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"content": "\u003cp>Throughout last year, the steel and concrete frame of a new building in downtown Oakland grew to obscure a sprawling mural. Protesters with picket signs disappeared from view, along with dancers, drummers and martial arts practitioners, leaving the faces of centerpieces Malonga Casquelourd and Ruth Beckford, pillars of the city’s black performing arts tradition. To passersby today the entire artwork is imperceptible behind an incoming housing development. [aside postID=arts_13861153,arts_13875113,arts_13866026,arts_13861121]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em>, a forthcoming documentary by Spencer Wilkinson, shows how the \u003cem>Universal Language\u003c/em> mural’s creation and erasure alike catalyzed a multiracial anti-gentrification coalition with significant, ongoing effects on real estate development and city planning in downtown Oakland. Set in just a few city blocks, it’s a story about intractable loss as well as collective refusal, depicting artists’ role in grassroots activism that builds power by bridging communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilkinson, 44, an Oakland filmmaker whose first feature, \u003cem>One Voice\u003c/em> (2018), focused on the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, did not anticipate filming for five years when he started chronicling the mural’s design as part of a work-trade deal in 2014. Now he’s submitting the 70-minute \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://alicestreetfilm.com/\">Alice Street\u003c/a>\u003c/em> documentary to film festivals and arranging screenings in other cities grappling with gentrification. Wilkinson expects to announce more Bay Area screenings in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJRPZLuY9c&w=560&h=315]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em> begins with Destiny Muhammad reciting a poem at the corner of 14th and Alice streets in downtown Oakland to subtle, vaguely religious music by Micah Berek. “An intersection of traditions, ancient rhythms, culture keepers and urban oracles,” she says. A montage shows the neighborhood’s cultural diversity and changing built environment. The credits roll, framed by cranes. Imposed on aerial footage of the low-slung flatlands are sharply rising housing costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film shortly settles on aerosol artist Desi Mundo and studio painter Pancho Pescador of the Community Rejuvenation Project embarking on their largest mural yet: Four walls around a parking lot at Alice and 14th streets. For inspiration, they look directly across the street to the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, a historic city-owned hub of Afro-diasporic drumming and dance, and also to the Chinatown senior apartments and community center Hotel Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story has no single conflict or antagonist. The challenge at first appears to be the muralists’ desire to represent two communities to which they’re admitted outsiders, and the project’s most outspoken opponent is an elderly white woman who objects to its exclusion of white people. As soon as the mural is designed and painted to the satisfaction of most neighborhood stakeholders, though, a housing development proposal threatens to render it totally invisible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10139725\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide.jpg\" alt='The \"Universal Language\" mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014.' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10139725\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The “Universal Language” mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Community Rejuvenation Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People in the Bay Area are starting to see the benefits of Oakland,” says Maria Poncel of Bay Development, explaining to Mundo and Pescador that the mural will continue to exist behind the planned 16-story tower. “We’re going through sort of a second renaissance.” It’s one of several awkward remarks from developers, property owners and elected officials (has Mayor Libby Schaaf retired “secret sauce”?) that Wilkinson seems to highlight for their evident shallowness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Halfway through the documentary, then, the mural intended to celebrate cultures at risk of displacement itself confronts disappearance, multiplying its symbolic potency. And the Malonga-Hotel Oakland bloc strengthened through the mural’s development acquires political power that Wilkinson—using interviews and historical flashbacks about racist city planning practices and housing discrimination in Oakland—casts in a longer lineage of racial solidarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the new coalition isn’t immediately evident in the documentary. Theo Williams, leader of Malonga tenant SambaFunk, says at a meeting that he doesn’t necessarily oppose the development, yet no one in the film persuasively argues on its behalf. Complicating the narrative are new problems: Noise complaints resurface concerns about intolerant new neighbors to the Malonga, and the activists crash a city planning process, demanding meaningful representation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer.jpg\" alt=\"The Diamano Coura West African Dance Company rehearses at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1069\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-160x89.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-800x445.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-768x428.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-1020x568.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Diamano Coura West African Dance Company rehearses at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. \u003ccite>(Spencer Wilkinson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly for grassroots activism, it’s a dizzying cycle of setback and success. A subplot about Jerry Brown’s early 2000s attempt as Oakland mayor to shutter what was then the Alice Arts Center is a welcome rejoinder to recent hagiography, but it creates some narrative whiplash. Still, the story regains focus when the coalition formally appeals the building’s planning commission approval in order to negotiate a community benefits agreement with the developer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coalition secured funds for the Malonga and for a replacement mural (now being designed for the wall of the Greenlining Institute nearby). It also modeled a strategy since used by the coalition to extract concessions from developers worth an estimated $20 million, organizer Eric Arnold says in the film—including 90 affordable homes. With this tactic the same activists \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13861121/kaiser-auditorium-redevelopment-proceeds-with-permanent-affordability-for-arts-groups\">recently won\u003c/a> a raft of benefits for arts groups in the Kaiser Convention Center redevelopment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Resilience” is too often a buzzword that serves to normalize communities’ capacity to withstand abuse, especially from the mouths of powerful people in media and politics. It’s also too flat for the dynamic artist-activists shown in \u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em>, who dance in the streets and navigate city bureaucracy with equal verve. “And then we marched over to the planning office,” recalls Arnold of one decisive action. “It was probably the first time they’ve heard music inside of that office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875810\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer.jpg\" alt=\"The 'Universal Language' mural is today completely obscured by a housing development.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875810\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-1020x574.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘Universal Language’ mural is today completely obscured by a housing development. \u003ccite>(Spencer Wilkinson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Inevitably some of the story lines in \u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em> go unresolved. The cultural stabilization strategies in the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan published last year derive partly from activism shown in the film, but supporters are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13866026/will-oaklands-new-plan-to-protect-downtown-arts-and-culture-succeed\">disappointed\u003c/a> with what little officials have done to enact them. Likewise, tenants of the city-owned Malonga continue to feel chronically neglected, with Williams of SambaFunk recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13875113/oakland-appoints-cultural-affairs-commissioners\">telling KQED\u003c/a> its problems haven’t changed since 1998.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the documentary also captures a heartening generational shift. Standout interviewees Beckford and Michael Lange, the actor and director, died before the film’s completion, but \u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em> shows their commitment to Oakland’s cultural life enduring in Lailan Sandra Huen, Anyka Barber, Casquelourd’s son Kiazi Malonga and others. Wilkinson, meanwhile, is developing educational curriculum to promote the community benefits agreement model beyond Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It probably doesn’t feel like a silver lining to the muralists, but the four walls of \u003cem>Universal Language\u003c/em> haven’t been buffed or repainted. The artwork remains. Recently on Broadway, demolition exposed some mid-20th century advertisements on the side of a building, relics of a barely-recognizable city. It suggests the possibility that \u003cem>Universal Language\u003c/em> could daylight again in the lifetime of Oakland’s current residents. The question is who among us will be here to see.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Throughout last year, the steel and concrete frame of a new building in downtown Oakland grew to obscure a sprawling mural. Protesters with picket signs disappeared from view, along with dancers, drummers and martial arts practitioners, leaving the faces of centerpieces Malonga Casquelourd and Ruth Beckford, pillars of the city’s black performing arts tradition. To passersby today the entire artwork is imperceptible behind an incoming housing development. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em>, a forthcoming documentary by Spencer Wilkinson, shows how the \u003cem>Universal Language\u003c/em> mural’s creation and erasure alike catalyzed a multiracial anti-gentrification coalition with significant, ongoing effects on real estate development and city planning in downtown Oakland. Set in just a few city blocks, it’s a story about intractable loss as well as collective refusal, depicting artists’ role in grassroots activism that builds power by bridging communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilkinson, 44, an Oakland filmmaker whose first feature, \u003cem>One Voice\u003c/em> (2018), focused on the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, did not anticipate filming for five years when he started chronicling the mural’s design as part of a work-trade deal in 2014. Now he’s submitting the 70-minute \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://alicestreetfilm.com/\">Alice Street\u003c/a>\u003c/em> documentary to film festivals and arranging screenings in other cities grappling with gentrification. Wilkinson expects to announce more Bay Area screenings in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/1lJRPZLuY9c'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/1lJRPZLuY9c'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em> begins with Destiny Muhammad reciting a poem at the corner of 14th and Alice streets in downtown Oakland to subtle, vaguely religious music by Micah Berek. “An intersection of traditions, ancient rhythms, culture keepers and urban oracles,” she says. A montage shows the neighborhood’s cultural diversity and changing built environment. The credits roll, framed by cranes. Imposed on aerial footage of the low-slung flatlands are sharply rising housing costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film shortly settles on aerosol artist Desi Mundo and studio painter Pancho Pescador of the Community Rejuvenation Project embarking on their largest mural yet: Four walls around a parking lot at Alice and 14th streets. For inspiration, they look directly across the street to the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, a historic city-owned hub of Afro-diasporic drumming and dance, and also to the Chinatown senior apartments and community center Hotel Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The story has no single conflict or antagonist. The challenge at first appears to be the muralists’ desire to represent two communities to which they’re admitted outsiders, and the project’s most outspoken opponent is an elderly white woman who objects to its exclusion of white people. As soon as the mural is designed and painted to the satisfaction of most neighborhood stakeholders, though, a housing development proposal threatens to render it totally invisible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10139725\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide.jpg\" alt='The \"Universal Language\" mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014.' