marilyn Washington Harris from the Khadafy Washington Foundation. Ms. Harris lost her son to gun violence in West Oakland almost 20 years ago, and created the Khadafy Washington Foundation out of an urgent need for resources serving victim’s survivors. During her visit, we learned that nearly 70% of students enrolled in our program had directly been affected by gun violence. They shared their stories and were given space to strategize solutions. Our Oakland students will be delivering their stories and messages to the nation when their school quilt is exhibited locally, and nationally with other Vision Quilt art submissions across the country.
Marilyn Washington Harris from the Khadafy Washington Foundation visits our program
Ms. Nan writes down suggestions from our students…“Protect Our Youth” and “Secrets Don’t Help People”
Keep your eyes on Vision Quilt. It was born of inspiration from the 54 tons of quilts created during the AIDS epidemic, and is actively accepting commissions of quilt panels on the subject of gun violence prevention from artists of all ages. Through this national organization our youth have an opportunity to join forces and voices with the many youth around the country that have mobilized to effect change in public policy, gun ownership laws, gun safety efforts and help to create ways.to encourage a culture of acceptance and watchfulness in school communities to help prevent school shootings.
Right: Images curtesy of Vision Quilt
If you are local to the East Bay you may recognize the work of ArtEsteem for the beauty and creativity that their students, with support from OUSD and the City of Oakland, have brought to our streets in the form of storytelling murals under the freeway at San Pablo, Market and West Streets in West Oakland at the Emeryville border. ArtEsteem has been offering art classes and workshops to students in the Bay area for over 20 years. Their programs promote personal empowerment, a deepened understanding of the structural challenges of racism and violence in our communities, and help our youth to create a path to personal and collective healing and a toolkit for problem solving and prevention.
Part of the ArtEsteem Mural (click to enlarge)
ArtEsteem student with self-portrait
Nan Eastep, October 2019
Nan is a teaching artist and board member of AHC. She brings expertise and experience in fiber arts, textiles, handcraft tailoring and industrial design. Eastep is also co-founder of City Slicker Farms in West Oakland.
Thank You to the Cultural Funding Program for making this work possible. To find out more visit the CFP Grant page.
