Submit Your Story
Is the Henry J. Kaiser CENTER FOR THE ARTS a part of your history?
Since the building originally opened in 1915, the Oakland Auditorium turned Kaiser Auditorium turned Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts has been home to hundreds of events. With a rich history and connection to Oakland’s culture, many stories have taken place inside its walls.
As the venue enters a new era of culture-making, we are honoring its past by holding space for community members to tell their stories to be shared on our website. Each story will be tied to the specific venue it took place (i.e. The Calvin Simmons Theatre, Arena, Ballroom, etc.), connecting readers across generations and time.
What core memories do you hold at the Henry J? Maybe it’s where you performed for the first time, met a lifelong friend, had a first date, or saw your children’s play. Either way, bring a piece of your past to the future by sharing a story in the form below.
Things to know when submitting
Stories can be written and/or in video format.
For videos, please upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo. It can be public or private, as long as you send us the link in the specified form section below.
For written Stories, please write in complete sentences and check your grammar / spelling to make sure that the content of the story doesn’t get lost in mistakes. We will not edit stories. Posts with a large number of grammatical errors will not be accepted.
We only consider work written in English or translated into English.
There is no word limit, but we suggest keeping your post between 300 and 3,000 words.
Rejected submissions can be re-submitted for review after making the requested edits.
We encourage submissions from folks of all identities who have interacted with this space, current Oakland resident or not.
Please send only one story at a time, and please wait for our reply before sending more. As soon as we respond, you can feel free to submit again.
Do not email your work; we do not read or consider emailed submissions.
Optional: Include a 2–3 sentence biography to be included with your written or video story.