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10139725\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The “Universal Language” mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Community Rejuvenation Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“People in the Bay Area are starting to see the benefits of Oakland,” says Maria Poncel of Bay Development, explaining to Mundo and Pescador that the mural will continue to exist behind the planned 16-story tower. “We’re going through sort of a second renaissance.” It’s one of several awkward remarks from developers, property owners and elected officials (has Mayor Libby Schaaf retired “secret sauce”?) that Wilkinson seems to highlight for their evident shallowness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Halfway through the documentary, then, the mural intended to celebrate cultures at risk of displacement itself confronts disappearance, multiplying its symbolic potency. And the Malonga-Hotel Oakland bloc strengthened through the mural’s development acquires political power that Wilkinson—using interviews and historical flashbacks about racist city planning practices and housing discrimination in Oakland—casts in a longer lineage of racial solidarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the new coalition isn’t immediately evident in the documentary. Theo Williams, leader of Malonga tenant SambaFunk, says at a meeting that he doesn’t necessarily oppose the development, yet no one in the film persuasively argues on its behalf. Complicating the narrative are new problems: Noise complaints resurface concerns about intolerant new neighbors to the Malonga, and the activists crash a city planning process, demanding meaningful representation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer.jpg\" alt=\"The Diamano Coura West African Dance Company rehearses at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1069\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-160x89.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-800x445.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-768x428.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Diamano-Coura.photo-Spencer-1020x568.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Diamano Coura West African Dance Company rehearses at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. \u003ccite>(Spencer Wilkinson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly for grassroots activism, it’s a dizzying cycle of setback and success. A subplot about Jerry Brown’s early 2000s attempt as Oakland mayor to shutter what was then the Alice Arts Center is a welcome rejoinder to recent hagiography, but it creates some narrative whiplash. Still, the story regains focus when the coalition formally appeals the building’s planning commission approval in order to negotiate a community benefits agreement with the developer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The coalition secured funds for the Malonga and for a replacement mural (now being designed for the wall of the Greenlining Institute nearby). It also modeled a strategy since used by the coalition to extract concessions from developers worth an estimated $20 million, organizer Eric Arnold says in the film—including 90 affordable homes. With this tactic the same activists \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13861121/kaiser-auditorium-redevelopment-proceeds-with-permanent-affordability-for-arts-groups\">recently won\u003c/a> a raft of benefits for arts groups in the Kaiser Convention Center redevelopment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Resilience” is too often a buzzword that serves to normalize communities’ capacity to withstand abuse, especially from the mouths of powerful people in media and politics. It’s also too flat for the dynamic artist-activists shown in \u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em>, who dance in the streets and navigate city bureaucracy with equal verve. “And then we marched over to the planning office,” recalls Arnold of one decisive action. “It was probably the first time they’ve heard music inside of that office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13875810\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer.jpg\" alt=\"The 'Universal Language' mural is today completely obscured by a housing development.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13875810\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Mural-Construction-photo-Spencer-1020x574.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘Universal Language’ mural is today completely obscured by a housing development. \u003ccite>(Spencer Wilkinson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Inevitably some of the story lines in \u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em> go unresolved. The cultural stabilization strategies in the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan published last year derive partly from activism shown in the film, but supporters are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13866026/will-oaklands-new-plan-to-protect-downtown-arts-and-culture-succeed\">disappointed\u003c/a> with what little officials have done to enact them. Likewise, tenants of the city-owned Malonga continue to feel chronically neglected, with Williams of SambaFunk recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13875113/oakland-appoints-cultural-affairs-commissioners\">telling KQED\u003c/a> its problems haven’t changed since 1998.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the documentary also captures a heartening generational shift. Standout interviewees Beckford and Michael Lange, the actor and director, died before the film’s completion, but \u003cem>Alice Street\u003c/em> shows their commitment to Oakland’s cultural life enduring in Lailan Sandra Huen, Anyka Barber, Casquelourd’s son Kiazi Malonga and others. Wilkinson, meanwhile, is developing educational curriculum to promote the community benefits agreement model beyond Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It probably doesn’t feel like a silver lining to the muralists, but the four walls of \u003cem>Universal Language\u003c/em> haven’t been buffed or repainted. The artwork remains. Recently on Broadway, demolition exposed some mid-20th century advertisements on the side of a building, relics of a barely-recognizable city. It suggests the possibility that \u003cem>Universal Language\u003c/em> could daylight again in the lifetime of Oakland’s current residents. The question is who among us will be here to see.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span> really thought I was \u003cem>doing\u003c/em> \u003cem>something\u003c/em> when I took a picture of a nearly finished mural of Tom Hanks and Too $hort and then \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/OGpenn/status/1222571572185055234\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted it\u003c/a> to social media. I mean, I really put my phone in my pocket, thinking I actually did something good for people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My rationale? The mural was a huge street-side tribute to two vastly different hometown luminaries. I figured it would uplift folks, and help take their minds off the deflating news cycle about the unimpeachable president, the spread of an international virus and the dire housing situation in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, that picture put a number of the issues we’re facing into perspective—issues that I didn’t notice until the mural was gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took less than three days for the mural to be covered. All of the work from the artists, whose Instagram handles are \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pierremadethat/\">@pierremadethat\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/charles.utero.the3rd/\">@charles.utero.the3rd\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/funkysquash/\">@funkysquash\u003c/a>, on the broad side of the building at San Pablo Avenue and Castro Street was erased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What once was a short-lived mural depicting a young and spunky Tom Hanks from the movie \u003cem>Big\u003c/em> and an image of Too $hort from the \u003cem>Life Is… Too $hort\u003c/em> era—big donkey rope chain in tow—was gone. Poof! The details in the photo, all the easter eggs in the illustrations that accompanied Hanks’ image: a computer mouse from \u003cem>You’ve Got Mail\u003c/em>, the Wilson ball from \u003cem>Cast Away\u003c/em>, and a nod to \u003cem>Toy Story\u003c/em> in the form of a cowboy hat. Behind $hort were a number of details, too, including a boom box and some unidentified booties of women in thongs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was homage to two guys who spent their formative years in Oakland, who made it big in entertainment and who speak highly of their East Bay roots in nearly every interview I’ve ever seen. What could be wrong with that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874868\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874868\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A Work in Progress\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Work in Progress. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">“T\u003c/span>he level (of) keebler cracker and gmo wheat toast fkery in these pictures is ridiculously pitiful,” wrote Refa One, a well-known activist and artist from West Oakland, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/oakmaroons/posts/2665314293585655?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCEiibWYkc0UOEBORd7mld8IUIZ9ij7SpHPEXZzG11yll845j72wqdXYfahW3B5vQsKg4u66WP0-c3XfOpH-hSrebJr3OfEWbyvN3pZI5v5pi8hCf-aXKKQMRxrdBeE5EKT3v5jLwASZZ-k6DWuosGNZ0aDvO90xfR1DCgapXTSNTwVhwT8jyEFmcMMfT4JNa1zWo_y4mvg3hRCRbu-ogjrzryDjcK4wQetfh8_wkHCJtyDYPwLtTPzf7O5PGu00eRkMGwCSEmsfDLfhgxbd6JODOoija6lnbCrm8IlavCqROMHexOYAfkywNzgKowzQ9ZU6SXuYpTKTfc1pM0E09TC7A&__tn__=-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a Facebook post\u003c/a> with the image of the mural. “I’m still processing the amount of thirsty accolades this work is receiving from Negropeans that have embraced defeat by the gentrifying colonizers hell bent on mascot iconography of a displaced BLACK people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damn man, I hate to admit it, but I was one of those “Negropeans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not too long after Refa One made the Facebook post, the mural was covered with a massive blotting of light blue paint—similar to the color the \u003ca href=\"https://exhibits.stanford.edu/fitch/browse/black-panther-party-oakland-california-1968-1972?page=2&view=slideshow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Panther Party’s school uniforms\u003c/a>. “Mural in Progress. Reserved for Black Panther Party,” was the only message left on the elongated wall that parallels the 980 freeway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, I went down to the corner of San Pablo and Castro Street, and took a close photo of the new coat of paint and the message inscribed on the wall. I posted the picture on social media, and in came the questions: “Why’d they cover it?” “Who did it?” “What’s coming next?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I called Refa One.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is about African people controlling the visual landscape in their community, particularly against all forms of gentrification,” said Refa One, a longtime Oakland-based creator who heads the international arts collective \u003ca href=\"http://www.aerosoulart.com/\">Aerosoul\u003c/a>, and the son of two Black Panther Party members. He’s also the artist behind numerous murals in Oakland, including one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13851520/rightnowish-refa-one-spraypaint-in-hand-honors-west-oaklands-history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Huey P. Newton in West Oakland\u003c/a> and one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11753459/bart-unveils-oscar-grant-mural-and-street-sign-at-fruitvale-station\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oscar Grant at Fruitvale Station\u003c/a>. “And in this particular situation,” he added, “we’re dealing with visual culture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874866\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874866\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"The image of Tom Hanks and a nod to his movies.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The image of Tom Hanks and a nod to his movies. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He told me he had a few issues with the mural of Hanks and $hort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, it depicts Tom Hanks, a multimillionaire who speaks proudly of his Oakland roots, but has yet to make a public statement about inequity in Oakland, Refa One said. And that’s for a city where the housing crisis has been noted as an emergency by local, state and international officials; an emergency that has \u003ca href=\"http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/stepping-up-for-homeless-black-people-in-oakland/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disproportionately impacted black people\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the image of Too $hort, known for misogynistic lyrics, is an issue too, Refa One added. It’s on the side of a wall that butts up against San Pablo Avenue not too far from the Greyhound Bus Station, which over the decades has been a hot spot for sex trafficking, an issue that’s plagued Oakland for longer than Too $hort has been rapping. And it has disproportionately impacted black women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then Refa One noted that two of the three artists involved in the mural were white folks, and not from Oakland. He questioned what right they had to paint the walls in a traditionally black community. “Can I go to Chinatown and paint whatever I want? Can I go to Piedmont and paint there?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, when you put it like that, I get it. So did the other artists. They told me that they understood the politics behind Refa’s point and ambition to paint over their work, and deferred any further comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a good thing,” one of the artists \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/B8E2hvIp50u/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote\u003c/a> on Instagram. “Excited for what’s going up next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874867\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874867\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-800x576.jpg\" alt=\"The image of Too $hort and details from aspects of his career.\" width=\"800\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-800x576.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-768x553.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The image of Too $hort and details from aspects of his career. