Roots & Branches started in 2006 as a community art project focused on making art and music accessible to youth while activating public spaces and building community with block parties and all ages events. Roots & Branches was co-founded by artist/educator Nicholas Basta, who has led the project through various phases over the past ten years. As an educator, Basta has worked with a range of Oakland non-profit organizations and schools, most recently coordinating the development and opening of the Best Buy Teen Tech Center at McClymonds High School (a 3,500 sq. ft. multimedia production studio available to youth from all over the Bay Area). As an artist, Basta’s work ranges from DJing, building collages from found images and sounds, creating graphics that tell stories, video editing, and creating visual art. Roots & Branches aims to produce high quality creative works in various mediums to help companies, organizations and individuals tell their story, bring people together and generate dialogue.