Arts Change - www.artschange.org
Arts Change presents innovative and artistically significant exhibitions that support cultural interchange and expression among the diverse communities of Richmond, as well as forge a new artistic tradition between professional artist, health care workers and patients. Support
for phase II of “Food in Richmond: Envisioning Change/Creating Change” a multi-generational look at the complicated issues of quality of life, nutrition, food security and the decline of family meals as well as family food traditions. Arts Change is in its second year of funding for the
“Food in Richmond: Envisioning Change/Creating Change” project.

El Cerrito Greenway Project
This project is focused on Baxter Creek in El Cerrito. OCF’s grant enabled the El Cerrito Greenway Project to bring together neighbors, artists, students and local Baxter Creek activists to develop a community-based vision for the site. This collaborative project resulted in construction and landscaping that honored the location and protected the environment. The Greenway Project received funding in 2001.

Junior Center of Art and Science - www.juniorcenter.org
OCF supported "Nature in Your Neighborhood" a program for fourth grade students at Allendale Elementary School in East Oakland. Students created a mural for the exterior walls of the school and produced laminated cards of animal drawings for extended uses in science classrooms.  Junior Center of Art and Science was awarded three years of general support funding.

KALA Art - www.kala.org
Artists participating in the Residence and Fellowship programs at KALA received support for residencies at Jefferson and Oxford schools in Berkeley that served over 300 students ages
5 -11. Kala Art project was awarded three years of general support funding.

Life Academy High School - 2111 International Blvd., Oakland, CA 94606
A small autonomous High School within the Oakland Unified School District, offers three-week intensive courses between regular semesters. OCF’s grants supported Inner-City Outings
(a Sierra Club organization) to offer two programs for students. One program offered day hikes and a four-day backpacking trip. Another course called "The Great Outdoors" combined hiking, camping, health education, artistic expression, team building, and environmental studies. As
part of this program, each student produced a personal portfolio of their experiences to share with family and friends. Life Academy High School was awarded two years funding for the
Great Outdoors Project.

Oakland High School, 1023 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94610
Support for the “Beautiful Struggle” mural project. Social commentary murals will be raised at Oakland High School addressing the United Nations’ Millennium Development goals including: the eradication of poverty and hunger, the achievement of universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality and the creation of environmental sustainability. Images will
capture hope and possibility by illustrating the works of Nobel Laureates who have addressed some of the most pressing issues of our times. This is Oakland High School’s first year of funding for the “Beautiful Struggle” mural project.

Ohlone Cultural & Natural History Greenway Project
Beside the BART tracks in North Berkeley, along the Ohlone Greenway, the East Bay's cultural and natural history unfolds through a series of murals and art installations. The first grant focused on the East Bay’s agricultural history through an educational exhibit, steel wrought cows and tractor-seat benches under pear trees. The second grant focused on the Ohlone of the East Bay that yielded an installation incorporating a range of symbols representing the Ohlone way of life and culture. The Ohlone Natural and Cultural History Greenway Project was awarded two years of funding.

Richmond Mapping Project - http://nadc.ucla.edu/ncaladr.cfm; castle.art@sbcglobal.net
“Soul of the City” artist Christopher Castle collaborated with a variety of Richmond residents and students interested in the Baxter Creek watershed. This collaborative effort produced a richly layered cultural and physical history of Baxter Creek as well as a ten-foot-by-ten-foot map of Richmond with its sea-way connections to the Bay and the Carquinez Strait. This map is located in the Arts & Disability Center in Richmond where residents were invited and enabled to work on the map. The “Soul of the City” project is in its third year of funding.

River of Words - www.riverofwords.org
River of Words is an international education program that promotes watershed awareness
and ecological literacy through art and poetry. This intergenerational public education pilot project engages young people and elders in an exploration of the Bay-Delta estuary, looking specifically at the Codornices Creek watershed. The project uses science, geography,
history, culture as well as art and poetry to engage participants. This is River of Words third year of funding.

Sharing the Watershed - creek.dancer@earthlink.net
OCF supports performance artist Patricia Bulitt’s “Honoring the Birds” and “Under the Wing” performances at Oakland’s Lake Merritt and in the Tilden Park Nature Center in Berkeley.  During these performances, Patricial holds storytelling, dance and singing workshops that encourage children to see the world through the eyes of birds.  Patricia Bulitt’s “Honoring the Birds” is in its third year of funding.

Sculpture from Recycled Plastic Toys
Through classroom visits at Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley, artist Sofie Siegmann explores making a sculpture out of recycled plastic toys with students. The students learn to think like artists as they research how plastic is made and the problems associated with recycling it, design and title a sculpture, and make a sculpture out of recycled materials that they can then take home. Critical thinking is encouraged as the students discuss the material world (what children play with around the globe) and make a field trip to the Transfer Station in San Leandro. The sculpture from recycled plastic toys will be installed for Earth Day on April 14th at the Education Center/Transfer Station in San Leandro.

Tinkers Workshop - www.tinkersworkshop.org
This Berkeley organization provides mentoring, teaching, as well as tools in an eclectic array of media including bicycle repair, sewing and creative electronics. Other innovative programs involve using found objects to build musical instruments, sewing workshops using specialized industrial equipment, and projects focusing on alternative energy sources for transportation. They also offer boat-building and repair, experiments with marine technology, alternative energy (wind and solar power), and a youth-run boat-rental business. Tinkers Workshop was awarded three years general support funding.

Urban Creeks Council Of California - www.urbancreeks.org
OCF gave support to East Bay muralist STEFEN to paint a mural celebrating Codornices Creek, San Francisco Bay, and Hetch Hetchy Valley. The mural is approximately 300 square feet and is located on Kaines Street between Harrison (Berkeley) and Dartmouth (Albany). The mural site overlooks a new low-income housing project, a bit of Codornices Creek, and a vacant lot.  The creek and lot are slated for restoration to become a pocket-park. The mural project received one year of funding.

VALA (Visual Arts /Language Arts) - http://valaproject.org
Working with public school children and their teachers in Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond, VALA's uses the arts to overcome cultural barriers among children from different ethnic backgrounds and to improve their language arts skills. In addition it provides teachers with professional development opportunities that enable them to infuse the arts into the Open Court curriculum. VALA was awarded three years of general support funding.


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