About Us
Hayward Arts Council
PO Box 126, Hayward, CA 94543
Phone: (510) 538-2787 (538-ARTS)
Please mail all correspondence to PO Box 126, Hayward, CA 94543
hac@haywardartscouncil.org
The Hayward Arts Council is here for you as an artist or patron. We embrace all forms of art in the entire Hayward California region – part of the San Francisco Greater Bay Area.
The Hayward Arts Council maintains four galleries in Hayward. Click HERE for more information on individual galleries.
Join us! Click HERE for membership information.
Our Mission
The mission of Hayward Arts Council is to promote Hayward as a cultural center and to make the arts easily accessible to all members of the community. We maintain six galleries in Hayward.
In the Downtown Area:
John O'Lague Galleria in City Hall
Gallery Two in City Hall
HAHS Gallery in the Hayward Area Historical Society
Library Galleries at Hayward Public Library
Near the Downtown Area:
Sunset Gallery at the Adult School
Hayward Area Senior Center
Beginnings
In the early 1980s, Alameda County Art Commission encouraged representatives from each of the member cities to consider establishing arts councils to serve a variety of arts in their cities. Commissioner Marlene Teel (later Teel-Heim) worked with the Hayward City Council to form the Hayward Arts Council in 1983. From the beginning, Hayward Arts Council has worked to be responsive to community needs and to stimulate interest in the arts. Others instrumental to the founding of HAC were John O'Lague, Graphic Designer and Artist; Dr. Alan Smith, Dean of Arts, Letters and Sciences at Cal State East Bay; and Dianne Kothe, Arts Manager, HARD.
Hayward Arts Council received Federal 501(c)(3) status in June 1992. For a more comprehensive account of the beginnings of HAC, CLICK HERE for a document by Marlene Teel-Heim, one of the Council's founders.
Annual Events
Besides rotating exhibits at our six venues around town, HAC also participates in annual events, sometimes partnered with other organizations. Such events include our Fundraiser held in the Rotunda in City Hall, the Wine Walk (Passeio Do Vinho) in Downtown Hayward, and the Hayward Band and Orchestra Festival.
The Hayward Arts Council collaborates with the Hayward Unified School District Visual and Performing Arts Master Plan, the Hayward Area Historical Society in events and programs, and with Chabot College and CSUEB. HAC provides judges for the Recycling Essay and Poster Contest for the City of Hayward and the 2019 Congressional Art Competition.
Supporters of the Hayward Arts Council include Hayward Unified School District, Alameda County Arts Commission, California Alliance for the Arts, City of Hayward, Hayward Area Historical Society, and members of the Hayward Arts Council.
Supporting Our Youth
Every year, we award scholarships to outstanding art students at CSUEB, Chabot College, Tennyson, Hayward, Mt. Eden, and Brenkwitz High Schools to encourage our youth to pursue their interest in the arts.
We sponsor the “Art IS Education” exhibition for k-12 students, showcase work of local Advanced Placement art students, and feature the work of CSUEB and Chabot College students. In 2019, watercolors from Chavez Middle School and pastel drawings from Harder Elementary were exhibited at the Alameda County Administration Building in Oakland.
Each year, we award four scholarships to deserving youth to attend the Summer Music Camp at La Honda.
Hayward Arts Council – Promoting the arts in Hayward for over 30 years.
Our Supporters: City of Hayward, Hayward Unified School District, California Alliance for the Arts, Alameda County Arts Commission, and Members of the Hayward Arts Council.
