Afternoon electives at Aim High are as fun as they are diverse. Some students play basketball or board games, while others opt for dance class or cooking. This summer, students at Wallenberg High School, our interim campus in the Haight, chose to engage in arts and crafts with a special focus on street art.

Thanks to an exciting new partnership with the visual arts nonprofit Root Division, twelve Aim High students have been exploring the urban art form. Erik Beltran, an Oakland-based mixed-media artist and instructor at Root Division, is leading the elective. Over the course of Aim High’s five-week program, the students—all girls—are learning how to create street art by exploring a variety of techniques such as graffiti, stencils, spray paint, and brushes. The first method Erik introduced was graffiti, which involves creating elaborate lettering with spray paint. He showed students how to create letters that look 3-D or that evoke characters. Erik also emphasized identity, adding that the style in which an artist writes is a powerful tool for for cultivating their own artistic personality. After Erik’s introduction, students began experimenting with their own letters.

Coredelia, a rising seventh grade student and a self-proclaimed ‘natural artist’ was enjoying the activity. For her first foray into graffiti, she wrote song lyrics that resonated with her, ‘Don’t let people tell you who you are.’ “[The lyrics] really encourage me,” Cordelia says, “because people are always telling me who to be.” Sitting next to Cordelia was her friend, Alejandra, another rising seventh grade student, who was also interested in the activity. As a cello player, she was focusing her calligraphy experimentation on music. Alejandra who aspires to attend Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco, was excited to pursue her passion at Aim High.

The beauty of street art is taking decaying or empty spaces and creating new life and new conversations for the surrounding community. I’ve seen murals become a member of the neighborhood, and that’s very inspiring to see.

A few weeks into the program, students experimented with spray paint. They designed and cut their own stencils out of file folders and learned how to control the flow of paint by adjusting the spray can nozzle. On one breezy afternoon, they put on gloves and masks and brought their own designs to life.

Erik was introduced to street art at an early age and appreciates how it can be a powerful tool for fostering community through self-expression. He is no stranger to the oft-criticized art form, but does strongly disagree with that view. “There are different ways to go about street art. I do not condone defacing private property,” Erik says. “In my opinion the beauty of street art is taking decaying or empty spaces and creating new life and new conversations for the surrounding community. I’ve seen murals become a member of the neighborhood, and that’s very inspiring to see.”