FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30th, 2025
ARTOGETHER TO HOST “WHAT WE HOLD” FUNDRAISER TO PROTECT IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE VOICES
Oakland, CA —[October 30th, 2025] — In a world marked by displacement and loss, what do we hold on to? We hold stories. We hold traditions. We hold one another.
On Friday, December 12, 2025, Oakland-based nonprofit ARTogether will host its annual fundraiser, What We Hold: Protecting Sanctuary for Immigrant and Refugee Voices, at the ARTogether Center in downtown Oakland. The event will feature a silent art auction, live performances, and storytelling by immigrant and refugee artists whose work embodies the power of art as belonging, healing, and resistance.
This year’s event comes at a critical moment. In 2025, sweeping cuts to local and national arts grants as well as immigrant service funding has reduced ARTogether’s budget by nearly half, threatening vital creative programs that hundreds of community members rely on.
“Art is how communities heal. It’s how we imagine futures beyond survival,” said Leva Zand, Executive Director of ARTogether. “What We Hold is more than a fundraiser, it’s a declaration that immigrant and refugee voices matter, and that we will continue to create spaces where they can thrive.”
Funds raised from the event will directly support creative workshops providing newcomers with their first sense of community in the Bay Area, artist residencies that empower immigrant and refugee artists as cultural leaders, and youth programming that creates safe spaces for cross cultural learning and belonging at the ARTogether Center and partner sites across the region.
Without new funding and support, these programs face significant cuts in 2026. Join ARTogether in solidarity on December 12th to protect and sustain these sanctuary spaces that enable immigrant and refugee communities to flourish.
Event Details:
What We Hold: Protecting Sanctuary for Immigrant and Refugee Voices
Friday, December 12, 2025 | 6:00 – 9:00 PM
ARTogether Center, 1200 Harrison Street, Oakland, CA
Silent Art Auction | Performances & Storytelling | Community Celebration
Tickets Available at artogether.org/what-we-hold
For press inquiries contact sarah @ artogether.org
ABOUT ARTOGETHER
ARTogether is an Oakland-based nonprofit that uses the arts to support immigrant and refugee communities across the Bay Area. Since 2017, ARTogether has served thousands of immigrants and refugees through free art workshops, residencies, youth leadership labs, and community arts projects.
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