Oakland School for the Arts Summer Arts Academy provides a safe and creative space to explore new and familiar art forms to students ages 9-16 years old. Join us this June for a fully immersive arts experience in the heart of downtown oakland!

Please complete this interest form to stay up to date on academy offerings and to receive reminders of registration opening on January 31, 2025.

OSA's Summer Arts Academy runs daily from 9:00 - 3:00 PM. Academies are led by trained adult educators who are also working artists in each respective field.

Each session is a 9 or 10 day program that will educate learners of all levels in an engaging hands-on arts experience. At the end of each session, we invite friends and families to a culminating arts showcase for performances and exhibiting of student work.

Session One is Monday, June 2nd- Friday, June 13th.
Session Two is Monday, June 16th- Friday, June 27th
*This is a 9 day session. No session Wednesday, June 19th to observe the Juneteenth holiday

OSA Summer Art Academy sessions range from $1150-$1275
*This does not reflect the cost for students who qualify for reduced tuition.

Please note that offerings are subject to enrollment; if the academy arts pathway is canceled by OSA prior to the start of the session, an alternate arts pathway may be taken or refund issued.

NEXT STEPS:
STEP 1: Sessions will be small, so please fill out the interest form to receive notification when registration becomes available.
STEP 2: Registration opens January 31, 2025. Payment will be due upon registration.

Last Years Course Offerings:

Art Academy Course Information:

● Art of Narrative- College Application Essays: In this course, students will develop their narrative and essay writing skills in preparation for their college personal statements. Through brainstorming activities, targeted prompts, peer edits, and instructor feedback, we will demystify the college essay process together. By the end of the course, each student will have developed a personal essay that will be representative of their own unique story and point of view.
● Audio Production & Engineering:(Session Two only): The Music Production summer course will take you from the introduction to the advanced functions of the MIDI music making process. Working with MIDI gives individuals the freedom to take control of their entire project, controlling instruments and arrangements, right down to the individual notes. MIDI or Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a music industry standard computer language that communicates the information contained in a musical performance. We will be looking at the tools, methods, ideas and some helpful tricks used in creating an original song as well as music production techniques. This course will be using Logic Pro X as its main Digital Audio Workstation. Within Logic Pro X we will cover the program basics, as well as the plug-ins and built in processing available on the workstations. Spanning from basic audio signal processing to original audio synthesis we will create and manipulate audio with MIDI.

Course Topics
● Recording Studio etiquette
● Basic Logic Pro X operations
● Signal Flow and Synthesis
● Creating MIDI performances
● Editing/Manipulating MIDI performances
● Sound Design
● Using Microphones
● Songwriting
● Mixing and Bouncing project

● Dance Academy (Session One only): 2 week training program for middle school and high school age students who are serious about their dance training. This summer's training will focus on students becoming well rounded movement artists. Areas of study will include African Diasporic movement, Hip Hop fundamentals, pelvic and spine exploration, Pilates for dancers and choreography development. This summer's offering is for young artists looking to become fully aware of their body mechanics and possibilities, as well as training in other forms of dance.
● Dance Academy (Session Two Only)- Jazz/Majorette During Ms. Mari’s class, students will be able to take this training and take a deeper look at majorette styles of dance.They will be able to use the practices and technique not only for jazz, contemporary/modern dance but majorette as well. They will receive a deep historical context on where majorette derives from while building strong, versatile and well-rounded dancers.Students will also dive deep into their technical training of jazz and contemporary. Students will engage in conditioning practices that will increase their core strength throughout the warmup, across the floor and combinations. They will also explore the concept and idea of emoting through movement and storytelling.
● Instrumental Music- Combos & Band (all levels welcome)
● Intro to Screenwriting: Students will learn the structure of screenplays, how to write compelling scenes, and, finally, how to write their very own short films.
● Fashion Design: Calling all Fashonistas! Designers will learn how textile and material play a central role in the design of a fashion collection. They will develop mood boards and explore fashion sketching, upcycling and sewing. Designers will learn basic construction techniques while pushing the limits of each material.
● Filmmaking/photography: Students will create and produce a short film. Students will participate in all aspects of drafting, acting, filming and editing the film.
● Visual Media Arts: Drawing and watercolor with the use of drawing tablets. Students will use tablets to make unique prints, create a comic book and portfolio of work.
● Visual Arts: Traditional drawing, painting, mixed media (less media or digital tablets)

○ Visual Arts Session One: The Power of Painting is a dynamic workshop where we explore the power of art to inspire positive change in the world. This course aims to empower students to become agents of change through their artistic practice, fostering empathy, understanding, and action. Emphasis will be placed on experimentation, encouraging students to find their unique voice using a variety of hands-on, 2-dimensional art activities such as drawing, zines, collage, painting, and mixed media. In addition to developing your own artistic style, you’ll have opportunities to collaborate with fellow classmates in a fun, supportive environment. We’ll also look at how other artists affect the world, through videos and tours of our own diverse local art community.
● Visual Arts Session Two: Mixed Media, Drawing & Painting.  More information soon.

● Theater-Acting: Intensive for intermediate actors
● Musical Theatre/Improv
● Vocal Music & Songwriting: Explore your voice and songwriting skills, while growing in your vocal abilities and your agility. Youth will have an opportunity to write and sing their own songs, as well as sing some of their favorites either as a solo or as a group. Come find the voice that lives inside you and let it sing!

● Video Game Design-This summer program is going to be about video game design and learning the basic principles of game design. We are going to learn some simple coding and animation techniques in the Unity Game Development IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to build and distribute our own puzzle or adventure prototype game. The coding will be done in visual studio using C# to code simple techniques of moving things around and create fun gameplay that they can then take home and play as a stand alone game by the end of the summer program.

. Contact OSASummerAcademy@oakarts.org with questions!