Mayor Libby Schaaf, ARC Oakland Celebrate 2nd Annual ARC Youth Fest, Partners With City Of Oakland And Alameda County Sheriff's Office
Live Performances by Mani Draper, DJ Kiss and Kida the Great ("So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation"), hosted by Ryan Nicole
OAKLAND, Calif., July 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 29, the Second Annual ARC Youth Fest will be held outside City Hall in Downtown Oakland, the Bay Area's only for-youth-by-youth event highlighting Visual, Performing, Culinary Arts and Fashion for aspiring and emerging artists.
Now in its second year, ARC Youth Fest is a family-friendly event designed to help young artists unify a changing city while building their very own platform for large-scale creative expression. Artists up to twenty four years old hope to be crowned 2017 AYF Spotlight Artist.
Co-creator, artist, educator and community activist, Bobby Arte, says, "Key partnerships with like-minded organizations have energized this year's event and inspired our youth facilitators to add new and exciting art categories." The former NFL player also stated, "The goal of the festival is to inspire young people to forge their own sustainable futures in the arts."
Co-hosted by ARC Oakland, a community-based art collective, ARC Youth Fest mentors talented artists in performing, visual, fashion, and culinary arts.
"Twenty years ago, I was these kids – talented, but bored and uninspired with few examples of how to engage creatively. I didn't perceive a paying career as a painter as something lucrative or realistic." Bobby says, "We want to give Bay Area youth a place to showcase their talents in a safe community space today, so they can go on to do greater things tomorrow." ARC Youth Fest boasts the three F's for young artists: fun, freedom to create, and for-youth-by-youth content. By providing an enjoyable experience where youth artists are free to challenge themselves, and to explore their creativity and excellence among peers, the festival creates a dynamic experience of ownership, thereby lending positive trajectories toward successful futures.
The National Guild for the Community Arts Education posted a manuscript that presents Creative Youth Development (CYD) as an "intentional holistic practice" through which young people can acquire key life skills from hands-on, skill building art activities. Researchers found that youth in CYD programs are highly skilled artists, have boosted self-esteem and assert that CYD programs saved their lives.
ARC Youth Fest is a unique CYD program, attracting some of the most highly skilled young local artists. It will feature food, music and live performances, a robust youth art walk, fashion show, recreational activities and more. Additionally, the festival will host a turf dance battle, drum battle and cypher. Event sponsors include Clorox, The Pollination Project and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.
ARC Youth Fest runs from 11am to 5pm outside City Hall at 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland. Students enter for free. Food donations for summer hunger are requested for general entry.
For more information, please visit www.arcyouthfest.com
About ARC Oakland
ARC Oakland is a 14-year old community-based art collective and incubator. The organization's ongoing mission is to nurture smart, talented young creatives, to offer new exposures to viable career options in the arts and to use STEM + art and workforce development to stimulate sustainable futures for students. ARC Youth Fest is a unique way to involve the entire community in creating social change for these youth artists.
SOURCE ARC Oakland
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