More good news! Yeah, Art! has been awarded the $50,000 Zoo Labs FUND prize, an incredible honor given to just one recipient at this level each year.
Through the Center for Cultural Innovation, the Zoo Labs FUND supports Bay Area artists and creative entrepreneurs building sustainable businesses and making an impact through their work. This funding is a mark of Oakland’s trust in Yeah, Art! to enrich our city’s creative economy.
This is an accomplishment 5 years in the making, and we’re beyond honored by this endorsement from Zoo Labs.
And we’re in some pretty incredible company.
Previous Zoo Labs winners include some of our most influential Yeah, Art! Teaching Artists: (pictured left to right) Dame Drummer, Karina Flonnoy and Angel Adedokun are all awardees from past years; as well as Kev Choice and our very own co-founder Mike Blankenship.
We're proud to be part of the creative community that makes Oakland Oakland, supporting local artists, creating meaningful work, and opening doors for the next generation.
So, what will $50,000 from Zoo Labs make possible?
More opportunities to bring tech-forward arts education into underfunded Oakland schools, building real skills and introducing students to careers in the creative industries.
Like Music Production, where middle schoolers produce their own original mixtapes.
Or Sky’s The Limit, where elementary schoolers learn digital illustration and see their artwork displayed on one of the biggest canvases in the Bay Area: Salesforce Tower.
Or Poetry & Beats, where wrote their own spoken word pieces and produced beats to accompany them. These students’ work was presented alongside the Oakland Symphony at the historic Paramount Theatre.
These are the kinds of creative challenges we believe every Oakland student deserves a shot at. And with the support of Zoo Labs, we're ready to dream even bigger.
Our impact to date
From classroom reach to artist pay, these numbers tell a deeper story. At Yeah, Art!, we believe in tracking impact not just by how many students we serve — but by how well we support the artists who teach them.
2K+ teaching hours — Our team has clocked over 2,000 hours of direct instruction in the past year, bringing culturally relevant, high-impact arts education into underfunded schools.
350 students served — Since Fall 2023, we’ve reached over 350 students, helping K-12 artists unlock their creativity through songwriting, animation, 3D design, and more.
15 teaching artists — We employ 15 local Teaching Artists and pay them $100/hour for their expertise. Since Fall 2023, we’ve paid out over $200,000 in wages (plus another $25,000 to contractors), ensuring artists are compensated fairly and sustainably.
Help us build on this momentum from Zoo Labs FUND. Every donation helps us bring tech-forward arts education to under-resourced schools. Thank you for the support!
—The Yeah, Art! Team