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s a long history of African American culture being compromised and remade to fit the palate of white America. Elvis Presley re-recording “Hound Dog” and selling 9.5 million more copies than the original \u003ca href=\"https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hound-dog-is-recorded-for-the-first-time-by-big-mama-thornton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Mama Thornton version\u003c/a>. The long-running TV show \u003cem>Friends\u003c/em>, a spinoff of \u003ca href=\"https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/01/the-gentrification-of-city-based-sitcoms/513302/\">Living Single\u003c/a>. Hell, famed slavery abolitionist \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/educate/truth.html\">Sojouner Truth\u003c/a>‘s first language was Dutch, and when she learned English, she spoke in a Dutch accent. Yet her famous speech, “Ain’t I A Woman,” is usually thought to have been spoken in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.thesojournertruthproject.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a stereotypical ‘southern black slave accent\u003c/a>,'” because that’s how (white) historians believed all enslaved Africans spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s deeper than some paint on the walls. It’s about the importance of controlling your story, no matter the medium, because from that comes control over your life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on that note of self-determination shown through community art, Refa One told me about a time he was painting a piece in Campbell Village, a well-known public housing project in West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know how to do \u003cem>this\u003c/em>?” Refa One said a young man asked, watching him paint while playing with a group of friends. “We thought only white people did this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Refa One said he talked to the group of children, and told them, “The first people on the planet to ever paint murals, and to express their culture in that fashion, were African people just like us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13851523\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13851523\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Refa One in West Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-1200x802.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Refa One, of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/aerosoul_ig/\">@aerosoul_ig\u003c/a>, in West Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He invited the youngsters to pick up some paint and participate in the production of the piece, giving them “collective ownership of their walls.” Which is especially important in the black community, where we’re constantly combating self-hatred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been conditioned to believe that anything happening positively in our community must come from the outside,” said Refa One, in reference to numerous images of African American leaders painted by white artists in Oakland. “Oftentimes the community is ignorant to the fact that we’re being ‘mascotted’ by white folks who consider themselves the ambassador to our culture, and how it should be used and decimated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says he can’t simply paint over those walls. It’s a Catch-22. “At that point it becomes difficult to remove those images, because people’s overall thought is that it’s positive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in a town where black folks have been disproportionately killed, over-policed, under-educated, sex trafficked and pushed out by the masses, putting up images of black folks \u003cem>is\u003c/em> like sports teams having mascots. Mascots derived from cultural aspects of the natives, who’ve been killed off of the very land where they now toss a pigskin or pitch a four-seam fastball.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damn, it \u003cem>is\u003c/em> just like sports: it’s easy to root for a team because you like their mascot or star players, but you better do your research on who’s really in control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Otherwise you’ll be cheering for the “Negropeans.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A mural in Oakland of the actor and rapper together was painted over in a matter of days—and it turns out there's a reason.",
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"title": "A Mural of Tom Hanks and Too Short in Oakland Goes Deeper Than Paint | KQED",
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"headline": "A Mural of Tom Hanks and Too Short in Oakland Goes Deeper Than Paint",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span> really thought I was \u003cem>doing\u003c/em> \u003cem>something\u003c/em> when I took a picture of a nearly finished mural of Tom Hanks and Too $hort and then \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/OGpenn/status/1222571572185055234\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted it\u003c/a> to social media. I mean, I really put my phone in my pocket, thinking I actually did something good for people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My rationale? The mural was a huge street-side tribute to two vastly different hometown luminaries. I figured it would uplift folks, and help take their minds off the deflating news cycle about the unimpeachable president, the spread of an international virus and the dire housing situation in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, that picture put a number of the issues we’re facing into perspective—issues that I didn’t notice until the mural was gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It took less than three days for the mural to be covered. All of the work from the artists, whose Instagram handles are \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pierremadethat/\">@pierremadethat\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/charles.utero.the3rd/\">@charles.utero.the3rd\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/funkysquash/\">@funkysquash\u003c/a>, on the broad side of the building at San Pablo Avenue and Castro Street was erased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What once was a short-lived mural depicting a young and spunky Tom Hanks from the movie \u003cem>Big\u003c/em> and an image of Too $hort from the \u003cem>Life Is… Too $hort\u003c/em> era—big donkey rope chain in tow—was gone. Poof! The details in the photo, all the easter eggs in the illustrations that accompanied Hanks’ image: a computer mouse from \u003cem>You’ve Got Mail\u003c/em>, the Wilson ball from \u003cem>Cast Away\u003c/em>, and a nod to \u003cem>Toy Story\u003c/em> in the form of a cowboy hat. Behind $hort were a number of details, too, including a boom box and some unidentified booties of women in thongs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was homage to two guys who spent their formative years in Oakland, who made it big in entertainment and who speak highly of their East Bay roots in nearly every interview I’ve ever seen. What could be wrong with that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874868\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874868\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A Work in Progress\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/83915355_10102711897512530_1065418198855188480_n-1.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Work in Progress. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">“T\u003c/span>he level (of) keebler cracker and gmo wheat toast fkery in these pictures is ridiculously pitiful,” wrote Refa One, a well-known activist and artist from West Oakland, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/oakmaroons/posts/2665314293585655?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCEiibWYkc0UOEBORd7mld8IUIZ9ij7SpHPEXZzG11yll845j72wqdXYfahW3B5vQsKg4u66WP0-c3XfOpH-hSrebJr3OfEWbyvN3pZI5v5pi8hCf-aXKKQMRxrdBeE5EKT3v5jLwASZZ-k6DWuosGNZ0aDvO90xfR1DCgapXTSNTwVhwT8jyEFmcMMfT4JNa1zWo_y4mvg3hRCRbu-ogjrzryDjcK4wQetfh8_wkHCJtyDYPwLtTPzf7O5PGu00eRkMGwCSEmsfDLfhgxbd6JODOoija6lnbCrm8IlavCqROMHexOYAfkywNzgKowzQ9ZU6SXuYpTKTfc1pM0E09TC7A&__tn__=-R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a Facebook post\u003c/a> with the image of the mural. “I’m still processing the amount of thirsty accolades this work is receiving from Negropeans that have embraced defeat by the gentrifying colonizers hell bent on mascot iconography of a displaced BLACK people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damn man, I hate to admit it, but I was one of those “Negropeans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not too long after Refa One made the Facebook post, the mural was covered with a massive blotting of light blue paint—similar to the color the \u003ca href=\"https://exhibits.stanford.edu/fitch/browse/black-panther-party-oakland-california-1968-1972?page=2&view=slideshow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Panther Party’s school uniforms\u003c/a>. “Mural in Progress. Reserved for Black Panther Party,” was the only message left on the elongated wall that parallels the 980 freeway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, I went down to the corner of San Pablo and Castro Street, and took a close photo of the new coat of paint and the message inscribed on the wall. I posted the picture on social media, and in came the questions: “Why’d they cover it?” “Who did it?” “What’s coming next?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I called Refa One.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is about African people controlling the visual landscape in their community, particularly against all forms of gentrification,” said Refa One, a longtime Oakland-based creator who heads the international arts collective \u003ca href=\"http://www.aerosoulart.com/\">Aerosoul\u003c/a>, and the son of two Black Panther Party members. He’s also the artist behind numerous murals in Oakland, including one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13851520/rightnowish-refa-one-spraypaint-in-hand-honors-west-oaklands-history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Huey P. Newton in West Oakland\u003c/a> and one of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11753459/bart-unveils-oscar-grant-mural-and-street-sign-at-fruitvale-station\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oscar Grant at Fruitvale Station\u003c/a>. “And in this particular situation,” he added, “we’re dealing with visual culture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874866\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874866\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"The image of Tom Hanks and a nod to his movies.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCkKU8AAllIP.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The image of Tom Hanks and a nod to his movies. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He told me he had a few issues with the mural of Hanks and $hort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, it depicts Tom Hanks, a multimillionaire who speaks proudly of his Oakland roots, but has yet to make a public statement about inequity in Oakland, Refa One said. And that’s for a city where the housing crisis has been noted as an emergency by local, state and international officials; an emergency that has \u003ca href=\"http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/stepping-up-for-homeless-black-people-in-oakland/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disproportionately impacted black people\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the image of Too $hort, known for misogynistic lyrics, is an issue too, Refa One added. It’s on the side of a wall that butts up against San Pablo Avenue not too far from the Greyhound Bus Station, which over the decades has been a hot spot for sex trafficking, an issue that’s plagued Oakland for longer than Too $hort has been rapping. And it has disproportionately impacted black women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then Refa One noted that two of the three artists involved in the mural were white folks, and not from Oakland. He questioned what right they had to paint the walls in a traditionally black community. “Can I go to Chinatown and paint whatever I want? Can I go to Piedmont and paint there?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, when you put it like that, I get it. So did the other artists. They told me that they understood the politics behind Refa’s point and ambition to paint over their work, and deferred any further comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a good thing,” one of the artists \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/B8E2hvIp50u/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote\u003c/a> on Instagram. “Excited for what’s going up next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13874867\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13874867\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-800x576.jpg\" alt=\"The image of Too $hort and details from aspects of his career.\" width=\"800\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-800x576.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w-768x553.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/EPeCCmBVAAEqE_w.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The image of Too $hort and details from aspects of his career. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s a long history of African American culture being compromised and remade to fit the palate of white America. Elvis Presley re-recording “Hound Dog” and selling 9.5 million more copies than the original \u003ca href=\"https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hound-dog-is-recorded-for-the-first-time-by-big-mama-thornton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Mama Thornton version\u003c/a>. The long-running TV show \u003cem>Friends\u003c/em>, a spinoff of \u003ca href=\"https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/01/the-gentrification-of-city-based-sitcoms/513302/\">Living Single\u003c/a>. Hell, famed slavery abolitionist \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/educate/truth.html\">Sojouner Truth\u003c/a>‘s first language was Dutch, and when she learned English, she spoke in a Dutch accent. Yet her famous speech, “Ain’t I A Woman,” is usually thought to have been spoken in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.thesojournertruthproject.