Our Earth-Embracing All Communities Exhibition

It was a humbling experience for me yesterday when I went to see Alameda Education Foundation’s Art Changes exhibition at Rhythmix Cultural Works gallery in Alameda. “Art Changes” presents beautiful works of elementary and middle School students who created artworks inspired by my project Our Earth: Embracing All Communities. I was overjoyed with the responses created by students! Sharing the stills from the exhibition.

Here is the statement from Pam Riley Chang, the student coordinator in Alameda Education Foundation about the exhibition.

In 2020, Salma Arastu was asked to make an artist video for Alameda Education Foundation in order to bring visual arts to students who were learning remotely. Salma spoke of the human responsibility to care for animals and the environment and demonstrated how she made her art. AEF’s 16 artist videos (called Art Changes) reached over 40,000 Alameda County students during the Pandemic.

AEF re-introduced students to Salma’s work for an exhibit that took its title from her book Our Earth: Embracing All Communities. The exhibit, at Rhythmix Cultural Works’ K Gallery, features Salma’s collage collection Interdependence as well as other works. Five Alameda schools made art that is directly influenced by Salma’s video and her book. They include Land Art by Earhart kindergartners, circular drawings of flora and fauna by Paden 3rd graders and collage and fine line drawings by Otis 5th graders. A collection of ceramic dragons from Wood Middle School and paper mache sea animals from Lincoln Middle School round out the student work.

Our Earth: Embracing All Communities will be open on May 31, 20025 from 2-4. Rhythmix’s K Gallery is located at 2513 Blanding Ave. Alameda, CA 94501.