Dear Oxbow Friends,

We hope this message finds you in good health and spirits. We are excited to share with you some updates since our last issue of OxTales!

REOPENING. After a year of being closed due to the pandemic, we reopened our campus this past June to a vibrant group of young artists. This was the first cohort to experience our new summer programming, the Oxbow Summer Art Institute, an immersive arts residency for high-school students. Students spent each day making art from sunrise to sunset -- they experimented with new mediums and delved deeply into the creative process while also bringing much joy into the studios. To see the final artwork produced by our summer students, please visit our virtual gallery on the website here. Although they have returned home, the arts residency proved to be a resounding success and brought in new streams of revenue to secure the future of Oxbow. We look forward to seeing what the summer of 2022 brings!

NEW VIDEOS. During the summer months, we invited two students to collaborate with the Oxbow marketing team in our efforts to shoot new promotional videos for the school, “The Oxbow Journey.” The purpose of these short videos is to capture the introspective narrative gleaned from each student’s first person perspective, allowing the viewer to gain a better understanding of the transformation that occurs as a result of the Oxbow experience. The first video features Ethan and can be viewed here. Ethan is from Chicago and shares that his time spent at the Summer Art Institute truly transformed how he views art and how he views himself in the world. He notes, “I was able to meet people who gave me a new chance. I was able to come out of my shell.” When thinking about the power of the community, Ethan states, “People here have learned how to take inspiration from everything surrounding them.” The second video features Portia and can be viewed here. Portia attends boarding school in Pottstown, PA and she notes, “Before coming to Oxbow, I had a really clear image of who I thought I was, what I thought education had to look like, what art had to look like.”

FALL SEMESTER. It’s no surprise that our current Fall cohort is also undergoing change as this week launches the Final Project, the seminal capstone project in which students engage in mindful critical and creative inquiry around a topic of their own choosing. During the last weeks of the semester, students take on the role of an artist working in their own studio. Students receive personalized support from the faculty to successfully execute their projects. As a result of this unique collaboration, students depart the program with a newly discovered agency and a deep-seated curiosity that leads to a journey of lifelong learning. The Final Show is scheduled for Saturday, December 11th and the student research and artwork will be posted to our virtual gallery shortly thereafter. We look forward to celebrating with them next month. In the meantime, please follow their journey on the Oxbow Instagram! There, you will see many images of their work along with co-programming experiences (camping trips into nature, Halloween celebrations, making food with the chefs on the weekends, gallery openings, elective classes, and more).

SCHOLARLY ARTICLE. Not too long after students left mid-semester during the Spring of 2020, two Oxbow faculty members co-authored an article entitled, “Reflections on Distance Learning and Quarantine in Spring 2020: The Oxbow School’s Pandemic Story”. The article was published in this month’s edition of Art Education, the official journal of the National Art Education Association. A copy of the story can be found on our website here. Teaching remotely brought new awareness to the importance of an arts education, especially during a time when the creative process was a much needed outlet for young people forced into quarantine for an unknown period of time. Not surprisingly, the Oxbow faculty and students rose to the occasion to produce meaningful work as featured in Art Education.

THANK YOU. It is fitting that Thanksgiving is around the corner, for we want to thank you for being an important part of our greater school community. Your support and stewardship of the school is instrumental and there are many ways in which you can help sustain Oxbow’s future. The most direct way is to support our Annual Scholarship Fund. If you would like to make a major gift to the school, nominate us for a foundation grant, or set up planned giving, please contact the development office (development@oxbowschool.org). Your donation has a direct impact on our ability to continue to be a school of access, equity, and excellence.

The faculty and staff at Oxbow wish you a heartfelt Thanksgiving holiday filled with love from family and friends. In closing, we would like to share this poem with you and this podcast, “Thanksgiving Poems,” from Poetry Off the Shelf brought to you by the Poetry Foundation. Enjoy!

Warm regards,

Jennifer Jordan
Head of School

Not too long after students left mid-semester during the Spring of 2020, two Oxbow faculty members co-authored an article entitled, “Reflections on Distance Learning and Quarantine in Spring 2020: The Oxbow School’s Pandemic Story”. The article was published in this month’s edition of Art Education, the official journal of the National Art Education Association. A copy of the story can be found here. Teaching remotely brought new awareness to the importance of an arts education, especially during a time when the creative process was a much needed outlet for young people forced into quarantine for an unknown period of time. Not surprisingly, the Oxbow faculty and students rose to the occasion to produce meaningful work as featured in Art Education.

