C5 has an Artist in Residence program. Each month during the school year, a volunteer parent, family member, staff member, or friend of C5 from the community comes into the classrooms at both centers usually for two afternoons and presents something of interest to the children, staff, and parents.
The sessions are highly participative, and teachers and children practice and expand on the offerings between sessions. For example, during the Samba Dancing Artist in Residence visits, the children danced with Lani Way, as she demonstrated the dance, costumes, instruments, and music that accompanies the dancing; then, they made a variety of costumes to wear when Lani returned, and everyone wore their costumes, played instruments, and danced in a long Mardi Gras-like parade through all of the Preschool Center classrooms.
The visits are usually scheduled about two weeks apart. They last for about 20-30 minutes in each of the five areas where the children of different ages gather. The locations are typically within the classrooms at the two centers; however, we have had presentations in the auditorium of the Milton Marks Conference Center in the lower level of the C5 Preschool Center building and on stage at the famous Herbst Theatre one block away from C5 in the Civic Center.
Examples of Past Artists in Residence are:
- Juliette Hirt – Concert Harp
- Pete Lude – Jazz Guitar and Bluegrass Banjo
- Lani Way – Somba Dancing
- Barbara Gallios – Spinning and Weaving
- Julia Webber and Friend – Collage Painting
- Yousef Bohamama – Arabic Writing and Culture
- Paul Clanon – Jazz Bass
- David Krall – Computer Graphics
- Michelle Cooke – Cooking
- Mary Loyola – Jewelry and Beadwork
- June Weintraub – Bubble Art Science
- Kathy Baron – Flute
- Eva Merrick – Sound Poems and Word Snakes
- Quinton and Carolyn Tschetter – Piano and Arias (At the Herbst Theatre)
- Marti and Larry Bruketta – Swing Ballroom Dancing (In the Milton Marks Conference Center Auditorium)
- Janna Stabile – Yoga for Children
- Juanita Erickson – Native American Storytelling
- Robin Wilson – Stories from Books and Puppets
- Vashti Ferguson – Watercolor Painting
- Jad and Kahreem Abhoulson – Clarinet
- Derek Bermel and Cynthia Mei – Original Contemporary Chamber Music (In the Milton Marks Conference Center Auditorium)
- Allie Gottlieb – Drums & Rhythms
- Lorenzo Ilanillo – Video Filming and Editing
- Angela Dent – Chalk and Charcoal
- Erin Farris – American Sign Language
- Sally Malave – Malave Soccer Team (In the Courtyard Play Area)
- Antonio Davidson-Gomez – World Percussion and Sounds (In the Milton Marks Conference Center Auditorium)
- Jill McInerney and Julian Gross – Flute and Guitar
- John Foster and Steve Gibson – Guitar
- San Francisco Ballet School (In the Milton Marks Conference Center Auditorium)
- Christina Sabee – Floral Arrangements
- Yoko Takada – Origami
- Theresa DeMaria-Valdes – Classical Piano
- Chef Jonas – Baking
- Jane Kramer – Oboe