Arts & Entertainment

Library Event Strengthens Heart and Spirit of Children

In honor of Arts Education Month, the Union City Library held Creating Community through Art, a daylong celebration of arts.

The beamed with creativity this weekend.

Children, teenagers and adults participated in a variety of events for Creating Community Through Art, an afternoon celebration held on March 5 in recognition of National Arts Education Month.

A collaboration with Alameda County Office of Education and the Alameda County Arts Commission, the day started off with an “altered books” workshop where children took used books and put their own twist on it using fabrics and magazine cut-outs.

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“It’s artistic sustainability – repurposing something in a new way,” said Marjorie DeQuincy, who co-led the workshop with Marion Coleman. “It’s magical because any artist can remake the world, remake the book to what they perceive it to be.”

Melanie Perry brought her daughters Samantha, 5, and Alexandria, 8, to the altered book session. The two meticulously cut pieces of fabric and images from a magazine to give a pair of old books new life.

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“It’s a lot of imagination and it’s a lot of creativity, and I like doing art a lot so I really like this project,” Alexandria said. She made a book titled “Kitchen Surprise Art Time,” covering the pages with pictures of fruits and vegetables.

Her sister, who is also fond of art, covered an old book with different colored strips of fabrics.

The workshop is a great activity for youth, said Violet Juno, the featured events coordinator for Alameda County Arts Commission’s Art IS Education.

“It's deep cognitive learning partly because it’s hands-on. And of course, it strengthens the heart, the soul and the spirit of the child,” Juno said.

It also fit perfectly with the event’s theme, Creating Solutions for the World We Share, Juno said. The activities showed attendees how to take care of ourselves, our community and our planet, she said.

Other activities included the unveiling of a mural created by Idy Tao, 19, and Binaypreet Singh, 16.

In the mural, characters flow out of a book. The two used icons and images that young readers would recognize, including Harry Potter, the Twilight crew, and even characters from Animal Farm and Charlotte’s Web.

The event ended with a performance by the Ollin Anahuac Aztec Dance Group, who showcased a series of dances for the audience.

Alameda County District 2 Supervisor Nadia Lockyer was scheduled to welcome and acknowledge the event’s participants but she was under the weather, her aide, Anissa Basoco-Villarreal, said. Basoco-Villarreal apologized and applauded the guests on Lockyer’s behalf.

The event is one of five being held throughout the county in partnership with Arts IS Education and one of several art-related events being held at the Union City Library.

See the highlights in the photo and video gallery above.


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