At 355 24th St. in Oakland, the Creative Growth Art Center sits in a rustic brick building—a converted auto repair shop—just minutes from the renowned Fox Theater. While many theaters and music venues in this corner of the Town are considered must-visit tourist destinations, Creative Growth is more modest and unassuming, yet remains a catalyst in the East Bay’s evolving art scene.
The backbone of Creative Growth’s success is its growing community of adults and teenagers with developmental disabilities who have a deep curiosity about making art. Since 1974, it has maintained both a gallery and a studio space for people with disabilities to advance their artistic endeavors in a safe, inclusive and creative environment. The space currently houses works from about 140 artists who create in various mediums, including printmaking, ceramics, digital media, painting and drawing.
Creative Growth is a nonprofit organization, and all profits from the gallery’s art sales go directly to the artists and the organization’s operations and materials. Creative Growth’s artwork has been collected by art institutions statewide and nationally, including SFMOMA, the Smithsonian, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the American Folk Art Museum and the Museum of Everything. Collection de l’Art Brut, a museum in Switzerland, has also purchased art from the Oakland gallery.
In a one-of-a-kind exhibition that opened on Valentine’s Day and runs through April 19, Creative Growth celebrates its artists with a special group show produced and curated by the center’s Black artists’ group, which consists of 15 to 20 artists working in various mediums. The exhibition, titled “Soul Food,” was created by the group to honor Black History Month and the Black artists at Creative Growth.
“It explores the themes of culture, storytelling and their shared experience. It also highlights the voices and contributions of Black artists within Creative Growth,” said Nadia Ghani, the gallery director. “One exciting piece of the exhibition is there’s a community quilt that was created just for it. Each artist designed a 10-by-10 panel on fabric that has been sewn together and is a main anchor point of the exhibition.”
Ghani, who has worked at the gallery for nearly three years, has seen firsthand how community and art combine in the efforts leading up to this group show.
For “Soul Food,” the Black artists’ group and a couple of staff members held numerous meetings since November to curate a theme that represents the work that the group produced during their time at Creative Growth, incorporating both new and older pieces.
“I believe this is the first exhibition that is being artist-led and run in the gallery,” Ghani noted. “It’s been important to us to be able to find opportunities to include artists’ voices directly in the gallery and in the programming.”
She added that a year ago, the studio created “affinity groups” to help build micro-communities within the center’s group of artists.
“It was groups that identified with autism, or deaf artists, and the Black artists’ group was very vocal and active about wanting to have a gallery exhibition,” Ghani said. “It was their enthusiasm and advocacy that paved the way. That’s what is beautiful about Creative Growth; we try to empower the artists’ voices and their professional development, and this will help them progress in their career as artists.”
Gallery staff helped guide the way, but the exhibition was created by the artists and for the artists.
“The gallery team asked the group what their vision was, and how we can make this happen,” Ghani said. “Through looking at the artwork by the community, it was clear to see the themes that came across.”
The Black artists’ group met, brainstormed and researched different ways to present their work in an exhibit setting, and even made a field trip to the African American Museum and Library in downtown Oakland, to observe the library’s gallery space and get ideas for the “Soul Food” exhibition.
“They went to the library’s exhibition space to gain inspiration,” Ghani said. “I believe that’s where one of our artists, Tanisha Warren, got the idea to bring her handmade dolls to our show, because they had dolls on display at that library. Tanisha also borrowed Black history books from there to bring to our exhibition, so people can look through them and see some of the inspiration for our artists.”
The members of the Black artists’ group specialize in a diverse array of art forms, including abstraction, portraits, pop culture and works inspired by the natural world. One of the most prominent themes in the exhibition is food—dishes the artists love or feel nostalgic for.
“Food is a huge part of their work,” Ghani added. “We have an artist who makes amazing ceramic donuts, cookies, cupcakes and other things like that.”
In “Soul Food,” Bay Area history and passion run deep. Ghani excitedly explained that one of the artists, Joe Spears, made several pieces dedicated to his favorite sports team that left the East Bay.
“Spears loves sports teams, especially Bay Area sports teams,” Ghani said. “He made this incredible football helmet, mouth guard and football dedicated to the Raiders. It’s a really great shoutout to, RIP, our local sports teams.”
Creative Growth is the oldest space of its kind serving artists of all ages with developmental disabilities, refining its mission for the last 50 years. Artists registered with the studio program spend anywhere from three to five days at the center, with studio time split between morning and afternoon sessions. The studio is divided into various mediums, including painting, sculpture, rug-making, printmaking, ceramics, digital media and fashion.
The Creative Growth program also provides trips to museums and galleries. Artists will graduate from the program with a working portfolio and can sell their artwork in the gallery and elsewhere.
Creative Growth mainly serves individuals with disabilities who are registered with the Regional Center of the East Bay, a nonprofit organization in partnership with the California Department of Developmental Services. The center helps people and their families coordinate and plan services for these communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
The studio is closed to the public for legal reasons, but the gallery space is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm for visitors to come see the artists’ work.
A post-opening event for “Soul Food” will be held on March 7 and will feature live music. The event is a collaboration between Living Jazz, a local music program that provides workshops for young musicians in the Bay Area, and Creative Growth. The night is free to the public and will run from 6 to 8pm, with members eligible for a special viewing from 5 to 6pm. All ages are welcome, and the event will be ADA accessible. To donate or become a member of Creative Growth, visit creativegrowth.org/get-involved.
“I am just so excited about artists being so directly involved with an exhibition,” Ghani said. “As the gallery department, having the artists more involved in the Oakland gallery is the trajectory we want to be on. I am excited that this is the first of many steps to help the artists be more involved, and have the agency in a space that’s important to them.”
Creative Growth Art Center, 355 24th St., Oakland, 510.836.2340; creativegrowth.org. Gallery open Wed-Sat, 10am-4pm. Free admission.
