Author: Rachel Holmstrom

Opening Reception – What We Sow

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Friday, Feb 13th from 6:30-8:30pm

Opening reception of What We Sow—in collaboration with Lake Merritt’s very own Trash Falcons!

One person’s trash isn’t just treasure—it’s a masterpiece. What We Sow invites viewers into a reimagined landscape composed of the forgotten remnants of Adams Point, Lakeside Park, and Lake Merritt. Through a lens of radical optimism, the Trash Falcons transform the discarded debris of urban life into works that are at once whimsical, provocative, and profoundly beautiful. By elevating found objects to the realm of fine art, this exhibition challenges us to confront our own hand in the ecological narrative and asks: What do we leave behind, and what beauty can we grow from the wreckage?

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
RSVP TODAY

Learn more about What We Sow.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


You can indicate any accommodation needs or concerns when registering your child under the “Special Instructions about my child” section. You can also reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.

Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.

Support our work
Support our work
Support our work

What We Sow—A Trash Falcon Exhibition

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One person’s trash isn’t just treasure—it’s a masterpiece. What We Sow invites viewers into a reimagined landscape composed of the forgotten remnants of Adams Point, Lakeside Park, and Lake Merritt. Through a lens of radical optimism, the Trash Falcons transform the discarded debris of urban life into works that are at once whimsical, provocative, and profoundly beautiful.

By elevating found objects to the realm of fine art, this exhibition challenges us to confront our own hand in the ecological narrative and asks: What do we leave behind, and what beauty can we grow from the wreckage?

IN THE GALLERY

FEB 9 – APR 10

necklace

The Main Gallery showcases the rigorous creativity of the Trash Falcons—a collective of artists, makers, and innovators who treat the streets of Oakland as their primary source material. Here, the “medium of trash” is expanded into a sophisticated survey of contemporary craft. From the ethereal blue of cyanotypes to the tactile weight of sculpture, these works prove that the life cycle of an object only ends when our imagination does.

Featuring the works of: Nick Berger, Sooz Chrzanowski, Rachel Beth Egenhoefer, Dane Joyce, Anne McSilver, Kathleen Nay, Bonnie Pestridge, Margaret Rodriguez, and Richard Sink.

IN THE BELLEVUE ROOM: THE TRASH MUSEUM OF TRASH (TFTMoT)

FEB 9 – MAR 6

In the Bellevue Room, the exhibition takes a turn toward the archival and the absurd. The world-famous The Trash Falcons Trash Museum of Trash presents a curated selection of “questionably historic” artifacts recovered during weekly missions. These objects—perhaps a pair of misplaced AirPods or a haunting orthodontic mold—are preserved behind glass as relics of a hidden Oakland history.

Within this space, visitors are invited to ascend the Throne of Pickers Past, an interactive installation celebrating the labor of the community picker. The TFTMoT Gift Shop will also be open during major events, offering attendees the opportunity to carry a piece of this reimagined history home.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Opening
Reception

Feb 13 6:30-8:30pm

  • Meet the Falcons, see both spaces fully activated!
  • Shop the TFTMoT Gift Shop, only available at events!
  • Light refreshments provided!
donate today →
donate today →
learn more →

TFTMoT
Closing Party

Mar 6 6-8pm

  • Last chance to see the TFTMoT in the Bellevue Room!
  • Shop the TFTMoT Gift Shop, only available at events!
  • Light refreshments provided!
donate today →
donate today →
learn more →

Grand Exhibition Closing Party

Apr 10 6-8pm

  • The last hurrah before the exhibition leaves the gallery!
  • Shop the TFTMoT Gift Shop, only available at events!
  • Light refreshments provided!
donate today →
donate today →
learn more →

About the Trash Falcons

The Trash Falcons are a grassroots collective committed to the stewardship of Oakland’s Adams Point, Lakeside Park, and Lake Merritt neighborhoods. They operate with optimism, positivity, and inclusivity to build community and enhance the town’s beauty. Their work showcases humor, love, and togetherness. They have fun on their expeditions, all sharing a common goal of showing up for their community.