We are truly grateful for the generous support of our many donors from across the globe and the significant impact their contributions make on the lives of Oxbow students. Our commitment to creating opportunities for all students to create, grow, and thrive would not be possible without them.

See full FY2021 Annual Report HERE

The Oxbow School is now accepting registrations for Sundays in the Studios, a limited series of Spring on-campus workshops!

This is an exciting opportunity for Bay Area residents to have access to our well-equipped studios overlooking the Napa river. For those interested in receiving individualized art instruction, technique workshops will be led by experienced arts educator and working artist, Annie Duncan. Participating artists will have the chance to work alongside like-minded peers while working uninterrupted in a scenic location in downtown Napa. For safety reasons, space is limited. Course descriptions are listed below. Register early to reserve your spot!

• Textile Design: March 28th, April 4th, April 11th
• Relief Printing: April 18th, April 25th, May 2nd

Cost: $250 per person/per Sunday, sign up for as many as you'd like! Membership includes technique workshops and access to the Oxbow studios from 11:00am - 6:00pm. Art supplies will be made available, but artists will be responsible for providing their own meals.
(100% net proceeds from this initiative will go to the Oxbow School Scholarship Fund)

Ages: 14+ (Oxbow Semester and Summer alumni & families are welcome to join us!)

Time: 11:00am - 6pm each Sunday

Skill level: All levels welcome!

Space limitation: 5 artists per session

COVID-19 info: All state guidelines apply during the pandemic. Studio doors will remain open for ample air circulation. Artists must wear masks on campus, abide by a 6-foot distancing policy, and sign a liability waiver upon arriving to Oxbow's campus.

REGISTER NOW BY EMAILING ADMISSIONS@OXBOWSCHOOL.ORG

After we receive your email, we will follow up with further information. Please be sure to mention the date(s) you are interested in attending!

Please join us is thanking our incredible family of supporters and dedicated stewards for equitable arts education.

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Dear Oxbow community members,

We are very excited to welcome our next student community onto our campus in the spring! The Oxbow community has always been marked by resilience, and we look forward to responsibly reopening with you and your children and our team during this pandemic.

As we continue to monitor the conditions of COVID-19 in our community and across the country, please keep in mind that our reopening plan may shift accordingly, especially as we get closer to reopening for in-person instruction for our spring 2021 semester cohort. The health and safety of our students and staff continue to be our utmost priority and at the forefront for establishing thorough safety precautions that will enable all of us to have a successful semester. Despite these efforts to implement strict protocols to keep us healthy, please be aware that the virus could still make its way onto our campus. To prevent this from happening, we must have support from all community members prior to arrival and throughout the semester. There are obvious risks associated with running a school during a pandemic. It is important that all staff and parents work together as a team to ensure the safety of the entire Oxbow community, as well as the local Napa community. While The Oxbow School is in very close proximity to state of the art hospitals and medical services, it is our goal to maintain a “prevention mindset” so that local members of the community can still easily access much-needed medical attention if necessary. We appreciate your support and look forward to partnering with you during these unprecedented times!

Warm regards,

Jennifer Jordan

Head of School

As a community of artists, The Oxbow School stands in support of black communities across the country. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sandra Bland, Tyisha Miller, Nina Pop, and Ahmaud Arbery are tragic victims of white supremacy and brutality and their deaths and those that precede them serve as an urgent call to action for organizations like ours.

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In an effort to continue the work of improving The Oxbow School and honoring the social justice movements we believe so strongly in we are sharing resources here for our community.

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A personal and in-depth essay from The Oxbow School's Director of Advancement and Communications.

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Projects showing OS42's creativity, grace and grit have been compiled into the Quaranzine magazine by Oxbow's Dean of The Arts, Chris Thorson. Please enjoy this magazine with student works that include selections from OS42's distance learning art projects, materials lists, and "Who are you?" projects.

Quaranzine V.1 Quaranzine V.2