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a stereotypical ‘southern black slave accent\u003c/a>,'” because that’s how (white) historians believed all enslaved Africans spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s deeper than some paint on the walls. It’s about the importance of controlling your story, no matter the medium, because from that comes control over your life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on that note of self-determination shown through community art, Refa One told me about a time he was painting a piece in Campbell Village, a well-known public housing project in West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know how to do \u003cem>this\u003c/em>?” Refa One said a young man asked, watching him paint while playing with a group of friends. “We thought only white people did this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Refa One said he talked to the group of children, and told them, “The first people on the planet to ever paint murals, and to express their culture in that fashion, were African people just like us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13851523\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13851523\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Refa One in West Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street-1200x802.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/02/RefaOne.street.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Refa One, of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/aerosoul_ig/\">@aerosoul_ig\u003c/a>, in West Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He invited the youngsters to pick up some paint and participate in the production of the piece, giving them “collective ownership of their walls.” Which is especially important in the black community, where we’re constantly combating self-hatred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been conditioned to believe that anything happening positively in our community must come from the outside,” said Refa One, in reference to numerous images of African American leaders painted by white artists in Oakland. “Oftentimes the community is ignorant to the fact that we’re being ‘mascotted’ by white folks who consider themselves the ambassador to our culture, and how it should be used and decimated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says he can’t simply paint over those walls. It’s a Catch-22. “At that point it becomes difficult to remove those images, because people’s overall thought is that it’s positive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in a town where black folks have been disproportionately killed, over-policed, under-educated, sex trafficked and pushed out by the masses, putting up images of black folks \u003cem>is\u003c/em> like sports teams having mascots. Mascots derived from cultural aspects of the natives, who’ve been killed off of the very land where they now toss a pigskin or pitch a four-seam fastball.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damn, it \u003cem>is\u003c/em> just like sports: it’s easy to root for a team because you like their mascot or star players, but you better do your research on who’s really in control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Otherwise you’ll be cheering for the “Negropeans.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-the-money-adds-up-for-this-bernal-heights-sign-making-couple",
"title": "How the Money Adds Up for This San Francisco Sign-Making Couple",
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"headTitle": "How the Money Adds Up for This San Francisco Sign-Making Couple | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s telling that during my visit to Isaac Avila and Lauren D’Amato’s Bernal Heights live/work space, they don’t stop painting for the entire hour we talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align='right' size='small']By the numbers…\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Rent: $2,000/month\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Studio rent: none (live/work space)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Total income: $2,000–$5,000/month\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple began working together under the moniker \u003ca href=\"https://www.avilarosesigns.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Avila Rose Signs\u003c/a> a year and a half ago, setting themselves up as sign painters to do the kind of work they clearly love while also carving out time for their own art practices. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lauren wanted to get out of the sign shop, and I wanted to do more freelance work,” Avila says. That sign shop was New Bohemia Signs, where D’Amato apprenticed while getting her degree in painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, and where she worked full-time for three-and-a-half years. (Her family also paints signs, and once had shops in Los Angeles and New Jersey: “They got me started drawing young.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in Mexico City and a graduate of UC Berkeley’s MFA program, Avila has shown paintings and sculptures in a number of local project spaces and galleries—including a recent \u003ca href=\"http://rightwindow.blogspot.com/2019/09/bootleg-milagros-isaac-vazquez-avila.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">two-person show\u003c/a> with D’Amato at San Francisco’s Right Window Gallery—but his personal work is mostly small-scale. He wanted to make murals, but couldn’t find the right collaborator. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enter D’Amato, raised in the lowrider hub of Whittier, who was ready to hang out her own shingle. Or, as it turned out, \u003ci>their\u003c/i> shingle. “It was always my personal plan to be doing this, and when Isaac and I met and started dating, we realized there was a lot we could work on together,” D’Amato says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for picking up those formal sign painting skills, Avila says, “I’m still apprenticing, and will forever.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now they live, work and make art side-by-side in this space—a relative steal in San Francisco, with monthly rent set at $2,000. And though work by Avila Rose Signs adorns the Oakland Coliseum and countless motor vehicles currently roaming the West Coast, they’re still learning how to best advocate for their work—and deal with the financial roller coaster of running your own business. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Lauren D'Amato in the Bernal Heights live/work space she shares with Isaac Avila.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869340\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauren D’Amato in the Bernal Heights live/work space she shares with Isaac Avila. \u003ccite>(Graham Holoch/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘We’re painting signs on a building, but we know how to use the computer!’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>D’Amato rattles off a list of jobs Avila Rose Signs does: exterior signage, super graphics, gold leaf, glass work, design. “We sign paint, but we’re also more than sign painters, because there’s a lot that goes into sign painting beyond just painting a sign,” Avila explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some clients don’t seem to understand that—which might have something to do with preconceived notions about the so-called “low” art of sign painting and the “high” art of graphic design work. “We’re painting signs on a building, but we know how to use the computer!” D’Amato says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They find themselves routinely needing to make clear the true value of their labor. “Are you going to reuse this sign and is it going to become your logo? Are we choosing all the colors and aesthetics that go along with your business to the point where we’re essentially doing branding but not getting paid for that?” D’Amato asks. “We’re still trying to make sure we’re getting compensated fairly. Especially because people doing that kind of work in the city are getting paid so much more money than we’re getting paid to do a lot of the same work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every job is different. Depending on the customer, the job size and their level of involvement in designing a piece, their rates vary. Each charges $80–$100 an hour (double that if they’re both working on the job), and if they’re painting a large-scale wall piece, their rates are $25–$45 per square foot. They have special sliding scales for low-income clients and neighborhood businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, they painted an enormous Oakland tree logo on the exterior of the Coliseum’s newly renovated Treehouse, along with more trees inside and a giant circular sign that now hangs near a pool table. In total, they charged around $17,000 for the project, factoring in expenses like driving to and from the Coliseum, hiring a boom lift ($150–$200 per day) and splitting a third of the proceeds with a fellow sign painter. They each took home between $3,000 and $4,000, after a few weeks of preparation and four solid days of painting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869337\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Isaac Avila and Lauren D'Amato with their dog Rico.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Isaac Avila and Lauren D’Amato with their dog Rico. \u003ccite>(Graham Holoch/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘We’re incredibly lucky’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Like many working artists, Avila and D’Amato have a monthly income that varies widely. Avila still works two days a week bartending at the Valencia bar Mosto, and D’Amato does custom work on 45-RPM record cases, cars and motorcycles to earn a bit of side money. Every now and then D’Amato will sell artwork or embellished furniture out of the studio. Depending on how many Avila Rose jobs they line up, they make a total combined income from all jobs of between $2,000 and $5,000 a month. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, that isn’t much. They’re able to live off that income thanks to not only their relatively low rent, but their shared penchant for frugality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re incredibly lucky,” D’Amato says, looking around the corner of the built-out warehouse she shares with Avila. One wall faces the street, letting in light from nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. The other surfaces are covered in hand-painted signs, mementos and beautiful found objects. They sleep in a lofted area over the kitchen, and their dog Rico doesn’t take up much space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The group that owns this building—they’re older, at later stages in their careers,” Avila says. “And they’re all pretty aware of the hardships of just being an artist and what it takes, especially if you’re trying to build something from scratch.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the fact that they’re month-to-month does bring some anxiety, D’Amato and Avila know there’s no way they could be doing what they do—getting their own business off the ground—without the support of their landlords. Paying rent on both an apartment and a separate studio, let alone one with a woodshop that would let them use enamel paints and solvents, would be prohibitively expensive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They keep their other spending low; D’Aamato doesn’t have health insurance, and she’s slowly chipping away at her art school loans. (She transferred into SFAI, so she’s in a slightly better situation than classmates with four years of loans.) As for materials, Avila’s sculptures are made from woodshop scraps, and they both pick up old glass, furniture and frames off the streets. The materials of their sign painting trade are expensive enough—a book of gold leaf is $45–$50, pints of enamel paint run $30–$50.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll be using the same brush for like half a year, and then I’ll say, ‘I think it’s time for me to make an investment in this because it’s the thing that’s making me money,’” D’Amato says. “And then I’ll buy a few more brushes.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How much are brushes? “Oh, probably about $20,” she laughs. “That’s how careful we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869335\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"In addition to sign painting and their own art, Isaac Avila and Lauren D'Amato host Kustom Sunday, a car culture meetup in San Francisco.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In addition to sign painting and their own art, Isaac Avila and Lauren D’Amato host Kustom Sunday, a car culture meetup in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Graham Holoch/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘I value all the work that we do’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Last year, Avila and D’Amato also started hosting an event series called Kustom Sunday, first at the warehouse and now at off-site locations like Golden Gate Park. For D’Amato, it’s a way to establish herself as someone who does lettering, gilding and pin-striping on cars. “That’s such a hard thing to get into, especially as a young woman,” she says. She’s perfected her own style of blended floral work most often seen on traditional furniture, and never seen in enamel paint. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Kustom Sundays, the couple invites DJs to play, a barbeque is lit and people line up for their custom paint jobs. Similarly, if D’Amato goes to a bar and sets up shop for a night, she can make between $700 and $1,000 painting motorcycle helmets, tanks and record boxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Side Gigs and Successes' link1='https://www.kqed.org/arts/13861452/talk-to-us-bay-area-artists-whats-your-hustle,Are you a Bay Area artist? Tell us about your hustle.' target=_blank]\u003cbr>\nAvila says it currently feels like they can’t say no to anything that pays. But D’Amato points out how important it’s been to volunteer their labor to causes and communities they believe in. In the immediate, that means considering a trip up to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.bbcrc.org/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture\u003c/a>, where a community of sign painters periodically convenes to help restore historic railcars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of why they stay in San Francisco is an easy one. For Avila, who’s been here since 2003, it’s the closest thing he has to a home. Growing up in Southern California, D’Amato spent plenty of time visiting her grandparents in the East Bay; when she finished up at SFAI, she knew she wasn’t done with the city. Despite the changes in the city’s demographics and the cost of living, they’re deeply tied to both their immediate neighborhood and the Bay Area’s artistic communities. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Merging their fine art backgrounds with the more rigid standards of sign painting, D’Amato and Avila enjoy being less traditional in their approach to Avila Rose Signs. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, as D’Amato puts it: “I just value all the work that we do.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "From their Bernal Heights home, Isaac Avila and Lauren D’Amato navigate the finances of painting, sign-making and custom side jobs.",
