Mission

Charter Oak Cultural Center is a nonprofit, multicultural arts center and historic landmark whose mission is to do the work of social justice through the arts in the Hartford metropolitan area and beyond.

Vision

To harness the power of the arts to create a truly equitable, just society, in which all are given the fertile soil in which to grow into their best selves.

    Values

    We believe that ….

    • Everyone is endowed with unique gifts that need and deserve to be cultivated.
    • The arts are a human right, not a luxury.
    • The arts can be a powerful vehicle for positive social change.
    • Justice and equity benefit everyone.
    • The arts support academic success, emotional growth, feelings of joy, confidence and overall well-being.

    Goals

    • To do the work of social justice through the arts
    • To provide wide access to the magic of the arts for all, regardless of income
    •  To celebrate the heritage of our historic building as the oldest synagogue in Connecticut and to preserve it in perpetuity
    • To help ensure a vibrant, dynamic, and caring Hartford community
    • To invest in Hartford’s youth, enabling them to experience the power of the arts

    Short Term Goals

    • To finish our renovation and open our gorgeous new campus and refurbished buildings to the public
    • To increase the number of students served by our City School of the Arts by 25%, adding 250 students
    • To add classes for children ages, 0-5 in our City School of the Arts which, right now, serves students are ages, 6-18
    • To provide high school students with college credit for course(s) taken at Charter Oak

     

    Long Term Goals

    • To restart our Music Matters comprehensive music program, in partnership with the Hartford Public Schools and Hartt Community Division.
    • To offer college credit to high school students from the Greater Hartford area for audio/live sound classes, in partnership with Tapeworks Studio and Connecticut Community Colleges. 
    • To make Charter Oak a social hub for Hartford children, with workshops, open mics, parties, and/or youth events every weekend.
    • To launch B’Zalel:  A Jewish Arts Institute to bring Jewish artists from around the country and the world to Hartford, in person and on Zoom, to teach, create and inspire
    • To start The Sweet Blossom Toy Company, a cottage industry, to provide safe, well-paying jobs for Hartford women and comforting dolls for children who have experienced trauma
    • To expand our reach by 25% to the unsheltered/recently unsheltered community through our Beat of the Street Programming
    • To increase our Gallery exhibits and related programming by artists of color, both locally and nationally
    • To expand Charter Oak’s Ada Maria Isasi Diaz Justice Institute so that it is recognized nationally and internationally
    • To hire a development professional to secure the necessary funding to support day-to-day operations and to grow our endowment

    Charter Oak Events

    Charter Oak News

    The Importance of Being Foolish

    Aug 14, 2026

    by Rabbi Donna Berman, Ph.D. A sermon given at Fenwick, 2025  In 1894, Oscar Wilde wrote his famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest.  Not surprisingly, some great lines came out of that work...