The Royal Oak Civic Foundation is proud to support the Royal Oak Commission for the Arts’ exciting new Emerging Artist Laureate Program, showcasing creative talent right here in our community. This year, with a grant from the foundation, two exceptional Royal Oak artists were selected to serve as Emerging Artist Laureates and their work reflects the spirit of connection that makes Royal Oak special.
Photographer Sam Berger’s piece Family of Five combines five silhouettes with the Orion Nebula, printed on metal. The work asks big questions about our place as humans in relationship to the universe. For Berger, the piece is also deeply personal since she comes from a family of five and wanted to explore how artists make work rooted in where they come from. “This is an emblematic image that I hope shows viewers that we are all more connected than we think,” Berger says, “under the same stars, same nebulas.”
Interdisciplinary Japanese American artist Mika Walters brings a different kind of connection to her work. After relocating to Royal Oak in 2024, Walters found her creative home at the Ceramics Studio at Oakland Community College, where she witnesses the power of community every day as students collaborate, encourage, and inspire one another through their artistic practice. Her oil on canvas piece Throw Party captures that unique creative community and the connection within.
