Community & Family Events
Join us for a fun time of learning, creating, or viewing artwork together. Community members and families are invited to visit Kala and engage with our exhibitions on view and participate in hands-on workshops activities and events that connect to our exhibitions and/or explore a variety of themes related to the community as we learn new art-making skills. Themes may include family, legacy, culture, traditions, belonging, and identity. To learn more, please contact education@kala.org.
Upcoming Community Workshops & Events
Community Figure Drawing Session: November 25, 2024
Come draw with us in the spacious Kala gallery space! We will have a model for the full 3 hours during which participants can practice their figure drawing at their own pace, work on incorporating a figure into an existing piece, or use the time however they like! Kala staff members – who are also practicing artists – will facilitate the session. Kala will provide drawing boards and standing easels, but recommend that participants bring tools and surfaces of their choice to the session. Kala will have limited basic materials for general use (such as charcoal, graphite, and newsprint). The session will include a series of short poses (30 seconds – 5min) as well as some longer poses (10 – 20min).
Date: November 25, 2024
Location: Kala Art Institute, 2990 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702
Time: 6pm – 9pm (stay for all 3 hours or as long as you’d like!)
Facilitators: Kala staff
Cost: $20 – 35 (sliding scale)
Please RSVP ahead of time for this session, as we have limited spots available.
Poster design by Taller SANAA (Jess Sabogal & Shanna Strauss).
Kala turns 50! Celebrate spring and the art of printmaking and more! Join us for a fun day of art activities! From community art workshops and artist demonstrations to artist vendors and print studio tours, stop by throughout the day and see what’s happening at Kala Art Institute. The festival wraps up with an opening reception for Kala’s 50th-anniversary exhibition Under the Sky. We hope to bring together our local community of artists, youth, and families for a day of sharing and experiencing art in West Berkeley. Free and open to all ages. Poster design by Taller SANAA (Jess Sabogal & Shanna Strauss).
Date: May 18, 2024
Time: 12:00 pm–6:00 pm
Free!
Visit our Event Page for details: West Berkeley Community Print Festival 2024
Kala Gallery is excited to present Creating Together, the exhibition highlighting our arts education programs.
For over 35 years, Kala’s arts education programs have been at the heart of our work. As a community-oriented organization, Kala Art Institute is passionate about offering quality arts education for all local children, youth, and adults. The exhibition Creating Together highlights our collaboration with The Arts and Humanities Academy (AHA) and our arts education programs at Kala such as Artists-in-Schools (AIS), Teen Studio, After School Studio, Camp Kala, and Adult Art Classes. Join us to celebrate the amazing artwork created by artists and students of all ages and artistic experiences, including our teaching artists.
Community Art Workshop: Lunar New Year 2024
Date: February 3, 2024
Location: Kala Community Classroom @ Kala Art Institute
Time: 12 – 3 pm
Cost: Free and Donate-What-You-Wish tickets available. Space limited so please RSVP/
Lunar New Year brings families and friends together to celebrate the new year. In this workshop, participants will create bead embroidery artworks inspired by The Year of the Dragon and other cultural symbols we recognize as part of this celebration. This community art workshop will be facilitated by artist Demetri Broxton and Kala staff.
*This community workshop is open for all ages (5 yrs+). Children must be accompanied by an adult. Mask-wearing indoors is optional for all visitors in Kala’s gallery and community classroom. Space limited.
Day of the Dead / Día De Muertos: Honoring our Loved Ones
Join us for a community art workshop to celebrate and honor our loved ones who have passed away and are no longer with us (ancestors, family, friends, celebrities, or even beloved pets). We will provide a variety of materials and templates of Day of the Dead symbols and images that you can use to create meaningful and colorful creations. Create an hojalata (tin art) embossed picture frame, a small zine, or crêpe cempasúchil (marigold flowers) to honor, celebrate, and share memories of your loved ones. Bring your own images, writings, or symbols to include in your creations to take home or add to the community altar (ofrenda) at Kala. We’ll also be creating crepe cempasùchil (marigold flowers) and garlands which you can take home or add to the community ofrenda . Art activities facilitated by Teaching Artist Natalie Palms and Kala staff.
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: Kala Community Classrooms
Time: 11 am- 2 pm
Cost: Suggested donation of $0-$10.
Drop-ins are welcome but please register upon arrival. This workshop is open to all ages (5 yrs and up). Children must be accompanied by an adult. Mask-wearing indoors is optional for visitors. Space limited so please register ahead of time. Questions? Please contact education@kala.org .
First Annual West Berkeley Community Print Festival
Date: Saturday, April 15, 2023
Time: 12-5pm
Location: Kala Gallery @ Kala Art Institute
Cost: Free
Celebrate spring and the art of printmaking and more! Join us for a fun day of art activities! From a community art workshop and artist demos to art sales and studio tours, stop by during the day and see what’s haRemove featured imageppening at Kala Art Institute. The festival wraps up with a book launch of Mission Gráfica: Reflecting a Community in Printmaking and a panel discussion of women printmakers featured in this recent publication. We hope to bring together our local community of artists, youth, and families for a day of sharing and experiencing art in West Berkeley. Free and open to all ages.
While at Kala, enjoy the Art Kala 2023 Exhibition & Auction and the Arts & Humanities Academy (Berkeley High School) Spring Exhibition. We’ll also have artwork by youth in Kala’s After School Studio program.
