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By Zack Haber
After moving into different rental units for the last seven years, The Center for ArtEsteem, a Black-led, West Oakland based non-profit, has bought and renovated a permanent space at 3111 West St.
On June 22, about 100 people celebrated the opening of the two-story, 1,500-square-foot space.
ArtEsteem Executive Director Amana Harris likened the move to “coming home.”
Founded in 1989, ArtEsteem, which used to be named Attitudinal Healing Connection, opened its first brick-and-mortar space in 1992.
It was located in the bottom unit of a duplex housing the nonprofit’s founders, Aeesha and Kokomon Clottey, who are Harris’s mother and stepfather. That space was located at the corner of 33rd and West Streets.
“We know this community,” said Harris. “We have kids that have grown up in this neighborhood. After moving around, now we see the greater value of returning here and being more accessible to the community.”
Kamilah Crawford, who is an alumna of ArtEsteem and a former employee, told The Oakland Post she’s happy the nonprofit has returned.
“ArtEsteem not only provided me with art classes and employment after graduating from the University of California, Davis, it provided me with a sense of community and social justice,” she said. “Deep down, I believe what I learned played a role in me becoming a physician’s assistant and my desire to give back to my community.”
Since its founding, the nonprofit’s mission has been to “address social ills by providing opportunities for creative expression and healing to children, families, and individuals.”
ArtEsteem has done programming at over 75 schools in West Oakland and the Bay Area. Currently, it serves about 2,500 young people a year in 25 different schools and has a staff of 20 people.
Each year, the non-profit works closely with about 15 to 20 Oakland high school and middle school students through its Oakland Legacy Project. During a 30-week program each school year, ArtEsteem buses these students to its center two days a week after school to feed and educate them about art and environmental awareness and to build self-esteem.
“We don’t just do art for art’s sake,” said Harris. “We use art so young people can have a better understanding of themselves in the world.”
ArtEsteem got a lot of help to secure its new home. The Walter & Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and an anonymous donor from the San Francisco Foundation provided the largest financial donations. About 100 individuals donated $200 or more.
Artists and individuals have also helped to beautify the space and the nearby area. Students from McClymonds High School, Westlake Middle School, and Hoover Elementary School have collaborated with teams of a dozen or more artists to create four murals in the neighborhood through the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project, which was originated by Harris, directed by David Burke, and funded by the San Francisco Foundation’s Bay Area Creative Core.
A new mural to be designed by former Oakland Legacy Project students, is in the works. The project also recently got help from Ken Houston and Beautification Council with cleaning up a mural that had been covered with graffiti.
In the building itself, one can see art everywhere.
“We want young people and their parents to feel uplifted by the beauty of the space when they come in,” said Harris. “We want to foster healing and resiliency.”
ArtEsteem is not done expanding its space. It is still fundraising and plans to build a new two-story building next door to its current space, set to open in 2027.
“Now that we own our space, we can dig our roots deeper because we won’t be uprooted,” said Harris.
