2023 Alameda County Arts Leadership Awards

We are excited to announce that Ellen Lake, Kalaʻs Executive Director/Co-Director is the recipient of a 2023 Alameda County Arts Leadership award!

Ellen shares this recognition with Kalaʻs Artistic Director/Co-Director Mayumi Hamanaka who would be receiving this award except that Mayumi does not live in Alameda County and is therefore ineligible. Ellen and Mayumi have worked together for 15+ years and with an incredible board, staff, advisory council, volunteers/interns/students, community of artists, supporters, community partners and more, they have accomplished much at Kala to support artists and engage the community. We look forward to what’s ahead at Kala!

About Kala: Kala is a vital community hub for artistic experimentation. Located in West Berkeley, Kala annually serves 100+ artist-in-residence and offers workshops open to the public in techniques ranging from letterpress to lithography, photography and media arts. Kala’s youth art programs nurture the next generation of creative problem-solvers and reach 2,500 students in Alameda County public schools and through on-site/online youth art programs. In addition to core artist residency and education programs, Kala provides professional development opportunities for artists including commissions for new work, exhibitions, teaching, consulting, and art sales. With access to a wide array of traditional and digital equipment in the print studio and electronic media center, Kala fosters a fresh approach to artistic experimentation, as Kala artists investigate the interface of digital work, work made by hand, and everything in between. To learn more about Kala, please visit our website, https://www.kala.org

About the 2023 Arts Leadership Awards: The 2023 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award recipients are Chris Carter (District One), Alvin Minard (District One), Carol Morgan (District Two), two-person team of Debby Kajiyama and José Ome Mazatl (District Three), Patricia Doyne (District Four), and Ellen Lake (District Five).

The Alameda County Arts Commission is pleased to recognize these seven individuals for their achievements and contributions impacting the arts community and residents of Alameda County.

The seven award recipients will be honored by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors with commendations presented in conjunction with the County’s celebration of October as National Arts and Humanities Month.

The commendations will be presented during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, October 3, at approximately 11:00am. Members of the public may Members of the public may participate in-person at the Board Chambers located at 1221 Oak Street, 5th Floor, Oakland. Alternatively, members of the public may choose to view the meeting and participate remotely through Zoom. For information, please visit the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ website at bos.acgov.org.