Join the Flock: The community is invited to join the Falcons every Sunday at 9:00 AM at 400 Perkins St, Oakland.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

Support Our Work

Support our nonprofit gallery space and help us continue fostering creativity, community, and access to the arts. Your contribution directly empowers emerging artists and makes inspiring exhibitions and programs possible for all.

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
Support our work

Karma Cinema at The New Parkway

Karma Cinema (IG 4 5)

We are very excited to be chosen as The New Parkway Theater’s Karma Cinema partner for the month of January!

Every Wednesday in January, 20% of all movie ticket sales at the The New Parkway Theater (474 24th St, Oakland) will be donated to the Junior Center of Art and Science! Folks can chose the amount they would like to pay and 20% goes directly to supporting our mission. This is great opportunity to not only support our cause, but support this awesome, local, indie theater!

The New Parkway Theater is a community-centered cinema and pub located in Oakland’s Uptown district. Patrons can sit back and relax on cozy couches while watching new releases, cult classics, and fabulous special programming. Plus, enjoy yummy food and local beer and wine at the café or delivered right to your theater seat, all at affordable prices!

Visit www.thenewparkway.com for movie times and advance tickets!

Mark(her) – Artist Talk with Gericault De La Rose

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Mark(her)

Friday, Jan 9th from 7-8pm

In this artist talk, Gericault De la Rose delves into her ongoing CTRL + F series, a body of work that transforms the bureaucratic tools of identity into intimate, large-scale meditations on survival. Created during a moment when trans people in America cannot update the gender markers on their passports, these tapestries confront how state documentation becomes both a gatekeeper and a locus of vulnerability—heightening exposure to violence, policing, and social scrutiny.

Situating the work within the current socio-economic climate, Gericault explores how class, migration, and access to institutional recognition shape whose identities are validated and whose are contested. The talk will also examine the cultural construction of “passing” and the paradoxes embedded within it: visibility as both protection and risk, assimilation as both safety strategy and erasure. Through this artist talk, Gericault considers what it means to craft a self in a society where legitimacy is often measured by paperwork, perception, and power.

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
RSVP TODAY

This artist talk is part of our The Holy T gallery exhibit. Learn more about The Holy T.

Meet the Artist

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Gericault De La Rose is a queer trans Filipinx, multidisciplinary artist, and educator.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


You can indicate any accommodation needs or concerns when registering your child under the “Special Instructions about my child” section. You can also reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.

Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.

Support our work
Support our work
Support our work

Why Creative Learning Works: A Parent’s Testimony from Junior Center

Dean's Story Banner (1902 x 800 px)

“My son connects with the classes and teaching artists at Junior Center in a way that he doesn’t connect with any other activity or teacher in his life.” – Leah, Dean’s mom.

Maybe you can relate to Leah as a mom, or to her son Dean, and their not-so-positive experiences with traditional learning. Maybe you feel like your kid’s special spark never gets lit up by school or other after-school programs. 

This is why the Junior Center of Art and Science plays such an important and magical role in our students’ lives. We strive to ignite a unique spark in every one of our students. We need your donation support to do it.

Inclusivity is fundamental to our mission and a promise we keep by offering all our classes and camps at low or no cost. And every teaching artist at Junior Center is 100% committed to meeting each student where they are. Our fundamental mission is to make the exploration of the arts and science accessible for all. 

Leah’s son Dean has been coming to the Junior Center for after-school classes and summer camps for the past three years, since he was six years old. His positive experiences at Junior Center have meant the world to Dean, and to his whole family. Leah explained why:

Dean struggles with connection and focus. As his mom, I was getting nonstop negative feedback from his school about how distracted and disengaged he was.

He became a different kid at the Junior Center. His first experience was carpentry, and at six years old it was thrilling for him to build things with his own two hands using a hand saw. 

