For more information, check out:
Our response to the pandemic is Art YOU Ready, a creative campaign connecting art-making with emergency preparedness.
The sociopolitical unrest, climate crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic inscribed much of our common experience in 2020. The mental health and physical safety of our community was on our minds as we created Art YOU Ready, a project meant to artistically engage the neighborhoods we serve to build their emergency readiness awareness and skills.
Our team of educators knows that it takes imagination to change the world, and that art is a powerful tool to help create awareness, insight, and solutions. In partnership with over 20 schools and community organizations, 1,750 Art YOU Ready preparedness kits were distributed throughout Alameda County between 2020 and 2022.
The kits contain art supplies and fun art activities that family members of all ages can do together— watercolor postcards for emergency contacts, a DIY no-sew mask, a hand-crafted preparedness book, and a mapping activity to plan evacuation routes.
Our activities were inspired by and designed to accompany an excellent 4-step readiness brochure, also provided in every kit, that was created for residents of Alameda County by Listos California, a program out of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
The Art YOU Ready campaign included a novel livestream event on December 12th, 2020 that offered participants an introduction to preparedness and an inside view of our arts-integrated approach. We also conducted an Art YOU Ready phone campaign throughout the winter months to inform our friends and allies about this work.
ArtEsteem utilizes the 12 Principles of Attitudinal Healing in our work with children and youth. Attitudinal Healing Principle #2 applies to Art YOU Ready: Health is inner peace and healing is letting go of fear. Please consider supporting us as we employ art and the 12 Principles to transcend the barriers to emergency preparedness and emerge more courageous and equipped to face an ever changing world.