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"title": "How the Money Adds Up for This San Francisco Sign-Making Couple | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s telling that during my visit to Isaac Avila and Lauren D’Amato’s Bernal Heights live/work space, they don’t stop painting for the entire hour we talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "By the numbers…\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Rent: $2,000/month\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Studio rent: none (live/work space)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Total income: $2,000–$5,000/month\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple began working together under the moniker \u003ca href=\"https://www.avilarosesigns.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Avila Rose Signs\u003c/a> a year and a half ago, setting themselves up as sign painters to do the kind of work they clearly love while also carving out time for their own art practices. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lauren wanted to get out of the sign shop, and I wanted to do more freelance work,” Avila says. That sign shop was New Bohemia Signs, where D’Amato apprenticed while getting her degree in painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, and where she worked full-time for three-and-a-half years. (Her family also paints signs, and once had shops in Los Angeles and New Jersey: “They got me started drawing young.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in Mexico City and a graduate of UC Berkeley’s MFA program, Avila has shown paintings and sculptures in a number of local project spaces and galleries—including a recent \u003ca href=\"http://rightwindow.blogspot.com/2019/09/bootleg-milagros-isaac-vazquez-avila.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">two-person show\u003c/a> with D’Amato at San Francisco’s Right Window Gallery—but his personal work is mostly small-scale. He wanted to make murals, but couldn’t find the right collaborator. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enter D’Amato, raised in the lowrider hub of Whittier, who was ready to hang out her own shingle. Or, as it turned out, \u003ci>their\u003c/i> shingle. “It was always my personal plan to be doing this, and when Isaac and I met and started dating, we realized there was a lot we could work on together,” D’Amato says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for picking up those formal sign painting skills, Avila says, “I’m still apprenticing, and will forever.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now they live, work and make art side-by-side in this space—a relative steal in San Francisco, with monthly rent set at $2,000. And though work by Avila Rose Signs adorns the Oakland Coliseum and countless motor vehicles currently roaming the West Coast, they’re still learning how to best advocate for their work—and deal with the financial roller coaster of running your own business. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Lauren D'Amato in the Bernal Heights live/work space she shares with Isaac Avila.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869340\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_16-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauren D’Amato in the Bernal Heights live/work space she shares with Isaac Avila. \u003ccite>(Graham Holoch/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘We’re painting signs on a building, but we know how to use the computer!’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>D’Amato rattles off a list of jobs Avila Rose Signs does: exterior signage, super graphics, gold leaf, glass work, design. “We sign paint, but we’re also more than sign painters, because there’s a lot that goes into sign painting beyond just painting a sign,” Avila explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some clients don’t seem to understand that—which might have something to do with preconceived notions about the so-called “low” art of sign painting and the “high” art of graphic design work. “We’re painting signs on a building, but we know how to use the computer!” D’Amato says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They find themselves routinely needing to make clear the true value of their labor. “Are you going to reuse this sign and is it going to become your logo? Are we choosing all the colors and aesthetics that go along with your business to the point where we’re essentially doing branding but not getting paid for that?” D’Amato asks. “We’re still trying to make sure we’re getting compensated fairly. Especially because people doing that kind of work in the city are getting paid so much more money than we’re getting paid to do a lot of the same work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every job is different. Depending on the customer, the job size and their level of involvement in designing a piece, their rates vary. Each charges $80–$100 an hour (double that if they’re both working on the job), and if they’re painting a large-scale wall piece, their rates are $25–$45 per square foot. They have special sliding scales for low-income clients and neighborhood businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, they painted an enormous Oakland tree logo on the exterior of the Coliseum’s newly renovated Treehouse, along with more trees inside and a giant circular sign that now hangs near a pool table. In total, they charged around $17,000 for the project, factoring in expenses like driving to and from the Coliseum, hiring a boom lift ($150–$200 per day) and splitting a third of the proceeds with a fellow sign painter. They each took home between $3,000 and $4,000, after a few weeks of preparation and four solid days of painting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869337\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Isaac Avila and Lauren D'Amato with their dog Rico.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_22-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Isaac Avila and Lauren D’Amato with their dog Rico. \u003ccite>(Graham Holoch/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘We’re incredibly lucky’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Like many working artists, Avila and D’Amato have a monthly income that varies widely. Avila still works two days a week bartending at the Valencia bar Mosto, and D’Amato does custom work on 45-RPM record cases, cars and motorcycles to earn a bit of side money. Every now and then D’Amato will sell artwork or embellished furniture out of the studio. Depending on how many Avila Rose jobs they line up, they make a total combined income from all jobs of between $2,000 and $5,000 a month. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, that isn’t much. They’re able to live off that income thanks to not only their relatively low rent, but their shared penchant for frugality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re incredibly lucky,” D’Amato says, looking around the corner of the built-out warehouse she shares with Avila. One wall faces the street, letting in light from nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. The other surfaces are covered in hand-painted signs, mementos and beautiful found objects. They sleep in a lofted area over the kitchen, and their dog Rico doesn’t take up much space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The group that owns this building—they’re older, at later stages in their careers,” Avila says. “And they’re all pretty aware of the hardships of just being an artist and what it takes, especially if you’re trying to build something from scratch.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the fact that they’re month-to-month does bring some anxiety, D’Amato and Avila know there’s no way they could be doing what they do—getting their own business off the ground—without the support of their landlords. Paying rent on both an apartment and a separate studio, let alone one with a woodshop that would let them use enamel paints and solvents, would be prohibitively expensive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They keep their other spending low; D’Aamato doesn’t have health insurance, and she’s slowly chipping away at her art school loans. (She transferred into SFAI, so she’s in a slightly better situation than classmates with four years of loans.) As for materials, Avila’s sculptures are made from woodshop scraps, and they both pick up old glass, furniture and frames off the streets. The materials of their sign painting trade are expensive enough—a book of gold leaf is $45–$50, pints of enamel paint run $30–$50.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll be using the same brush for like half a year, and then I’ll say, ‘I think it’s time for me to make an investment in this because it’s the thing that’s making me money,’” D’Amato says. “And then I’ll buy a few more brushes.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How much are brushes? “Oh, probably about $20,” she laughs. “That’s how careful we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869335\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"In addition to sign painting and their own art, Isaac Avila and Lauren D'Amato host Kustom Sunday, a car culture meetup in San Francisco.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/KQED_The_Hustle_Avila_Rose_Signs_hires_23-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In addition to sign painting and their own art, Isaac Avila and Lauren D’Amato host Kustom Sunday, a car culture meetup in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Graham Holoch/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘I value all the work that we do’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Last year, Avila and D’Amato also started hosting an event series called Kustom Sunday, first at the warehouse and now at off-site locations like Golden Gate Park. For D’Amato, it’s a way to establish herself as someone who does lettering, gilding and pin-striping on cars. “That’s such a hard thing to get into, especially as a young woman,” she says. She’s perfected her own style of blended floral work most often seen on traditional furniture, and never seen in enamel paint. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Kustom Sundays, the couple invites DJs to play, a barbeque is lit and people line up for their custom paint jobs. Similarly, if D’Amato goes to a bar and sets up shop for a night, she can make between $700 and $1,000 painting motorcycle helmets, tanks and record boxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\nAvila says it currently feels like they can’t say no to anything that pays. But D’Amato points out how important it’s been to volunteer their labor to causes and communities they believe in. In the immediate, that means considering a trip up to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.bbcrc.org/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture\u003c/a>, where a community of sign painters periodically convenes to help restore historic railcars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of why they stay in San Francisco is an easy one. For Avila, who’s been here since 2003, it’s the closest thing he has to a home. Growing up in Southern California, D’Amato spent plenty of time visiting her grandparents in the East Bay; when she finished up at SFAI, she knew she wasn’t done with the city. Despite the changes in the city’s demographics and the cost of living, they’re deeply tied to both their immediate neighborhood and the Bay Area’s artistic communities. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Merging their fine art backgrounds with the more rigid standards of sign painting, D’Amato and Avila enjoy being less traditional in their approach to Avila Rose Signs. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, as D’Amato puts it: “I just value all the work that we do.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>At 14th and Alice Streets in downtown Oakland, the “Universal Language” mural traces the city’s black performing arts heritage. The late dancer Ruth Beckford, an influential promoter of Afro-Haitian styles, looms above performers with her mentee Deborah Vaughan’s Dimensions Dance Theater, which operates nearby at the \u003ca href=\"http://mccatheater.com/\">Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts\u003c/a>. The center’s namesake, Congolese artist and teacher Malonga Casquelourd, beats a drum at the center of another wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arts are but one theme of the 2,500 square foot mural, which also references organized labor and grassroots activism in Oakland’s black and Asian neighborhoods. Lead artists Desi Mundo and Pancho Peskador worked with the nonprofit Community Rejuvenation Project to conduct research and community outreach for six months before beginning to paint—an undertaking significantly buoyed a $40,000 grant from the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fewer than five years after its completion in 2014, though, the mural is disappearing behind a housing development on what was previously a parking lot. At the same time, the city program that supported the mural, plus many individual artists and Malonga tenants, recently had its grant-making budget reduced by 17 percent. “It’s criminal,” said Theo Aytchan Williams, director of Malonga tenant \u003ca href=\"https://sambafunk.com/\">SambaFunk\u003c/a>. “How can that happen while the city is beginning to prosper?