Charter Oak Cultural Center
Charter Oak Cultural Center’s mission is to do the work of social justice through the arts in the Hartford metropolitan area and beyond.
Here’s how:
Our City School of the Arts offers audition and tuition-free classes in the arts to Hartford youth ages six through eighteen.
Our Beat of the Street programming provides educational and employment opportunities to the homeless community.
Our professional multicultural performances and exhibits provide access to the arts for everyone because no one is ever turned away due to lack of funds.
We are stewards of the historic building we call home, the first synagogue built in Connecticut, and are dedicated to preserving the building and its inspiring legacy.
Keep in Touch
Please sign up for our e-blasts and be a part of the Charter Oak community! More than just a calendar of our events (although it is an exciting array of performances and exhibits), it contains lots of things to make you think, get your juices going, dance (yes, dance!) and provide you with stimulating ideas to enjoy exploring with family and friends and to fall back on in those awkward social situations we all have when it’s hard to think of what to talk about. We’d love to have you join us.
Supported in part by the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign.
Capital Campaign
The Charter Oak Capital Campaign: Building A Campus Dedicated to Social Justice Through the Arts
Charter Oak is creating a beautiful campus on which even more people can enjoy and study the arts. Thus far, we have raised $4.7 million and received a $6.5 million grant for the synagogue from the Community Investment Fund. Charter Oak invites everyone in the community to participate in raising the final $1.5 million of its $12.7 million capital campaign goal. These funds will enable us to complete the renovation and welcome 250 additional young people and their families to our City School of the Arts.
Upcoming Events
Youth Arts News
Good Vibrations participants Hartford Police Officer Hiram Otero and student Kayke Lopes were honored as part of the White House’s “Champions of Change” program for their work in building trust and improving public safety in communities. “Good Vibrations” pairs Hartford youth with Hartford officers for a 12-week music program in either rap/poetry or guitar.
Charter Oak Cultural Center lives in Connecticut’s oldest synagogue building. The building was home to Congregation Beth Israel as well as several other religious institutions over the years, until it was abandoned in the 1970s.
The innovative programming at Charter Oak Cultural Center is sustained by a diverse community of dedicated supporters. Consider joining the Charter Oak community today.
Latest News
CHARTER OAK IN CONTEXT: Women’s Activism in the 19th Century with Dr. Dorothy Rogers
https://youtu.be/pRFXnTlCvdg?si=DSckOMQ5-Z1_QY9k
LEGACY IN STONE: The Creation of Charter Oak’s Home with Ira Smith
https://youtu.be/cQmoTCJFGf0
Ada Maria Isasi Diaz Justice Institute at Charter Oak presents Favianna Rodriguez on SACRED IMAGINATION
https://youtu.be/rzu_TtgCz2I?si=F9unWrLa7qz_hqts Charter Oak Cultural Center presents An Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz Justice Institute Event FAVIANNA RODRIGUEZ on SACRED IMAGINATION: Art and the Spirit of Social Change Recorded: Thursday, December 11 at 6:30pm This talk...
Kristallnacht Interfaith Commemoration 2025
https://youtu.be/Q5nNN4TOu5Y?si=c_ovxHhUAP7AY5RU
A Conversation with Dr. Riane Eisler
A virtual conversation with Dr. Riane Eisler and Rabbi Donna BermanRecorded Thursday, Nov 13, 2025 6:30pmCharter Oak Cultural Center is honored to bring you the opportunity to hear Dr. Riane Eisler, author of the iconic The Chalice and the Blade and many other works....
This is My America Video
Charter Oak is excited to share submissions that we received for our This is My America Project. We are grateful for those who have taken the time to create thoughtful, lovely videos that outline their vision for "a more perfect union." Want to join them? Read the...
How to Maximize Your Charitable Contribution…
How to Maximize Your Charitable Impact Under the New Tax Law? Make a Plan. by Sari McConnell of Donor Boom There’s never been a better time to give to your favorite nonprofits and support the missions you care deeply about. According to a 2024 WSJ article, “the side...
THIS IS MY AMERICA Project
If you are feeling like you don’t recognize the United States anymore as a land of freedom and democracy and opportunity for all and you’re feeling like it’s all slipping through our fingers and you don’t know what to do, here’s something to do… Please video yourself...
Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz Justice Institute Lecture with Yohana Junker, Ph.D.
https://youtu.be/9FvkeUmqmF4