Oakland School for the Arts

Thanks to our community’s tremendous support, OSA will be able to provide our teachers with a one-time 2% bonus this summer!

This has all been accomplished without making any cuts to the 10 to 15 hours of arts education programming our 800 students receive weekly!

Our theme for this school year was Metamorphosis, celebrating the growth and change of students that comes through the arts. Raising over $1.2M - 45% more than last year - positions OSA for positive change and growth for our students and Oakland.

Thank you!

For more information about OSA: buff.ly/2vLpBWB




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We're just $20,000 from reaching our $1,200,000 fundraising goal. This funding enables us to offer a tuition-free innovative arts education and to make it accessible to the students of Oakland and surrounding areas.

What a tremendous community response towards this goal!

Please help us reach the goal by THIS SUNDAY, June 30th. Please share this post to spread the word!

Go to buff.ly/2vLpBWB and hit DONATE.

It costs approximately $4 million a year to provide 10 to 15 hours of intensive arts instruction by professional working artists/teachers, available to each of our 800 students in grades 6 to 12. This is in addition to a rigorous academic program.

And thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far so we can make the arts accessible and teach our students the essential value of the arts in their lives.

Visit buff.ly/2vLpBWB and hit DONATE.




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Last week we shared that Oakland School for the Arts was $70,000 short of our $1.2 million fundraising goal. Due to a tremendous community response, that gap has been reduced to just over $30,000! What a response in one week. Thank you so much!

Please help us get over the goal by June 30th. Spread the word.

Oakland School for the Arts proudly offers a tuition-free innovative arts education accessible to the students of Oaklandand surrounding areas. OSA has done so for over 22 years.

It costs approximately $4 million a year to provide 10 to 15 hours of intensive arts instruction by professional working artists/teachers, available to each of our 800 students in grades 6 to 12. This is in addition to a rigorous academic
program.

Please help us as we continue to make the arts accessible and teach our students the essential value of the arts in their lives and careers.

Please join us! Go to buff.ly/2vLpBWB and hit DONATE. And like and share this post. Thank you.




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There are a few spaces left for Oakland School for the Arts Summer Arts Academy, Session 2, beginning on Monday, June 17.

This program is open to all youth and students (within OSA and the broader community) between the ages of 9 to 16.

OSA 's Summer Arts Academy runs daily from 9:00 - 3:00 with an extended-day option available which concludes at 5:00 PM. Academies are led by trained adult educators who are also working artists in each respective field.

Registration is open to students between the ages of 9-16 years old.

This 9-day program that will educate learners of all levels in an engaging hands-on arts experience. At the end of the session, we invite friends and families to a culminating arts showcase for performances and exhibiting of student work.

Session Two is Monday, June 17th- Friday, June 28th
*No session Wednesday, June 19th to observe the Juneteenth holiday

OSA Summer Art Academy sessions range from $1150-$1275
*This does not reflect the cost for students who qualify for reduced tuition.

More details and registration info at: buff.ly/2vLpBWB

Oakland School for the Arts proudly offers a tuition-free innovative arts education and makes it accessible to the students of Oakland
and surrounding areas. OSA has done so for over 22 years.

It costs approximately $4 million a year to provide 10 to 15 hours of intensive arts instruction by professional working artists/teachers, available to each of our 800 students in grades 6 to 12. This is in addition to a rigorous academic
program.

This year we set a goal of raising $1.2 million to help to fund our arts program and to have a competitive wage for our wonderful faculty members. OSA is about $70,000 short of hitting this goal by June 30th!

Please help us as we continue to make the arts accessible and to teach our students the essential value of the arts in their lives. This year our students produced nearly 75 performances, concerts and exhibits in addition to a big-stage all-school performance at the iconic Fox Theater, the home of OSA, contributing to the vibrant arts scene in Oakland.

Please join us! Go to buff.ly/2vLpBWB and hit DONATE. Thank you.




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Congratulations to everyone in the Class of 2024! We're so proud of you and can't wait to see how your artistic journeys unfold!

Have a great summer!

The Media Arts Spring Film Showcase opened on the big screen at the New Parkway Theater on Monday, May 20th. Selections from Oakland School for the Arts Media Arts Pathway student filmmaking projects, as well as department-wide documentary projects, were screened, with student animations and trailers throughout.

The Spring Showcase compiled many different genres and approaches to storytelling and moving images.

What amazing work. They laughed, they cried!

What a wonderful year to end a very creative and productive school year.

Congratulations Media Arts Pathway Chairs Heidi Cregge and Ryan Sin and their students.

