About

The Center for ArtEsteem's Oakland Legacy Project (OLP) is a dynamic visual arts and environmental program that supports youth in developing powerful, educated voices for social and environmental justice in their communities. Students are able to work side by side with experienced artists, environmentalists, farmers and activists, all who support them in their journeys as young visionaries. Throughout the 2019-20 school year, we listened to West Oakland elders' stories, dug into our own ancestries, learned urban farming techniques, and took many field trips including environmental conferences and camping trips, all in order to create a deeper connection with our land, its history, and one another. We work with community partners such as City Slicker Farms and West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to make this program possible.

During the 2020-21 school year, we were mindful of the COVID-19 crisis and transformed OLP into a virtual course. We still engaged critically with environmental racism, community agriculture, and art in the public interest, but the physical aspects of the program (field trips, in-person workshops and farming activities, etc.) were rendered null. In place of physical activities, we expanded our learning goals to include home-based arts and crafts . 

OLP has persisted during the pandemic and continues to collaborate with school sites and the Bay Area community to  provide integrative art programming and environmental education.  OLP aims to empower young people to develop a greater understanding of self in relation to the land that they live on while emphasizing the diversity of Oakland and the Greater Bay Area. With a focus on historical and current day environmental impacts, OLP encourages youth to learn, use their voices, and creatively communicate through artistic practices and developments. Students are encouraged to challenge existing ideas about the world to imagine, figuratively and literally, a safer and more just world. OLP develops leadership abilities in youth, exposes them to environmental and arts fields, and helps them understand the environmental and political ecosystem that informs their daily lives. 

As of Summer 2022, all programs are in-person. But if needed, ArtEsteem is prepared to shift to virtual learning  in order to prioritize the public health safety of students, community members, and staff.