Art Across the Island

Over 6,500 works of student art have been displayed since Art Across the Island began in 2016. Every Alameda public school has participated in the program and locations including small businesses such as Books Inc., Lilac Dress Boutique, See Spot Run, all three of our city libraries, the College of Alameda library and the K Gallery at Rhythmix Cultural Works.

In 2018, Art Beyond Our Island sent 300 pieces of student artwork to schools impacted by the Camp Fire.

Please stop by and view student art at these locations:

The Junior Jets bring Andy Warhol’s Pop Art into the modern age. Soda cans stand in for Warhol’s soup cans. Candy bars are the new Brillo boxes. Ariana Grande and Misty Copeland have replaced Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor. Each print contains images placed on top of a four separate backgrounds. Like Warhol, students used complementary colors. But instead of using a purple image against yellow background, they were more likely to contrast red with olive or yellow with turquoise. This shows a sophisticated understanding of color theory. Thanks goes to Digital Arts Teacher Diana Henneman.

Location: Second Floor, The Main Library
1550 Oak Street
On Display Until: June 10, 2026

Poems by Edison 3rd Grade Students
Classroom Teacher: Jennifer Howell

Edison 3rd grade students in Ms. Howell’s class have been working on a poetry unit, which tied in to the Poetry Slam hosted by AEF. Students learned about poetry and then created their own poems, taking inspiration from our beautiful little island to write about topics like Lincoln Park, the Alameda Free Library, the turkeys, the beach, SubPar, South Shore, and more local favorites. Some of these students came to the Poetry Slam in March to read their poems in front of an audience. Then, all students were invited to add an illustration, bringing their poems to life visually.

Location: First Floor, The Main Library
1550 Oak Street
On Display Until: May 31, 2026

Dinosaurs by Bay Farm 2nd Grade Students
Classroom Teacher: Daniel Baselj
Art Teacher: Bryce Winkler

Bay Farm 2nd grade students created these observational works, taking inspiration from the Blue Horses paintings by Marc Franz. Students were offered plastic dinosaurs to create an observational drawing. They added an abstract background, then painted their drawings with watercolors to create these vibrant and cheerful dinosaurs.

Location: Bay Farm Island Library,
3221 Mecartney Rd
On Display Until: June 30, 2026

Mandala Prints by Maya Lin 4th Grade Students.
Classroom Teachers: Sarah Greenberg and Mary Otieku.
Art Teacher: Constance Moore

Students created these serene mandalas using a multi step process. It was a lesson in symmetry, pattern, and printmaking. The students painted their paper with watercolors for the background. Then they created a pattern that was one quarter of the design, transferring their images from tracing paper to styrofoam. They applied black ink to the styrofoam and had to figure out how to make the design rotate to fill the square of paper, printing it four times which created the circular design.

Location: West End Library,
788 Santa Clara Ave.
On Display Until: May 31, 2026

In Bill Peet’s The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock, the main character is faced with banishment because his tail has just two (very weird) eye spots. But this same strange tail saves his companions (with more conventional plumage) from a tiger. Every year, Franklin 3rd graders in Jodi Barzelatto’s class read this book and set out to duplicate Bill Peet's illustrations where feathers are always flying. With markers, crayons and colored pencils, students capture each peacock's elegant profile. Then they fill the background with tail feathers that explode with color and movement.

Location: See Spot Run,
1320 Park Street
On Display Until: May 14, 2026

Pachyderms based on David McKee’s Elmer the Patchwork Elephant are on display at Books Inc. Love second graders have captured the essence of this colorful young elephant who learns to love his unique markings, who always values friendship and is a constant practical joker. The bands and squares of color in each drawing coordinates well with the vibrant books in children’s section of the book store. Teacher: Hannah Lopez.

Location: Books, Inc. Alameda,
1344 Park Street
On Display Until: May 14, 2026

Art Across the Island is made possible by a generous grant from the Schuler-Heimburger Family Fund of the East Bay Community Foundation.

Please consider a donation to keep arts alive for Alameda students.