At the end of camp, the teaching artist came to tell me, “Dean was so engaged the whole time, it was so fun to work with him!” Wow. That was a profound moment for us. Dean’s gifts were finally being inspired and appreciated by a teacher. It was so awesome; I teared up.

Children of all ages and abilities are welcome at Junior Center, regardless of their learning style or family’s capacity to pay.

Will you make a gift today to keep Junior Center camps and classes accessible to all East Bay families?

The majority – 71% – of our students’ families receive some kind of financial assistance from the Junior Center. Donation support from community members like you make that generosity and accessibility possible, and we can’t do it without you.

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
Support our work

Winter Break Camp 2025

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Looking for a fun and enriching way for your young creative to spend the day while you finish your holiday preparations? Join us on Monday and Tuesday, December 22 & 23 for our Winter Camp!

Our 2 day camp is packed with hands-on activities that celebrate the season. Campers will explore printmaking, digital illustration, and crafts, creating festive projects like luminaries, sculptures, and holiday cards to take home.

Monday and Tuesday, Dec 22 & 23 9am – 3pm
$180 – $260 sliding scale
Scholarships available! See below

Campers will be split off into two age groups. Read the descriptions below to learn about each group’s focus. Please note, registration is for a 2 day camp, there are no 1-day sign ups.

REGISTER TODAY
REGISTER TODAY
REGISTER TODAY

LUMINARY WONDERLAND

Ages 6-8

Explore the natural and illuminated wonders of Oakland’s historic Lake Merritt! Campers will become Winter Light Keepers as they discover the migrating birds of this vital wildlife refuge, create art inspired by the lake’s famous “Necklace of Lights,” and craft nature-inspired holiday keepsakes that celebrate light. This camp is a perfect blend of Bay Area ecology, hands-on visual arts, and festive cheer!

FESTIVE DIGITAL ART

Ages 9-11

This camp is the perfect blend of tech digital design and hands-on festive crafting. We’re turning imagination into beautiful, personalized gifts and greeting cards just in time for the winter season.

Using iPads and the ProCreate drawing tool, you will learn the foundational skills of digital art: layers, brushes, and color palette. Whether it’s a sparkling snowflake pattern or a whimsical winter creature, your creation will be a one-of-a-kind digital illustration. We’ll dive into the world of both digital and multimedia artwork to bring your designs to life! You’ll learn to transfer your artwork onto materials to create custom cards, unique gifts, ornaments, and other holiday art. We’ll use traditional art supplies like paint, collage, and—of course—plenty of glitter!

SLIDING SCALE PRICING

All JCAS classes are made available to families on a sliding scale. Families choose the amount they are able to pay, considering the top end of our scale is how much it costs us to run the class. We encourage families to help support our efforts to make programs available to those in need.

If the sliding scale prices are still out of your family’s budget, we do offer scholarships. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please give us 7 business days to process applications. All scholarship requests must be made by Friday, December 15th.

APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP
APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP
APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP
PAY IT FORWARD PROGRAM

JCAS is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to offering equitable access to arts and science education. We serve more than 1,500 students every year and most of our students – more than 70% – receive financial assistance.

You can now support our mission directly using our Pay It Forward Program. When registering your student for a class, you’ll have the opportunity to Pay It Forward and contribute to our Scholarship Fund. Your donation ensures that students from all backgrounds can experience the joy and enrichment of our classes and camps—at little to no cost to them.

Learn more
Learn more
Learn more

REFUND POLICY


OUR REFUND POLICY HAS CHANGED.

ACTIVE now offers self-cancelations! If you need to cancel your registration for any reason, log in to your ACTIVE account, locate the registration you wish to cancel, and select ‘cancel’.

​

Our Refund Policy is as follows:

All purchases include a 10% non-refundable deposit to cover administrative costs.

From 11/07 – 12/07, you will receive a 90% refund.

From 12/08 – 12/19, you will receive a 40% refund.

From 12/20 on, we are not able to offer any refunds.

