Exhibit Dates: Saturday, May 6 – Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Gallery Hours: 5/27, 6/10 and 6/17 2-4pm or by appointment.
The Alameda Education Foundation brings its Art Changes program to life in this unique exhibit featuring four diverse Bay Area artists alongside Alameda student artwork showcasing inspiration, creativity and innovation in the classroom.
The focal point of the exhibit is the student art developed in Alameda public schools based on the work of the four featured Art Changes artists. Students created robots, planets, book covers and suburban landscapes. Their art takes the form of watercolors, collage, drawings, ceramics and poetry.
Featured Art Changes artists for the 2022-23 school year include: blacksmith Celeste Flores, abstract painter Ken Gotuaco, children’s book illustrator, Constance Moore and en plein air painter Claire Lau.
Student artwork is contributed by classes at Bay Farm, Earhart, Edison, Franklin, Love, Maya Lin, Otis, Paden and Ruby Bridges Elementary Schools as well as Lincoln Middle School.
About Art Changes:
Challenged by the overwhelming need for creative student engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, Art Changes is designed to help teachers provide visual art instruction and appreciation in their classrooms, whether virtual or in-person.
Art Changes presents video demonstrations by featured artists accompanied by a hands-on student project influenced by each artist’s work. The artists’ videos weave stories of inspiration and perspective that reflect the rich diversity of the Bay Area with a focus on artists of color. Limiting the materials needed to engage in the interactive arts experiences promotes equity and accessibility. Art project videos were created and produced by Will Chang and J Hernandez.
Art Changes partners with the Rhythmix Performance, Art & Learning (PAL) program, to provide these visual art resources at no cost to students throughout Alameda County.
About Alameda Education Foundation
Alameda Education Foundation serves as a critical bridge toward equitable and inclusive educational outcomes for Alameda TK-12 public school students. Their work focuses in three main areas:
- Art, enrichment, and sports programming that engages students and augments the educational experience
- Social-emotional supports for AUSD students and staff
- Equity-centered support of educational programs and student needs
Art Changes Featured Artists
As a global citizen (having lived in France, Hong Kong, Massachusetts and San Francisco), Claire Lau continuously strives to increase the care that people have for nature, society, and each other through her art and activism. Claire insists on painting en plein air, completing all of her paintings on site from beginning to end. She finds plein air painting essential in today’s world, when people are seemingly connected online, but are becoming increasingly detached from nature and humanity. Her paintings focus on the relationship between nature and the urban environment.
Constance Moore is an artist and educator based in Oakland, CA. She shares her young students’ love of color and hopes to transmit their spirit and freshness into her work. Rooted in the power and meaning of storytelling, Constance’s art often borrows from and reimagines natural forms. She is the illustrator of Brown: The Many Shades of Love and the forthcoming Black: The Many Wonders of My World written by Nancy Johnson James available wherever books are sold.
Celeste Flores is a woman entrepreneur on a quest to create artistic metalwork that will last for a lifetime. Celeste began blacksmithing fifteen years ago while earning a degree in fine art. She invested years at The Crucible in Oakland learning her craft and teaching what she learned to others. Years later she set up a shop in Richmond, California, with employees, some big pieces of equipment and big dreams. Celeste aims to create beautiful items for homes that are nothing like the standard. She is very active in the blacksmithing community where she teaches often and learns from others.
Ken Gotuaco grew up in the Philippines and took his first painting class when he was ten. After finishing college and working in computer operations, he took an art class at City College of San Francisco where his interest in painting was renewed. He has volunteered as an art docent in Alameda, creating his own classroom projects and has coordinated art projects for school fundraisers. His expressive style of painting is filled with vivid color and movement.
Banner image: top left, clockwise: starbursts from Ruby Bridges Elementar, clay houses from Edison Elementary, robots from Paden Elementary, book covers from Love Elementary.