ARTogether is based in the Bay Area, the occupied, ancestral lands of the Ohlone people, who have stewarded and honored this land throughout generations and are still here. We acknowledge the ongoing legacies of violence against indigenous communities and people of color in this country that provide a context for our work.
ARTogether’s mission is to provide art programs that foster compassionate communities where refugees and immigrants can flourish.
We envision a world where there are no barriers—or borders—to art and creative expression, where everyone is welcomed and their stories have impact.
Art plays a special role in the refugee community. For refugees and immigrants moving to the United States, the journey has just begun. ARTogether offers programs that reach out to refugees and immigrants, providing welcoming, creative spaces for local refugees and immigrants to connect with their community. Our goal is to build communities and promote long-term prosperity for refugees and immigrants, even after assistance from initial government and NGO resettlement programs has ceased. For these programs, art is our social glue, its universality binding us all together. It invites conversation, laughter, storytelling and a sense of belonging. At the community level, it has a unique ability to bring people together, to draw together people from different backgrounds and forge connections through creativity and self-expression. Finally, art transcends the spoken word, allowing people to communicate and express themselves without the burden of language barriers.
ARTogether’s programs are designed to:
Harness the power of creative expression and promote mental health and overall well-being among refugees and immigrants by offering a range of therapeutic art experiences and workshops to build resilience and foster community connections.
Join us in celebrating the power of art to inspire change and strengthen communities!
To better serve our community and reach out to new refugee and immigrant communities, we partner with a number of organizations that already offer a spectrum of vital services to these communities. Below are some of our local and international partners, both past and present.
Center for Empowering Refugees & Immigrants
Oakland International High School
East Bay Refugee and Immigrant Forum
Cesar Chavez Center & The Unity Council
Refugee & Immigrant Transitions
Flying Carpet Children Festival
International Rescue Committee
Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay
For more in-depth information about ARTogether and its programs, please see our annual reports and our monthly newsletter below.