Opening Reception: The Holy T

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Join us for the opening reception of our latest gallery exhibit, The Holy T. This exhibition focuses on transgenderism through the lens of painting and tapestry, featuring artists Gericault De La Rose and Angel Anjos. De La Rose and Anjos’ artwork depicts the presence, growth, and empowerment of trans bodies, trans identity, and trans people.

On view Nov 10 – Jan 23

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
Learn more
ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

Support Our Work

Support our nonprofit gallery space and help us continue fostering creativity, community, and access to the arts. Your contribution directly empowers emerging artists and makes inspiring exhibitions and programs possible for all.

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
Support our work

OUSD Winter Artist Market 2025

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Winter Artist Market Press Kit 2025 1 Letter Sized Flyer Large
Friday, December 5th 2025
11am – 2pm

Oakland Unified School District Visual and Performing Arts and the Junior Center for Art and Science are proud to present the fourth annual OUSD Winter Artist Market! Featuring student work from Oakland’s Arts, Entertainment, and Design high school and middle school pathways. Youth will be selling their unique and affordable gifts at this one-day artist market. Ceramics, soft sculpture, printmaking, greeting cards, original artworks, and so much more!

Deeply connected to the learning in their arts classes, this year, students will design their artist market collection around the guiding question, “How can I create art and design that centers my creative voice but is also marketable and a source of income?” For many students, this will be their first time marketing and selling their artwork. Please support and share this information widely! 

OUSD offers six high school Linked Learning Pathways that provide college and career preparatory experiences in the media arts, studio arts, and design fields. At the middle school level, OUSD offers visual and performing arts programs that center on creative joy and student voice.

The Holy T

The Holy T is an exhibition about transgenderism through the lens of painting and tapestry, featuring artists Gericault De La Rose and Angel Anjos. De La Rose and Anjos’ artwork depicts the presence, growth, and empowerment of trans bodies, trans identity, and trans people.

On view Nov 10 – Jan 23

Opening Reception Nov 14 6:30 -8:30

About the Exhibit

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Angel paints portraits of herself and her loved ones, her sisters. Oftentimes, her work references art history and biblical characters and stories. The references can be seen in the subject’s stance, pose, and the way she carries herself. These heavenly bodies are beautiful and non-threatening. In this way, Anjos is interjecting that trans people are a part of a spiritual narrative and that trans people are not excluded from the dialogue of being god-like, but rather that their aura and presence possess many attributes that have contributed to society. In this way, trans people should be celebrated, lifted, and valued as a people. Their personhood is not only powerful, potent, and beautiful, but is necessary to further our human existence.

Gericault’s body of work reclaims the visual language of legal documentation, incorporating anti-counterfeit security measures such as watermarks, UV-visible fibers, intricate print designs, and laser-engraved images into woven tapestries. By appropriating these elements, the work challenges the authority of state-controlled identity markers and reimagines what it means to document and affirm trans existence on their terms.

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Both Anjos and De La Rose use the body and their trans sisters in their work in order to empower each other and their community. Simultaneously, they create a platform of support for their family and community, fight the oppressive systems, and celebrate all their beauty and magic.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Mark(her) – Artist Talk with Gericault De La Rose

Mark(her)
Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
RSVP TODAY
Friday, Jan 9th 7pm-8pm

In this artist talk, Gericault de la Rose delves into her ongoing CTRL + F series, a body of work that transforms the bureaucratic tools of identity into intimate, large-scale meditations on survival. Created during a moment when trans people in America cannot update the gender markers on their passports, these tapestries confront how state documentation becomes both a gatekeeper and a locus of vulnerability—heightening exposure to violence, policing, and social scrutiny.

Situating the work within the current socio-economic climate, Gericault explores how class, migration, and access to institutional recognition shape whose identities are validated and whose are contested. The talk will also examine the cultural construction of “passing” and the paradoxes embedded within it: visibility as both protection and risk, assimilation as both safety strategy and erasure. Through this artist talk, Gericault considers what it means to craft a self in a society where legitimacy is often measured by paperwork, perception, and power.

