Students in the Oakland High School Partnership Program created sculptural sanctuaries in response to the question: “What do you most value and want to protect?” Their extraordinary structures and symbolic sculptures that they house are presented in this student-created exhibition.

The sculptures are “safe havens” for what students most want to protect, be it their cultural and ethnic heritage, spiritual beliefs, personal goals, family and friends, or hopes and dreams for the future. Students used figures as diverse as the Virgin of Guadalupe, “old school” rap artists, and Buddha to represent what they most treasure in themselves and their lives. They explored unique ways of interpreting what a shelter could look like — from a plate of spaghetti, to the Egyptian sphinx, to a basketball. Created out of cardboard, wire, and other recycled items, then papier-mâchéd, and finished with clay and paint, these sculptures eloquently reflect the students’ values

The Oakland High School Partnership Program is a collaboration between the Oakland Museum of California and Oakland High’s Visual Arts Academy. Sixty-five 9th through 12th -grade students in Wanda Scott-Broussard's Art II classes participated. The students worked with artist Christine Lashaw and Ms. Broussard over the course of three months in sessions at their school and at the museum, where they were inspired by Ms. Lashaw’s work and artworks on view. They investigated new ways of expressing meaning through symbols and structures. Finally, a dedicated group of students worked with Ms. Lashaw to design, curate, and install this exhibit of their work.

	Sheltering Our Cherished Treasures Student Sculptures virtual feature

We proudly present these unique student artworks in an exhibition all their own. Take a moment to look around and discover what is most valued and cherished by these Oakland youth.

Christine Lashaw
Art Teacher and Museum Preparator
Oakland Museum of California

Julia Brashares
Program Coordinator
Oakland Museum of California

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