Lauren Elder

Lauren Elder, honored by six annual awards from the City of Oakland's Cultural Arts Department, has become a leading contributor to the creative landscape of our community. Following a decade of touring nationally and internationally with the influential company, Contraband, Elder made a commitment to working for progressive change in her home environment.

From 1996 to present, Lauren has initiated community-based projects in a wide variety of media with the Oakland Housing Authority, the Oakland Public Library, and the Oakland Unified School District, resulting in boldly innovative projects and remarkable changes in public perception. Projects have ranged from large-scale street theater to a media kiosk to a growing series of permanent gardens and landscapes. She anticipates advancing this work to an international level through her company, Ambiente.

From 1977–2003, Elder was primarily known for her work as a visual artist within the performing arts. As a scenic designer she was commissioned to create over 80 pieces of award-winning work by leading Bay Area companies and individual performers. As both a collaborator (Motion, Contraband) and artistic director, she pioneered a distinctive form of environmentally staged theater that animated such diverse locations as the Oakland Museum of California's parking garage, the streets, alleys, parks, and vacant lots of the Mission District and the former U.S. Army battery at Fort Miley (GGNRA). The work was supported by three NEA Fellowships, the CAC, and the Eureka Fellowship, as well as numerous private foundations. Lauren also has thrice received the Isadora Duncan Award for Visual Design in Dance.

Elder is currently an adjunct instructor of visual art at the University of San Francisco, as well as a member of CCA's Diversity Studies program.

In addition to earning her bachelor of arts in Fine Arts (Sculpture) from UCLA, she completed the Professional Training Program in landscape architecture via UC Berkeley's Extension program.