Let's all give a shoutout to one of our instructors, Eva Silot Bravo, who is about to publish her first nonfiction academic book: Cuban Fusion: the Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene.

The book focuses on Cuban music and transnationalism, similar to the 20+ articles, art reviews and interviews she has published on Cuban music, literature, film, and other cultural topics.

Besides teaching at OSA, Eva is creating a festival in the Bay Area to empower Afro descendent female and non-binary creative voices.

You can pre-order the book at https://buff.ly/3R0UE7Z

Let's all congratulate her in the comments!

We're so proud of Kumar Butler and Oakland School for the Art's Audio Production and Engineering department and everything they shared at the listening party this week.

The Audio Production & Engineering Listening Party was a chance to listen to and watch what students have been working on throughout the school year. They have worked on songs, sound for film, and other projects assisting other arts departments at OSA

We also had a blast with the first AP&E beat battle, which was open to all OSA students.

Check out the student's work at buff.ly/3V0yxQu
and buff.ly/3KeA6oO

Next up and the LAST ONE OF THE SEASON in our AMP + OSA Lunchtime Student Performance Series in partnership with the Oakland School for the Arts is the African Drumming Class.

The performance is Wednesday (5/22) from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm at Latham Square.

This is a new series as part of the Oakland Works Wednesdays Initiative in collaboration with Oakland Central.

OSA offers an African Drumming class for high school students, led by local musician Mr.Baba Mosheh. Mr.Mosheh also gives lectures on playing, culture, etc.

The OSA music department is committed to helping each student reach their highest individual musical potential. Everyone possesses different skill and talent levels. We strive to strengthen areas of weakness and enhance the student’s given talents. The tools acquired here are essential to careers such as solo, chamber/combo performance, Film Scoring, Audio and Video Production, Drama, Public Speaking etc. Given that, we will work closely with the other departments OSA to expose students to all areas of academic and artistic endeavor.

Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) is a nonprofit public charter school founded in 2002. Now completing our 22nd year, OSA serves approximately 800 students in grades 6-12 tuition-free. OSA is housed in Uptown Oakland’s historic Fox Theater, Newberry Building and Sweet's Ballroom.

OSA is a Linked Learning Pathway School offering an immersive arts program and a strong academic curriculum. We serve youth from across the Bay Area with a preference for Oakland-based students. Many of our students are from under-resourced elementary schools and communities.

OSA students complete a challenging academic curriculum with an emphasis in one of ten artistic fields: Audio Production and Engineering, Dance, Digital Media, Fashion Design, Instrumental Music, Literary Arts, Production Design, Theatre, Visual Media and Vocal Music.

For more information go to buff.ly/2vLpBWB

Oakland School for the Arts is still accepting applications for our OSA Summer Arts Academy. This program is open to all youth and students (within OSA and the broader community) between the ages of 9 to 16.

OSA 's Summer Arts Academy runs daily from 9:00 - 3:00PM. Academies are led by trained adult educators who are also working artists in each respective field.

Registration is open to students between the ages of 9-16 years old.
Theatre Intensive and Art of Creative Narrative-College Application Essays are open to all high school age students.

Each session is a 9 or 10 day program that will educate learners of all levels in an engaging hands-on arts experience. At the end of each session, we invite friends and families to a culminating arts showcase for performances and exhibiting of student work.

Session One is Monday, June 3rd- Friday, June 14th
Session Two is Monday, June 17th- Friday, June 28th
*This is a 9 day session. No session Wednesday, June 19th to observe the Juneteenth holiday

OSA Summer Art Academy sessions range from $1150-$1275
*This does not reflect the cost for students who qualify for reduced tuition.

More details and registration info at: buff.ly/2vLpBWB

Reading and book sale!

Senior Books is the capstone class within Oakland School for the Arts' Literary Arts program, in which seniors complete a book-length project.

Come see Literary Arts seniors read from their new books, and buy a few to take home! These exceptional Literary Arts students speak and write on topics and with wisdom and perspective beyond their years. Come and experience their wonderful work.

TODAY Friday, May 17 @ 6pm

Community Hub
1955 Broadway, Suite B
Oakland, CA 94612

publishing

OSA Dance pathway students will present Resilience, their Spring dance concert. You will not want to miss this performance!

Friday, May 17 @ 7pm
Saturday, May 18 @ 2:30 and 7pm
Sunday, May 19th @ 2:30pm

Malonga Casquelourd Theater
1428 Alice Street, Oakland

Tickets available at oakarts.org

The Malonga Casquelourd Center for The Arts

We couldn’t be more proud that one of our alum, Angela Watson, made her debut on the company roster of the San Francisco Ballet.