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861188\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861188\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-800x450.jpg\" alt=\""Universal Language," a mural depicting Oakland's black performing arts heritage, will soon be completely obscured.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Universal Language,” a mural depicting Oakland’s black performing arts heritage, will soon be completely obscured. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oakland artists and activists have long agitated for boosting the Cultural Funding Program’s budget and infrastructure, holding it up as an important front in the fight against displacement. The grant-making operation rates applicants with an equity lens, supporting work that lifts up communities at risk of cultural erasure as the affordability crisis reshapes the city. “The roster of those top-ranked organizations is the backbone of the Oakland arts community,” said Mundo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, the Cultural Funding Program supported individual artist projects such as murals, performance series and documentaries; art-in-schools programs run by nonprofits including Destiny Arts Center and Women’s Audio Mission; and general operating subsidies for Creative Growth Art Center, Eastside Arts Alliance and the Oakland Ballet, among other institutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, the program has lately grown: Roberto Bedoya became the first Cultural Affairs Director in 2016, announcing an agenda of redressing historical injustice in the Cultural Plan last year. He also secured funding for a staffer to help reestablish an Art Commission; Oakland City Council approved related legislation Tuesday. And soon Bedoya will announce the first “cultural strategists in government”—artists embedded as “thought partners” in city departments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861187\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861187\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-800x481.jpg\" alt=\"Another panel of "Universal Language," showing the Congolese artist Malonga Casquelourd, in front of Oakland's changing skyline.\" width=\"800\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-800x481.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-768x462.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-1020x614.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-1200x722.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Another panel of “Universal Language,” showing the Congolese artist Malonga Casquelourd, in front of Oakland’s changing skyline. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As KQED \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840996/oakland-introduces-expanded-art-grants-program-announces-2018-awardees\">previously reported\u003c/a>, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has described Bedoya’s initiatives as part of the Cultural Affairs Unit’s rebound from the “devastating cuts of the recession,” but the budget City Council approved last month leaves his agency with more plans and less money: The annual grants budget is approximately 1,030,000, comprised of $730,000 from the general purpose fund and an anticipated $300,000 from hotel tax revenue, compared to $1,243,120 earmarked in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Organizational support and arts in schools are the cornerstones of the creation of a future for the arts in our beloved city, and given the rapid, dizzying gentrification we’re experiencing it’s fundamental that you remove not one dollar from our cultural funding program,” said Angela Wellman, director of the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, at the June 24 meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The councilmembers included a policy directive in their budget urging city staff to “identify ways to restore and make permanent additional funding for cultural affairs” by May of next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Cultural Plan, Oakland’s inflation-adjusted grant-making budget is nearly half of what was in 2001, and in recent years the number of applications has dramatically increased. This year, according to Bedoya, there were 25 percent more grant applicants than in 2018. “People are asking for support,” he said. “We’re still hoping the budget will increase along with the need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861183\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861183\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"The Cultural Funding Program supports many tenants of the city-owned Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Cultural Funding Program supports many tenants of the city-owned Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mundo, head of the Community Rejuvenation Project, believes declining grant dollars reflects the “privatization of public artwork.” In downtown Oakland, there are more murals than ever; housing developers tout them as amenities, and sports teams sponsor them for promotion in the guise of grassroots fandom. Instead of the deeply-researched “Universal Language” mural, Mundo said, public artwork is increasingly advertisements or corporate commissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mundo noted the bureaucracy of the Cultural Funding Program is its own frustration: Artists shouldn’t have to also be lobbyists and nonprofit administrators. Still, he called it a reliable supporter of projects with a point of view and rich cultural texture. The CFP’s support of “Universal Language,” for example, offset the cost of a Cantonese translator to interview neighbors, and to study performances to capture dancers’ expressive gestures on the wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Universal Language” also depicts artists at a City Council meeting in 2003 to protest then-Mayor Jerry Brown’s attempt to shutter the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts (then the Alice Arts Center)—content that isn’t likely to appear in public artwork sponsored by the city’s tourism bureau, Visit Oakland. “But now we’re moving towards a patronage system,” Mundo said. “Less cultural stories, less of the struggle, more of the commercial and abstract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861182\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861182\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A Community Rejuvenation Project on Grand Ave in Oakland depicts the Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Community Rejuvenation Project on Grand Ave in Oakland depicts the Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The budget passed last month does include a $100,000 “community murals” fund, but it mostly continues a preexisting “graffiti abatement” fund by another name. Mundo’s organization tracked the abatement dollars, finding some councilmembers didn’t use them for public artwork at all. “It’s really a slush fund,” he said. “They’re almost appropriating money from cultural funding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bedoya acknowledged the new fund is similarly aimed at deterring graffiti, but said his department will more closely oversee councilmembers’ projects. And Councilmember Dan Kalb said at the June 24 meeting that he welcomes the greater involvement from Bedoya’s department. “It’s better government to do this through cultural affairs,” Kalb said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also new in the city’s budget is $75,000 for signage and “capacity building” in the Black Arts Movement Business District, which Oakland established downtown in 2016. Ayodele Nzinga, founding director of Lower Bottom Playaz, said it’s the first time the city has funded the district at all. “The point is they created a district three years ago without so much as a plan or budget for a banner,” she said, adding that district stakeholders will use the money to seek private grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10139725\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-300x199.jpg\" alt='The \"Universal Language\" mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014. ' width=\"300\" height=\"199\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10139725\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The “Universal Language” mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Community Rejuvenation Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As much as the “Universal Language” mural shows what Oakland stands to lose by reducing its investment in the arts, it also illustrates the power of cultural groups united by a common grievance. In 2016, when the project set to block “Universal Language” was first approved, the mural’s creators joined with neighborhood activists and Malonga tenants to appeal the development, citing concerns that it would further destabilize the scrappy cultural center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They won a community benefits agreement—and modeled a negotiating tactic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13861121/kaiser-auditorium-redevelopment-proceeds-with-permanent-affordability-for-arts-groups\">recently used\u003c/a> by critics of Orton Development’s plan to renovate the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center—that required the developer to donate money to the Malonga, and also to help pay for a replacement mural nearby. Eric Arnold, who helped negotiate the deal, said the replacement mural will deal with similar themes, and that it will be on the wall of the Greenlining Institute two blocks away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Arnold, the way the mural’s removal spurred a powerful coalition of arts and neighborhood groups is a heartening example of frustrated community members taking matters into their own hands. “Whatever you think is against you, developers, city hall—there’s a way to change the narrative,” he said. The new mural, he added, might incorporate the tale of the old one.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At 14th and Alice Streets in downtown Oakland, the “Universal Language” mural traces the city’s black performing arts heritage. The late dancer Ruth Beckford, an influential promoter of Afro-Haitian styles, looms above performers with her mentee Deborah Vaughan’s Dimensions Dance Theater, which operates nearby at the \u003ca href=\"http://mccatheater.com/\">Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts\u003c/a>. The center’s namesake, Congolese artist and teacher Malonga Casquelourd, beats a drum at the center of another wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arts are but one theme of the 2,500 square foot mural, which also references organized labor and grassroots activism in Oakland’s black and Asian neighborhoods. Lead artists Desi Mundo and Pancho Peskador worked with the nonprofit Community Rejuvenation Project to conduct research and community outreach for six months before beginning to paint—an undertaking significantly buoyed a $40,000 grant from the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fewer than five years after its completion in 2014, though, the mural is disappearing behind a housing development on what was previously a parking lot. At the same time, the city program that supported the mural, plus many individual artists and Malonga tenants, recently had its grant-making budget reduced by 17 percent. “It’s criminal,” said Theo Aytchan Williams, director of Malonga tenant \u003ca href=\"https://sambafunk.com/\">SambaFunk\u003c/a>. “How can that happen while the city is beginning to prosper?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861188\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861188\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-800x450.jpg\" alt=\""Universal Language," a mural depicting Oakland's black performing arts heritage, will soon be completely obscured.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Universal Language,” a mural depicting Oakland’s black performing arts heritage, will soon be completely obscured. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oakland artists and activists have long agitated for boosting the Cultural Funding Program’s budget and infrastructure, holding it up as an important front in the fight against displacement. The grant-making operation rates applicants with an equity lens, supporting work that lifts up communities at risk of cultural erasure as the affordability crisis reshapes the city. “The roster of those top-ranked organizations is the backbone of the Oakland arts community,” said Mundo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, the Cultural Funding Program supported individual artist projects such as murals, performance series and documentaries; art-in-schools programs run by nonprofits including Destiny Arts Center and Women’s Audio Mission; and general operating subsidies for Creative Growth Art Center, Eastside Arts Alliance and the Oakland Ballet, among other institutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, the program has lately grown: Roberto Bedoya became the first Cultural Affairs Director in 2016, announcing an agenda of redressing historical injustice in the Cultural Plan last year. He also secured funding for a staffer to help reestablish an Art Commission; Oakland City Council approved related legislation Tuesday. And soon Bedoya will announce the first “cultural strategists in government”—artists embedded as “thought partners” in city departments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861187\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861187\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-800x481.jpg\" alt=\"Another panel of "Universal Language," showing the Congolese artist Malonga Casquelourd, in front of Oakland's changing skyline.\" width=\"800\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-800x481.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-768x462.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-1020x614.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development-1200x722.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Universal-Language-Mural-Obscured-by-Development.