At the start of the pandemic, founder Sham Saenz embarked on transforming a late 1880s Victorian atop Oakland’s Ivy Hill neighborhood as a space where creative people could live and work together. Now, nearly three years later with a team of fellow collaborators, Sham is working to design and establish Ivy Hill Arts, an artist residency program that aims to give back directly to the arts community that brought him up. 

The site comprises three flats/floors:

• The ground flat includes six dedicated studio spaces for individual, resident artists as well as a collaborative shared space for all residents that doubles as a gallery space for public programs and events
• The middle floor includes six furnished bedrooms with private, full baths, and a spacious common area with a fully equipped kitchen
• The top flat mimics the middle floor, but with an additional private bedroom and bath