Where Color Breathes – Sip & Paint

Saturday, Jan 10th 6pm-9pm

Join artist Angel Albie Anjos for a lively Sip & Paint workshop inspired by the dreamy, figurative, and expressive themes found in her own artwork. This session is all about creativity, expression, and community—no experience needed, just good energy and a willingness to explore color and emotion.

All are welcome to join, with a special focus on creating an affirming, celebratory space for trans and queer individuals and their allies. Participants must be 21+ to attend. Come solo or with friends (more fun with friends), sip something you love, connect with the community, and leave with your own vibrant creation to take home. All materials included.

Where Color Breathes
Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
buy tickets TODAY

About the Artist

Angel Albie Anjos is a Brazilian American trans femme, queer artist. She is part of Bloom Collective a collective supporting + connecting emerging queer/trans & BIPOC artists.

Gericault De La Rose is a queer trans Filipinx, multidisciplinary artist, and educator.

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

Support Our Work

Support our nonprofit gallery space and help us continue fostering creativity, community, and access to the arts. Your contribution directly empowers emerging artists and makes inspiring exhibitions and programs possible for all.

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
Support our work

Couture Crafting

Get ready to join JCAS and artist Kelly DeFayette for a festive and unconventional holiday crafting workshop with a twist! This is not your grandma’s crafting class; we’re taking holiday decor to a whole new level. Embrace your inner artist and explore unique and modern ways to create with paper, found objects, and even lights!

What’s Included:
  • All necessary crafting materials and tools
  • Expert guidance and demonstrations
  • Inspirational ideas and templates
  • Drinks and snacks
There will be FIVE crafting stations!
  • Luminaries
  • Giant paper bag snowflakes
  • Handmade wrapping paper
  • Table & Door Decor
  • Ornaments

All proceeds go directly to supporting youth arts and science education in Oakland through the Junior Center of Art and Science.

Don’t miss this enchanting opportunity to catch up with friends and get a jump on your holiday preparations! Buy tickets today!

BUY TICKETS TODAY
BUY TICKETS TODAY
BUY TICKETS TODAY

Meet the Artist

Kelly DeFayette is a Bay Area colorist who works on wood panels in shapes that vary from the traditional, to circles, and then irregular and tessellating polygons. Very process driven, the shape of the panel informs the palette and the decisions of application. Exploring color is the focus, and the intersection of the craft of the object, the painting materials, and the palette chosen, result in the final piece. Moving from smaller tessellating works towards larger installations and groups of irregular shapes, she continues to push towards a more sculptural finish and to remove evidence of the maker’s hand from the finished work.

Kelly graduated from Munson-Williams-Proctor School of Art and moved to the West Coast to attend SFAI. She has lived in San Francisco since 1997 and has worked professionally in the Bay since 2003.

About Saturdays at the Lab

Saturdays at the Lab is a unique series of weekend art workshops connecting professional artists with our local community. Designed to foster creativity and collaboration, these hands-on sessions welcome participants of all skill levels to explore new techniques, exchange ideas, and experience the transformative power of art.

Every Second Saturday of the month, we unwind with a Sip & Make session, blending artistic exploration with a relaxed, social vibe.

See our other Saturdays at the Lab workshops

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

We’re committed to making all programs at the Junior Center of Art and Science accessible and inclusive. Our spaces are wheelchair-friendly, and we welcome learners of all abilities and learning styles. If you or your child need accommodations, please let us know—we’re happy to help! Read our Accessibility Statement here.


If you have any accommodation needs or concerns, reach out directly at contact@juniorcenter.org

The Junior Center of Art and Science (JCAS) is a 501c nonprofit dedicated to cultivating curiosity and creative exploration through the arts and sciences. By blending creativity with experiential learning, we inspire big ideas and illuminate the everyday connections between art and science.

Your participation in these events not only nurtures your own creative potential but also supports our mission to provide equitable access to art and science programs for youth and families across Oakland and the greater East Bay Area. Learn more about us.

Book your RENTAL
Book your RENTAL
Support our work
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