Highlighting the Story of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project: AHC's Feature in Oaklandside
The Center for ArtEsteem featured in Oaklandside’s Arts & Community Spread
‘Born out of this community’:
How 2 West Oakland arts nonprofits spotlight Hoover-Durant
by Ricky Rodas
“Center for ArtEsteem and Bay Area Mural Program’s San Pablo Avenue murals represent the neighborhood’s history and culture.”
We're Hiring!
Join Our Team
Attitudinal Healing Connection is a 30+ year-old, community-based youth and public art, healing and advocacy organization. We work with the arts to inspire and educate the children and youth in our community, creating support and continuity from grades TK-12 and beyond, engaging with them in their contexts of culture, family, friends, school, the larger communities within the cities of Oakland, San Francisco and beyond. AHC promotes a culture of creativity, and of unity within diversity.
AHC seeks to hire teaching artists—trained, practicing artist and teachers—with a passion for education and building healthy, safe communities. An excellent candidate loves working collaboratively, is trained and experienced to teach in-person, is familiar with best practices in classroom settings, and is committed to racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Building the Center for ArtEsteem: Open House & Block Festival (3/26)
WHERE:
3111 West Street
Oakland, CA 94608
WHEN:
Saturday, March 26th, 2022
1:00 - 4:00 PM
GUIDELINES:
Proof of vaccination or proof of negative COVID test result from within 72 hours required for entrance.
Be mindful of social distancing; respect everyone’s space.
Masks must be worn at all times, with an exception for the eating/drinking area. All eating and drinking must take place in the designated area (signage and guidance provided at event).
ACTIVITIES:
AHC Rebrand Reveal
ArtEsteem ArtMobile Creativity Area
live mural
live mosaic
logo coloring pages
sidewalk chalk
face and body painting
tote bag screen-printing
History of ArtEsteem Gallery
Community Resource Booths
CATERING:
Enjoy a wonderful selection of tacos from Tacos el Precioso, an Oakland-based catering company which prioritizes cooking delicious food with locally sourced, ethically grown ingredients.
Funded by the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program: Neighborhood Voices for Festivals grant.
Location Update: AHC Has Found A New Home!
With great joy, we'd like to announce that AHC has moved to 101 Myrtle Street!
Our transition was made possible by our friends at Civicorps, who informed us of a vacancy right above their office space. This sunny, cozy and unique setting fits our needs while we continue with programming and gear up to launch our Capital Campaign. Between the collaboration and support of Civicorps, our community, and our dedicated staff, we have made a smooth transition from American Steel.
Currently, we are working to settle into the space while staying mobile enough for our next move to our permanent home.
Stay tuned!
Workforce Highlight: Domonic at Community Foods Market
Community Foods Market (CFM) opened its doors in June 2019 after a decade-long effort to address the food access needs in West Oakland. In addition to food justice, this noteworthy grocery store is dedicated to the recruitment and retention of employees from the community they serve.
Earn2Learn graduate Domonic, pictured in front of Community Foods Market.
Sharing in both values and commitment to the wellness and empowerment of the communities we serve, AHC partnered with CFM again this summer as a worksite for our Earn2Learn program. Earn2Learn intends to connect local youth with Oakland’s medley of businesses, providing training in workplace readiness, self-confidence, and career projection, all with the ultimate result of employment.
Since 2014, AHC has guided 134 youth into positions within our network of Oakland business partners. Participants have expressed that Earn2Learn helped them gain essential hours of job experience, granting access in the future to positions with varied skill sets and experience requirements. Domonic was one of many youth participants to receive paid mentored training and subsequent work that built a solid foundation for navigating a workplace.
For four days a week, Domonic would wake up at 6am to shower, eat breakfast, and take the bus to arrive in time for his 8am shift at CFM. As an entry level grocery stocker, his learning curve was steep. During a worksite program check-in, one supervisor mentioned that Domonic "had a lot of potential and showed good character", and was working consistently to improve his area of focus: communication skills.
Domonic was receptive to the feedback, and would demonstrate measurable improvements in his performance towards the end of the program. During his last week, Domonic asked his supervisors if he could be officially hired. They said yes, and now Domonic begins work at 5am, four days a week, still dedicated to his work at Community Foods Market.
