"It’s definitely a bond that we share through art. Art impacts those around you and draws people in, making people want to be around it. There’s a true feeling of community. Right now it’s lunch time but we have a room full of students chilling in the art studio, wanting to be around art, choosing to be in this space."
Recently, Dragon School teamed up with the Oaktown Half Marathon and Flax Art & Design to empower talented young folks in our community to create Mile Markers for the race. Meet Miguel and Michael, an all-star student teacher duo from East Oakland who not only created a stunning mile marker for the race, but have also been great artist-partners to Dragon School.
Miguel: I was born and raised here in Oakland. As a kid, I loved drawing cartoons. I started out just copying them, and then ended up creating my own. People used to ask me to draw this or that for them, and I was always up for the challenge. My love for art followed me as I moved around to different schools, and eventually met this amazing art teacher at Aspire. We always came up with ideas for art projects to display around the school -- different themes and events -- and collaborated together. We’re hoping to do another mural this year.
Michael: I came to teach at this school several years ago. Miguel was one of my first students in advisory class. I noticed he was naturally into art -- and it just spiraled from there. I started an art club after-school, which he joined, and it eventually led to activities sometimes on the weekends. We would work on a collective painting or travel to an art gallery with a crew. Miguel was always down to show up. He’s one of my go-to students in terms of leading and creating new projects.
Miguel: One of our first projects together was a mural at the school -- to this day, we’re still thinking of ways to improve it. We’ve worked on all kinds of things together -- from posters and flyers for heritage month to artwork for school dances. One year we designed a line of shirts and hoodies for a school project. We also collaborated with other students to put on an art gallery at a local coffee shop; the theme of the show was “dreams and dreamscapes".
What’s the inspiration behind your OakTown Half Marathon mile marker?
Miguel: I was thinking about the people who would be running and decided I wanted to create a hand with the insides exposed -- bones, muscles, blood pumping. Each day Michael and I just added on new ideas through the creative process. We met up to work for three or four hours at a time for a few days. It was a big, fun project to do together through the summertime.
How did you first hear about Dragon School?
Michael: I first found out about Dragon School through Instagram. I’d been seeing the dragons and artwork throughout Chinatown and Fruitvale, and was also looking for people to collaborate with at the time -- to get connected with art not only in the classroom but also out in the community. I saw one of Dragon School’s posts on Instagram looking for youth to come to a mural project. Since then I’ve brought students to attend different Dragon School projects and most recently the Mile Marker gig. We always have that mutual respect -- I dig what you’re doing.
Miguel: I first heard about Dragon School through Michael mentioning the kind of dope work they do. I remember we teamed up and had a group of kids from my school helping out with a mural; Dragon School really put us to work out there! It was a fun experience working with the artist -- everybody had good vibes and a good time. I’m looking forward to helping again.
On Community & Connection
Miguel: When I think about community, I think about people -- their ideas and talents.
For example, the group of people brought together through Dragon School for the mile marker art project -- I could talk to any of them and be comfortable. We all joked around. They were hilarious and treated us well. It was cool just being with new people and artists, seeing new faces, spending time with others just collaborating on art.
Michael: Art is such a huge part of Oakland, especially public art. It’s hard to pass down the streets and not find some type of inspiration. Oftentimes, I feel communities are driven apart, but public art and the kinds of things Dragon School does bring communities together. It’s attractive that Dragon School isn’t boasting about egos, because as a creative person, the art scene can be intimidating -- you want to be inspired while not having to worry about trying to get on a certain level. In the Bay Area and Oakland especially, you get a lot of people encouraging you to just do you. That’s a beautiful thing when it comes to art.