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Another panel of “Universal Language,” showing the Congolese artist Malonga Casquelourd, in front of Oakland’s changing skyline. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As KQED \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840996/oakland-introduces-expanded-art-grants-program-announces-2018-awardees\">previously reported\u003c/a>, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has described Bedoya’s initiatives as part of the Cultural Affairs Unit’s rebound from the “devastating cuts of the recession,” but the budget City Council approved last month leaves his agency with more plans and less money: The annual grants budget is approximately 1,030,000, comprised of $730,000 from the general purpose fund and an anticipated $300,000 from hotel tax revenue, compared to $1,243,120 earmarked in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Organizational support and arts in schools are the cornerstones of the creation of a future for the arts in our beloved city, and given the rapid, dizzying gentrification we’re experiencing it’s fundamental that you remove not one dollar from our cultural funding program,” said Angela Wellman, director of the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, at the June 24 meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The councilmembers included a policy directive in their budget urging city staff to “identify ways to restore and make permanent additional funding for cultural affairs” by May of next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Cultural Plan, Oakland’s inflation-adjusted grant-making budget is nearly half of what was in 2001, and in recent years the number of applications has dramatically increased. This year, according to Bedoya, there were 25 percent more grant applicants than in 2018. “People are asking for support,” he said. “We’re still hoping the budget will increase along with the need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861183\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861183\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"The Cultural Funding Program supports many tenants of the city-owned Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/Malonga-Casquelourd-Center-for-the-Arts.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Cultural Funding Program supports many tenants of the city-owned Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mundo, head of the Community Rejuvenation Project, believes declining grant dollars reflects the “privatization of public artwork.” In downtown Oakland, there are more murals than ever; housing developers tout them as amenities, and sports teams sponsor them for promotion in the guise of grassroots fandom. Instead of the deeply-researched “Universal Language” mural, Mundo said, public artwork is increasingly advertisements or corporate commissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mundo noted the bureaucracy of the Cultural Funding Program is its own frustration: Artists shouldn’t have to also be lobbyists and nonprofit administrators. Still, he called it a reliable supporter of projects with a point of view and rich cultural texture. The CFP’s support of “Universal Language,” for example, offset the cost of a Cantonese translator to interview neighbors, and to study performances to capture dancers’ expressive gestures on the wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Universal Language” also depicts artists at a City Council meeting in 2003 to protest then-Mayor Jerry Brown’s attempt to shutter the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts (then the Alice Arts Center)—content that isn’t likely to appear in public artwork sponsored by the city’s tourism bureau, Visit Oakland. “But now we’re moving towards a patronage system,” Mundo said. “Less cultural stories, less of the struggle, more of the commercial and abstract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13861182\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13861182\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A Community Rejuvenation Project on Grand Ave in Oakland depicts the Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/CRP-Mural-on-Grand-Showing-Garvey-Community-Rejuvenation-Project.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Community Rejuvenation Project on Grand Ave in Oakland depicts the Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey. \u003ccite>(Sam Lefebvre/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The budget passed last month does include a $100,000 “community murals” fund, but it mostly continues a preexisting “graffiti abatement” fund by another name. Mundo’s organization tracked the abatement dollars, finding some councilmembers didn’t use them for public artwork at all. “It’s really a slush fund,” he said. “They’re almost appropriating money from cultural funding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bedoya acknowledged the new fund is similarly aimed at deterring graffiti, but said his department will more closely oversee councilmembers’ projects. And Councilmember Dan Kalb said at the June 24 meeting that he welcomes the greater involvement from Bedoya’s department. “It’s better government to do this through cultural affairs,” Kalb said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also new in the city’s budget is $75,000 for signage and “capacity building” in the Black Arts Movement Business District, which Oakland established downtown in 2016. Ayodele Nzinga, founding director of Lower Bottom Playaz, said it’s the first time the city has funded the district at all. “The point is they created a district three years ago without so much as a plan or budget for a banner,” she said, adding that district stakeholders will use the money to seek private grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10139725\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-300x199.jpg\" alt='The \"Universal Language\" mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014. ' width=\"300\" height=\"199\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10139725\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/Mural-Wide.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The “Universal Language” mural on Alice Street in downtown Oakland in 2014. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Community Rejuvenation Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As much as the “Universal Language” mural shows what Oakland stands to lose by reducing its investment in the arts, it also illustrates the power of cultural groups united by a common grievance. In 2016, when the project set to block “Universal Language” was first approved, the mural’s creators joined with neighborhood activists and Malonga tenants to appeal the development, citing concerns that it would further destabilize the scrappy cultural center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They won a community benefits agreement—and modeled a negotiating tactic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13861121/kaiser-auditorium-redevelopment-proceeds-with-permanent-affordability-for-arts-groups\">recently used\u003c/a> by critics of Orton Development’s plan to renovate the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center—that required the developer to donate money to the Malonga, and also to help pay for a replacement mural nearby. Eric Arnold, who helped negotiate the deal, said the replacement mural will deal with similar themes, and that it will be on the wall of the Greenlining Institute two blocks away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Arnold, the way the mural’s removal spurred a powerful coalition of arts and neighborhood groups is a heartening example of frustrated community members taking matters into their own hands. “Whatever you think is against you, developers, city hall—there’s a way to change the narrative,” he said. The new mural, he added, might incorporate the tale of the old one.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>Editor’s Note: Step into the shoes of dancers from across the country who dare to imagine what it would look like if their city could dance with KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/series/ifcitiescoulddance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">If Cities Could Dance\u003c/a>\u003ci>. Watch a new episode from season two of the video series every Tuesday through May 14, 2019.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve spent any time in Oakland, you’ve probably witnessed some turfing. The homegrown dance happens everywhere: on BART, at the First Friday art walk, at the Warriors’ Oracle Arena and even in music videos for Bay Area rap stars like E-40 and G-Eazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Turfin, it’s just a part of our culture\u003cem>—\u003c/em>a way of life,” says Jesus El, aka Zeus, a member of The Animaniakz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turfing emerged on Oakland streets in the early 2000s, and has become synonymous with regional urban culture. Combining abrupt, angular movements like popping, tutting and bone breaking with graceful, ballet-like footwork, turfing stands for “taking up room on the floor.” Dancers credit Jeriel Bey for coining the term in 2006—he’s a co-founder of the Architeckz, the first organized turfing crew to come out of West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the mid-2000s, other crews came along, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/LegendaryTurfFeinz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Turf Feinz\u003c/a>, whose work was critical in taking turfing to the international stage. Turf Feinz worked with local production company \u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/yak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yak Films\u003c/a> to create dance videos, including ones paying homage to fallen friends during a spike in homicides. One particularly moving video, “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/JQRRnAhmB58\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dancing in the Rain\u003c/a>,” a tribute to the late RichD, went viral across the world. Soon, Turf Feinz and Yak Films were flying out to Paris and collaborating with internationally renowned dancers like Les Twins (who were recently featured in Beyoncé’s \u003cem>Homecoming\u003c/em>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, turf dance crews like Turf Feinz are in their second generation of dancers, and their members continue to pass down the craft through all-ages battles and after-school workshops. In this Oakland episode of \u003cem>If Cities Could Dance\u003c/em>, directed by Yak Film’s Yoram Savion, we meet Oakland dance stars Zeus, Yung Phil and Icecold3000. Watch as they dance in front of the Creators Gone Create turfing mural in West Oakland, MacArthur BART station and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youthuprising.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Youth UpRising teen center\u003c/a> in East Oakland to the music of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13811320/behind-the-beats-drew-banga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drew Banga\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/jwalt-official\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jwalt\u003c/a>, also featuring Mistah Fab. \u003cem>— Text by Nastia Voynovskaya\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>Editor’s Note: Step into the shoes of dancers from across the country who dare to imagine what it would look like if their city could dance with KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/series/ifcitiescoulddance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">If Cities Could Dance\u003c/a>\u003ci>. Watch a new episode from season two of the video series every Tuesday through May 14, 2019.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve spent any time in Oakland, you’ve probably witnessed some turfing. The homegrown dance happens everywhere: on BART, at the First Friday art walk, at the Warriors’ Oracle Arena and even in music videos for Bay Area rap stars like E-40 and G-Eazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Turfin, it’s just a part of our culture\u003cem>—\u003c/em>a way of life,” says Jesus El, aka Zeus, a member of The Animaniakz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turfing emerged on Oakland streets in the early 2000s, and has become synonymous with regional urban culture. Combining abrupt, angular movements like popping, tutting and bone breaking with graceful, ballet-like footwork, turfing stands for “taking up room on the floor.” Dancers credit Jeriel Bey for coining the term in 2006—he’s a co-founder of the Architeckz, the first organized turfing crew to come out of West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the mid-2000s, other crews came along, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/LegendaryTurfFeinz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Turf Feinz\u003c/a>, whose work was critical in taking turfing to the international stage. Turf Feinz worked with local production company \u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/yak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yak Films\u003c/a> to create dance videos, including ones paying homage to fallen friends during a spike in homicides. One particularly moving video, “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/JQRRnAhmB58\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dancing in the Rain\u003c/a>,” a tribute to the late RichD, went viral across the world. Soon, Turf Feinz and Yak Films were flying out to Paris and collaborating with internationally renowned dancers like Les Twins (who were recently featured in Beyoncé’s \u003cem>Homecoming\u003c/em>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, turf dance crews like Turf Feinz are in their second generation of dancers, and their members continue to pass down the craft through all-ages battles and after-school workshops. In this Oakland episode of \u003cem>If Cities Could Dance\u003c/em>, directed by Yak Film’s Yoram Savion, we meet Oakland dance stars Zeus, Yung Phil and Icecold3000. Watch as they dance in front of the Creators Gone Create turfing mural in West Oakland, MacArthur BART station and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youthuprising.