Current exhibit at Cafe Zoë features artwork by ARTogether workshop participants

Through at least the first week of October, Cafe Zoë is hosting a special exhibition displaying works of art from ARTogether workshop participants and photos from the workshops themselves.

We stopped by yesterday afternoon to visit with Menlo Park residents Alexandra Pettet (second from left) and her husband, Hossein Namazi (right), who serve on the organization’s Board of Directors. They are friends with Leva Zand (far left), who founded ARTogether in 2017, and were inspired by the organization’s mission to not only provide art education programs for refugees and immigrants but to also seek out art instructors who have immigrant backgrounds.

Workshops offered by ARTogether range from single sessions to ongoing series. They take place at refugee organization’s facitilites. A complete list of the workshops is available online.

The organization also plans social activities to make connections between the refugee community and the general public.

Long term, ARTogether hopes to open it own stand-along facility, which would encompass a spectrum of services and resources to the refugee community: a studio with open access to art supplies, a classroom area for ongoing workshops, a computer lab for digital projects, and an exhibition space to showcase the ARTogether community’s creative pieces.

Cafe Zoë is located at 1929 Menalto Avenue in Menlo Park.

Photo by Dennis Nugent (c) 2018