We present the annual Oakland Youth Art Explosion (OYAE), a two-day program consisting of a youth art exhibit and reception, along with an outdoor street festival exclusively for youth. The festival includes free workshops by professional artists, music, dance performances, spoken word, and a youth entrepreneur vendor market. The program seeks to empower and inspire youth to take an active role in the arts community here in Oakland, while also providing a platform for emerging young artists to showcase their work. Through this program, young people will gain valuable skills in curation, project management, and leadership, while also contributing to the cultural landscape in our community.

Our annual Holiday Youth Jazz Benefit Concert employs young musicians from the Oakland School of the Arts and invite them to perform a concert for community members at the Joyce Gordon Gallery. Musicians are paid for their time and celebrated for their talents. This program also includes a youth entrepreneur vendor market during and after the show. We use funds raised from ticket sales to purchase jackets for distribution to underserved youth throughout Oakland.

In 2025 we presented the Handful of Keys masterclass series, featuring a series of free 6 piano masterclasses led by master artists and educators in our community. Classes delved into the Black cultural traditions of jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, funk, and beyond.

Our annual lecture-performance series at presents Black History Month programs at eight Title 1 public schools in historically Black neighborhoods of West Oakland, East Oakland, and Richmond. This free program brings professional musicians to perform assemblies at under-resourced public schools and teach students about the origins of Black music and the connection of the arts to Black history and social movements.