Domonic’s journey to employment at CFM demonstrates how a combination of community resources and mindful business practices continues to be a necessity within West Oakland, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As CFM profoundly states: “Our vision is to become an empowering, inspiring and transformative place to work for our employees and to enable them to feel a sense of purpose in their work. We strive to create a workplace environment where our employees are empowered to make a difference and are continuously developing and improving themselves.”
SHOP COMMUNITY FOODS
Now offering curbside pickup!
Back To School: Art Kits
AHC knows that it takes imagination to change the world, and that art is a powerful tool to help young people develop self-awareness and compassion. As schools are beginning to host classes in-person, Art Kits are an important part of the ‘Back To School’ season. Each kit contains everything a student needs to stay creative - art supplies, printed activity guides developed by educators and information about additional online resources.
AHC provides arts education to some of the most underserved communities in Oakland, with 90% of students coming from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The Art Kit program fills the gap, providing supplies and curriculum to students who would not ordinarily have access to arts education. Click here to support our Art Kit Program.
ArtEsteem Featured at FLAX art & design
We are excited to announce our current exhibition at FLAX art & design in Downtown Oakland.
The paintings on display were created by students in our integrated arts program, ArtEsteem. This is the perfect opportunity to see the work of Oakland youth in-person and AHC Teaching Artist Laila Espinoza is enthusiastic, “It’s a great gift to be able to share art.” She mentions that the exhibition sparked interest even during the installation, “When I was putting the pieces up, customers were curious about the paintings...the powerful stories behind them and the students who created them.”
FLAX art & design have been the Bay Area’s most well-loved retail art business for over 30 years. The ArtEsteem Exhibition is available for viewing at its Oakland location during normal business hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00am-6:30pm and Sunday from 10:00am- 6:00pm.
1501 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland, CA 94612
ArtEsteem Exhibition: A New Awakening
Attitudinal Healing Connection (AHC) invites the public to ArtEsteem’s 23rd Annual Art Exhibition, Reflections of Me and My World “A New Awakening.” This unique virtual experience will showcase the transformative power of art.
We invite you to join us in celebrating Oakland youth, and their bright future full of hope, resiliency and compassion.
We're Hiring!
Join Our Team
Attitudinal Healing Connection is a 30+ year-old, community-based youth and public art, healing and advocacy organization. We work with the arts to inspire and educate the children and youth in our community, creating support and continuity from grades TK-12 and beyond, engaging with them in their contexts of culture, family, friends, school, the larger communities within the cities of Oakland, San Francisco and beyond. AHC promotes a culture of creativity, and of unity within diversity.
Deadline to Apply: December 31, 2021
Coming Soon: ArtEsteem Exhibition
ArtEsteem student works on her piece for the 23rd annual exhibition.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ArtEsteem’s 23rd Annual Art Exhibition
Reflections of Me and My World“A New Awakening”
WHAT: 23rd Annual ArtEsteem Art Exhibition: “A New Awakening”
WHEN: Saturday, June 5th to Sunday July 4, 2021
WHERE: ONLINE EXHIBITION, www.ahc-oakland.org
CONTACT: Amana Harris, amana (at) ahc-oakland.org
Attitudinal Healing Connection (AHC) invites the public to ArtEsteem’s 23rd Annual Art Exhibition, Reflections of Me and My World “A New Awakening.” This unique virtual experience will showcase the transformative power of art. Come and visit to support the young people, and to awaken your own spirit through their artwork and stories.
This 2020-2021 school year is unlike any other. AHC has been responding to a unique set of challenges to families, principals, and teachers. By working together with them and our team of teaching artists, AHC has been able to continue to bring relevant, healing and educational art experiences and supplies to schools, transforming in person classes into remote ones, creating an entirely new art kit distribution network to help children and youth experience the profound benefits of art at home, both on and off screens.
This year’s exhibition is a culmination of student work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to gain a sense of how these young artists used art to engage in self-care, mindfulness and creativity. In addition to their artworks, you will see video interviews as they share how they coped with social isolation and uncertainty, and grew their resilience and self cultivation skills.
Founded in 1995, ArtEsteem has helped over 75,000 K-12 students in Bay Area schools, engaging them in creative expression while strengthening their emotional, social, academic and intellectual skills. “A New Awakening” is the 23rd annual exhibition presented by AHC, a community-driven nonprofit, deeply rooted in West Oakland.
We invite you to join us in celebrating Oakland youth, and their bright future full of hope, resiliency and compassion. The online exhibit will launch on Saturday, June 5th and continue through July 5 on AHC’s website: www.ahc-oakland.org.