An Oakland native, Angela kicked off her season by first appearing as a VIP guest performer (courtesy of SF Ballet, Tamara Rojo Artistic Director) for the Misty Copeland Flower Film Oakland premiere, hosted by Oakland Ballet Company.

Angela’s performances this season included representing one of the only Black Ballerina Dolls in the Nutcracker, which she also performed in as her first role with the San Francisco Ballet in 2016. She also performed in Swan Lake to close out the season.

Let’s all congratulate Angela and cheer her on to further success! Brava!

OSA Dance pathway students will present Resilience, their Spring dance concert:

Friday, May 17 @ 7pm
Saturday, May 18 @ 2:30 and 7pm
Sunday, May 19th @ 2:30pm

Malonga Casquelourd Theater
1428 Alice Street, Oakland

Tickets available at oakarts.org

San Francisco Ballet
Oakland Ballet Company

Join the Oakland School for the Arts Vocal Music showcase as the academic year comes to a close.

Tuesday, May 14th
Two shows! 5:30pm and 8pm

Freight and Salvage
2020 Addison Street, Berkeley
City of Berkeley Garage right next door.

Tickets available at oakarts.org or at the door.

We couldn't be more proud of Oakland School for the Arts students and their performances in Metamorphosis in the iconic Fox Theater last week.

1,800 gathered in the audience to enjoy OSA students from Theatre, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Dance, Fashion Design, Literary Arts, Media Arts, Visual Arts, Audio Production & Engineering, and Production Design who worked together to bring back our first all-school OSA production since before the pandemic.

Our students designed and executed every aspect of the show, including the set, lighting and sound design, scripts, costumes, and stage management.

Kudos to our talented and dedicated arts faculty members, including Cava Menzies, who produced and directed the show, and to the chairs of our 10 arts pathways, who worked collaboratively to make the production come alive with our students.

Bravo to our OSA students!

To see show credits go to https://buff.ly/3QpCaO5

Our Oakland School for the Arts Visual Arts Pathway seniors are busy at work finishing their pieces and preparing the Visual Arts space; spackling and painting walls. The seniors not only have their own pieces to create, but they also curate the gallery. They are eager to share their work with you this week!

The theme of this year's Senior Exhibition is See U Next Time.

Thursday, May 9 @ 4pm
Friday, May 10 @ 4pm
Saturday, May 11 @ 12pm

Oakland School for the Arts DVM Hub
2018 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, CA 94612

The event is free.

This week is the much anticipated annual Oakland School for the Arts Fashion Design Arts Pathway Fashion Show! This year's full runway show, themed Press Play, will feature 19 amazing student collections. There is a frenzy in the Fashion Design Studio at OSA as the designers finish their collections.

Thursday, May 9 @ 7pm
Friday, May 10 @ 7pm
Saturday, May 11 @ 2pm and 6pm

Oakland School for the Arts
Black Box Theater
530 19th Street, Oakland - Just off of Telegraph Avenue
Street parking available.
Bring mom for a special Mother's Day weekend treat.

This event typically sells out. Tickets available at oakarts.org

Congratulations to OSA’s Metamorphosis cast and crew. Last night’s show at our home, The Fox Theater, was spectacular. We had a full house of about 1,800 seats spoken for!

Gratitude and congratulations to Metamorphosis producer and director Cava Menzies, pictured here from stage left during the show. Cava collaborated closely with our talented and dedicated 11 arts pathway chairs and their students.

Cava is a founding faculty member of OSA and has been teaching and directing students and productions since 2002. Her expertise and embodiment of the OSA Way really shined through last night.

We appreciate all those who attended the performance, our sponsors who helped to make the night possible, and our amazing parents who have been supporting their children and picking them up late for weeks on end. Also a shout out to the wonderful leadership and staff at The Fox Theater.

Bravo!

For show credits go to https://buff.ly/3QpCaO5

Oakland School for the Arts presents METAMORPHOSIS today!

7pm, The Fox Theater in Uptown Oakland.

The excitement is building!
Only balcony seats are available.
Purchase tickets at oakarts.org or ticketmaster.com

Jazz Appreciation Month (fondly known as “JAM”) was created by the National Museum of American History in 2001 to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz for the entire month of April.

International Jazz Day is April 30, an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its role of uniting people in all corners of the globe."

Jazz is an American art form that has influenced music around the world.