Emergent Connections: Explorations in Art & Movement
Emergent Connections is an invitation to connect with ourselves and each other. Movement can expand what feels possible in ourselves, bringing awareness to the space already within us, a space through which pleasure, sensation, and loving awareness can pour through our bodies. Movement can also expand what feels possible in our connections, inviting us to drop into a deeper listening to ourselves and others, providing a space for experimentation, vulnerability, and witness.
This workshop is inspired by artist Yuzo Nakano’s pursuit of three basic human desires: reproducing one’s experiences, recording (storing) them, and transmitting them to other people. This workshop will play with our experience of visual art (specifically looking at Nakano’s artwork and creative approach) and invite us to store and transmit those experiences through movement.
The session will begin with a warm-up for us to center in our own bodies through meditation and imagery prompts. We will then open our awareness through group and partner activities that invite play and connection. This workshop is designed for people of any and all movement experience. Activities will include lying down, standing, and moving through the space, and modifications and alternatives will be offered as needed.
Workshop participants are invited to the gallery walk of Fossils of Language with artist Yuzo Nakano at 2pm.
Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023
Time: 12:30-1:30 pm
Ages: All ages (children 5+ must be accompanied by an adult)
What to bring: Comfortable clothing, non-slip shoes, and water bottle
Cost: Free/ $5-$10 (sliding scale)
Please click here to RSVP via Eventbrite
Please RSVP ahead of time for this workshop as we have limited spots available. Please contact education@kala.org if you have any questions. As of February 2023, mask-wearing is recommended but optional for all visitors and participants in Kala’s gallery and community classroom.
Chi Chi Chang
Instructor Bio: Chi Chi Chang has worked for the past five years as a classroom teacher, outdoor educator, and movement facilitator. In all these contexts, they have been humbled to be able to do the joyful and rigorous work of facilitating the transformation and growth of people of all ages. Chi Chi studied Dance, Sociology, and Spanish at Middlebury College including courses in technique, improvisation, performance art, and choreography. Their facilitation style is influenced by their study of improvisation, experiential anatomy, modern dance, dance-movement therapy principles, and performance art activism. Chi Chi‘s facilitation style centers play, curiosity, responsiveness, and connection. They have facilitated various workshops in the local area.
Community Art Workshop: Lunar New Year – Creating Paper Lanterns
Date: Jan 28, 2023
Time: 12-3 pm
Location: Kala Community Classroom @ Kala Art Institute
Please Click here to RSVP via Eventbrite
Lunar New Year brings families together to celebrate the new year, with lighting a lantern as a way to bring good fortune, make a wish, or set an intention. In many Asian cultures, the lantern during Lunar New Year gathers people and stories together. In this workshop, participants will design and build a unique lantern using matboards and translucent materials, incorporating images and text. Participants will learn various book arts/printmaking tools and techniques to build and decorate their own lanterns to take home. We will explore pattern, adventures in time reversal, and the distance between the real and the ideal. If you’d like to personalize your lantern, we invite participants to bring a small and light object/paper to add to it.
This Lantern Mark workshop will be facilitated by artist Linda Zeb Hang and Kala staff.
*This community workshop is open for all ages (5 yrs and up). Children must be accompanied by an adult. Mask-wearing indoors is required for all visitors in Kala’s gallery and community classroom. Space limited.
Artist Bio: Linda Zeb Hang(she/they) is a sculptor, dancer, book expedition designer, lithographer, publisher and living soil/foods advocate. Born in South-side Stockton, California to working-class Hmong refugees, Linda’s point of view is rooted in their Animistic, Shaman and Buddhist ‘life-world.’ Linda studied sculpture, Typographic Design, Book Arts and Horticulture in San Francisco CA and lives and works in Oakland CA.
Community Workshop: Honoring Our Loved Ones- Day of the Dead/ Día de Muertos
Join us for a Community Workshop to celebrate and honor our loved ones who have passed away and are no longer with us (ancestor, family, friend, celebrity, or even a beloved pet). We will provide a variety of materials and templates of Day of the Dead symbols and images that you can use to create meaningful and colorful creations. Create a decorative hojalata (tin art) embossed piece or picture frame to include in an ofrenda/altar, or bring your own symbols or personal images of a loved one to include in an accordion book art activity. Art activities facilitated by Teaching Artist Natalie Palms and Kala staff.
*Drop-ins are welcome but please register upon arrival. This community workshop is open for all ages (5 yrs and up). Children must be accompanied by an adult. Mask-wearing indoors is required for all visitors in Kala’s gallery and community classroom. Space limited.
PAST WORKSHOPS
Community Drawing Sessions: February 26, 2024
Lunar New Year Community Art Workshop
Community Drawing Sessions: January 22, 2024
Community Drawing Sessions: November 20, 2023
Community Drawing Sessions: October 23, 2023
Honoring Our Loved Ones: Day of the Dead/Día de Muertos Workshop
Community Drawing Sessions: September 18, 2023
Community Drawing Sessions: August 21, 2023
Community Drawing Sessions: July 24, 2023
Community Drawing Sessions: June 12, 2023
Community Drawing Sessions: May 22, 2023
Community Drawing Sessions: March 20, 2023
Community Workshop: Emergent Connections- Explorations in Art & Movement- Feb 25, 2023
Community Drawing Sessions: February 20, 2023
Community Art Workshop: Lunar New Year – Creating Paper Lanterns
Holiday Art Pop Up Shop & More!
Honoring Our Loved Ones: Day of the Dead/Día de Muertos Workshop
Mixed Media: Basquiat-inspired Family Feelings Portrait (ONLINE)
Bookmaking: Family Stories and Memory (ONLINE)
Needle & Thread: Designing with Embroidery (ONLINE)