It's so timely and fitting to congratulate Oakland School for the Arts high school jazz ensamble who performed at the 62nd Reno Jazz Festival on April 26 and ranked in the top 3 of bands that performed in their category. A first for OSA! A shout out to the students, Emily Tian, Chair of Instrumental Music, and faculty members, Patrick Daniel Anseth, Jazz Studies Director, and Daniel Parenti. Congratulations! So proud!

If you want to see the OSA jazz ensamble perform, there are still balcony seats available for Metamorphosis on April 29, 7pm, at the Fox Theater.
Tickets are available at oakarts.org

Special thanks to , the Rotary Club of Oakland, who came for a tour of Oakland School for the Arts and hosted a club mixer on-campus. We gathered at the Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park next to OSA and heard remarks from the sculptor Mario Chiodo. Then OSA leadership toured the Rotarians through the different arts pathway classes and studios, with students intensely in preparation for Metamorphosis.

OSA is so grateful to the Rotary Club of Oakland who purchased a block of tickets to Metamorphosis to make sure that students who are not able to purchase tickets will still be able to attend the performance.

The remaining tickets to the performance are selling fast.
Metamorphosis is on Monday, April 29 at 7pm in The Fox Theater.
Tickets are available at oakarts.org.

Oakland School for the Arts is pleased to welcome home 2018 graduate Satya who will perform at the Metamorphosis Pre-Party on April 29.

Satya came out with 2 EPs, Deep Blue in 2022 and Flourish Against Fracture in 2019, and her forthcoming debut album is called Yellow Horse.

"Oakland-born singer Satya fuses R&B with folk influences for a soulful sound that is wholly unique." - San Francisco Chronicle

"Impeccable vocal delivery on her slow, soothing and soulful offerings." - San Jose Mercury News

"A neo-soul singer/songwriter with boundless promise." - KQED

Metamorphosis Pre-Party
Monday, April 29 @ 5 pm -The Den at The Fox Theater

Metamorphosis All-School Performance
Monday, April 29 @ 7pm - The Fox Theater

Shout out to . Welcome home!

We're in the final days of ticket sales! Tickets for both are available at oakarts.org.

Photo by
Styled by

Oakland School for the Arts Executive Director, Mike Oz, proudly displays Oakland School for the Arts marquee event of the year – the all-school showcase entitled "Metamorphosis".

It is OSAs first time back in the Fox Theater in five years for an all-school showcase.

Be sure to join us next Monday evening for this wonderful event. Tickets are selling fast.
A selected number of tickets are still available at https://buff.ly/2vLpBWB.

OSA’s branded Metamorphosis, designed by Hana Walker Pettigrew, an
11th grade student in our Visual Art Pathway, can be seen popping up all over town! From billboards downtown and on surrounding freeways accessing the Bay Bridge to people wearing hoodies and t-shirts, Oakland is catching the OSA Metamorphosis fever!

When Hana was asked what Metamorphosis meant to her and how she
interpreted it in her design, she shared, “When sketching out my design,
I didn’t want to do the traditional caterpillar to butterfly and I wanted
there to be some kind of movement in this altogether static image. My
interpretation of Metamorphosis was ‘growth and change,’ so I represented
that in my design by starting with a small and reserved flower bud
sprouting from nurturing hands that then grew into a lively blossom.”

Limited-edition Metamorphosis apparel may be purchased by going to oakarts.org or at the Metamorphosis performance on April 29 at 7pm at the Fox Theater. Tickets are going fast! To purchase tickets to the show go to oakarts.org.

Check out OSA’s branded Metamorphosis was designed by Hana Walker Pettigrew, an 11th-grade student in our Visual Art Pathway.

Her design was chosen out of a school-wide call for designs. Hana’s design is compelling, inventive and speaks to the process of growth and transformation that our school-wide theme embodies.

Hana has shared that she has always been confident in her art and “the OSA community has nurtured it by providing the opportunity to learn about the many different styles of art and how we can use art to tell stories and express ourselves.”

Here is a little bit about Hana’s own journey and metamorphosis:

Organized vaguely clockwise starting in the top middle: 18 months; 5th grade (at “MyFirst Art Show” ); 6th grade VA art show; 7th grade VA art show (last before pandemic);8th grade (digital self portrait); 10th grade (acrylic); 10th grade (thumbprint portrait).

Hana’s design has been broadly used this year including in billboard advertisements and apparel.

Limited-edition Metamorphosis apparel is available at Oaklandish:
Find it here: https://buff.ly/445H5t9