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Youth UpRising teen center\u003c/a> in East Oakland to the music of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13811320/behind-the-beats-drew-banga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drew Banga\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/jwalt-official\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jwalt\u003c/a>, also featuring Mistah Fab. \u003cem>— Text by Nastia Voynovskaya\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "For Dancers of R.O.O.T.S. The Movement, the Richmond Renaissance is Now",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>Editor’s Note: Step into the shoes of dancers from across the country who dare to imagine what it would look like if their city could dance with KQED’s \u003c/i>If Cities Could Dance\u003ci>. Watch a new episode from season two of the video series every Tuesday through May 14, 2019.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many often label the rich history of Richmond’s WWII-era days as the city’s long-ago “renaissance.” The population swelled with tens of thousands of shipyard workers—many of them African American—recruited from throughout the United States. Legendary blues clubs proliferated in North Richmond, and the downtown grew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for the members of the emerging hip-hop dance troupe R.O.O.T.S. (Rising Out of the System) The Movement, Richmond’s heyday isn’t resigned to the history books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s beauty within present-day Richmond, R.O.O.T.S. The Movement dancer Deontae Watkins says—a beauty that inspires his movements. “People who came from the South in the 1940s, they came with so much spunk to make these ships for the war,” says fellow dancer Kabreshiona Tiyteea La’Shae Smith. “That just fuels my fire to continue to go hard for our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>R.O.O.T.S. The Movement members, all born and raised in Richmond, came up through the RYSE Youth Center and the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, known as “The Center.” For the dance troupe, who perform a mixture of styles influenced by krumping, hip-hop moves, African dance and modern ballet, their approach to collaborative choreography is crucial to their mission. “We like to see everyone shine and grow at the same time,” says Aziza Thomas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now many of them are teaching classes at those same spaces. “I have the opportunity to teach how you can use art as a way to transform negative influences or emotions into a positive and beautiful thing,” says Watkins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watch Watkins, Smith and Thomas dance proudly in front of Point Richmond, along Macdonald Avenue and outside the RYSE Youth Center (where young artists created some of the music heard in this video). —\u003cem>text by Sarah Hotchkiss\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"headline": "For Dancers of R.O.O.T.S. The Movement, the Richmond Renaissance is Now",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>Editor’s Note: Step into the shoes of dancers from across the country who dare to imagine what it would look like if their city could dance with KQED’s \u003c/i>If Cities Could Dance\u003ci>. Watch a new episode from season two of the video series every Tuesday through May 14, 2019.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many often label the rich history of Richmond’s WWII-era days as the city’s long-ago “renaissance.” The population swelled with tens of thousands of shipyard workers—many of them African American—recruited from throughout the United States. Legendary blues clubs proliferated in North Richmond, and the downtown grew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for the members of the emerging hip-hop dance troupe R.O.O.T.S. (Rising Out of the System) The Movement, Richmond’s heyday isn’t resigned to the history books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s beauty within present-day Richmond, R.O.O.T.S. The Movement dancer Deontae Watkins says—a beauty that inspires his movements. “People who came from the South in the 1940s, they came with so much spunk to make these ships for the war,” says fellow dancer Kabreshiona Tiyteea La’Shae Smith. “That just fuels my fire to continue to go hard for our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>R.O.O.T.S. The Movement members, all born and raised in Richmond, came up through the RYSE Youth Center and the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, known as “The Center.” For the dance troupe, who perform a mixture of styles influenced by krumping, hip-hop moves, African dance and modern ballet, their approach to collaborative choreography is crucial to their mission. “We like to see everyone shine and grow at the same time,” says Aziza Thomas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now many of them are teaching classes at those same spaces. “I have the opportunity to teach how you can use art as a way to transform negative influences or emotions into a positive and beautiful thing,” says Watkins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watch Watkins, Smith and Thomas dance proudly in front of Point Richmond, along Macdonald Avenue and outside the RYSE Youth Center (where young artists created some of the music heard in this video). —\u003cem>text by Sarah Hotchkiss\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A Great Depression-era mural depicting George Washington as a slave owner and promoter of the United States’ genocidal westward expansion is the latest public artwork to draw controversy in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em>, a 13-panel fresco by Russian-born painter Victor Arnautoff, has greeted visitors to the lobby of George Washington High School in the Outer Richmond district since 1936. Now it’s complicating a nationwide referendum on public monuments to past exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two panels of the Works Progress Administration-funded mural are primarily at issue: One shows Washington among his slaves at Mount Vernon, while in another, the country’s first president directs white men with guns westward, over the body of an apparently slain Native American. Artaunoff, a committed communist, intended the artwork as a corrective rebuke to the United States’ origin story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opponents of the mural, including the school board president and students, say it offensively shows oppressed minorities in an undignified light. Their criticism echoes activists’ \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">successful call\u003c/a> last year to remove “Early Days,” a statue depicting a Native American kneeling beneath a Spanish colonizer, from the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> sculptural group near San Francisco City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But supporters of the mural, including the George Washington High School Alumni Association and art scholars and critics, argue that \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> clearly critiques, instead of glorifies, colonization and racism. Arnautoff’s “daring murals,” \u003ca href=\"https://livingnewdeal.org/new-deal-murals-spur-controversy/\">wrote\u003c/a> New Deal scholar Gray Brechin, “depict the father of our country as also being the father of a genocide later claimed by the victors as Manifest Destiny.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brechin noted that Anton Refregier, another Russian-born leftist painter, received intense pushback for his relatively tame handling of similar themes in his Rincon Annex Post Office mural. \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> is “so contrary to the national mythology of the time that I have often wondered how the artist got away with such criticism in a public place,” Brechin wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854564\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-800x321.jpg\" alt=\"A WPA-era mural by Victor Arnautoff depicting slave ownership and Native American genocide is part of a new controversy at George Washington High School in San Francisco.\" width=\"800\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-800x321.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-160x64.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-768x308.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A WPA-era mural by Victor Arnautoff depicting slave ownership and Native American genocide is part of a new controversy at George Washington High School in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(George Washington High School Alumni Association)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But some students at George Washington, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Offensive-or-important-Debate-flares-anew-over-13748800.php\">speaking\u003c/a> to the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>, criticized the imagery as unavoidable and distressing, regardless of the artist’s intentions. San Francisco Board of Education President Stevon Cook has asked the superintendent to determine the cost of removing \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> by the end of the school year in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials have also proposed changing the name of George Washington High School. Last year the school board cited the two panels in its rejection of a proposal to pursue landmark status for the building. The board then convened an 11-person “Reflection and Action Panel,” which recommended painting over or otherwise removing the entire mural.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alumni association Vice President Lope Yap Jr., a Marin filmmaker and 1970 graduate, was a dissenting panelist. He said he sympathizes with students who have a “viscerally negative” reaction to the mural, but supports an alternative that obscures the disturbing panels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not trying to criticize anyone’s emotional pain,” he said. “Where we part is the recommendation to whitewash or permanently remove the murals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yap Jr. and the alumni association instead \u003ca href=\"https://sfrichmondreview.com/2019/03/29/george-washington-high-school-alumni-oppose-censoring-controversial-murals/\">propose\u003c/a> installing screening over the two panels “to prevent inadvertent viewing,” placing didactic plaques to clarify the artist’s intent, and complementing \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> with new, prominently installed murals positively depicting Native Americans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, the alumni association called \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> a “radical and critical” artwork. “There are many New Deal murals depicting the founding of our country; very few even acknowledge slavery or the Native genocide. The Arnautoff murals should be preserved for their artistic, historical, and educational value.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em>‘s depiction of black people as slaves has long been controversial. In the 1960s, students pressured the school district to commission new murals by the black painter Dewey Crumpler; his \u003cem>Multi-Ethnic Heritage: Black, Asian, Native/Latin American\u003c/em> works, completed in 1974, show empowered minority figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arnautoff, who studied under Diego Rivera, also contributed artwork to the lobby of Coit Tower and several post offices in California. He was a Stanford University art professor from 1938-1962. In 1955, the House Un-American Activities Committee unsuccessfully sought to oust him from the teaching post because of his communist political beliefs.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A Great Depression-era mural depicting George Washington as a slave owner and promoter of the United States’ genocidal westward expansion is the latest public artwork to draw controversy in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em>, a 13-panel fresco by Russian-born painter Victor Arnautoff, has greeted visitors to the lobby of George Washington High School in the Outer Richmond district since 1936. Now it’s complicating a nationwide referendum on public monuments to past exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two panels of the Works Progress Administration-funded mural are primarily at issue: One shows Washington among his slaves at Mount Vernon, while in another, the country’s first president directs white men with guns westward, over the body of an apparently slain Native American. Artaunoff, a committed communist, intended the artwork as a corrective rebuke to the United States’ origin story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opponents of the mural, including the school board president and students, say it offensively shows oppressed minorities in an undignified light. Their criticism echoes activists’ \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">successful call\u003c/a> last year to remove “Early Days,” a statue depicting a Native American kneeling beneath a Spanish colonizer, from the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> sculptural group near San Francisco City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But supporters of the mural, including the George Washington High School Alumni Association and art scholars and critics, argue that \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> clearly critiques, instead of glorifies, colonization and racism. Arnautoff’s “daring murals,” \u003ca href=\"https://livingnewdeal.org/new-deal-murals-spur-controversy/\">wrote\u003c/a> New Deal scholar Gray Brechin, “depict the father of our country as also being the father of a genocide later claimed by the victors as Manifest Destiny.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brechin noted that Anton Refregier, another Russian-born leftist painter, received intense pushback for his relatively tame handling of similar themes in his Rincon Annex Post Office mural. \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> is “so contrary to the national mythology of the time that I have often wondered how the artist got away with such criticism in a public place,” Brechin wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854564\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-800x321.jpg\" alt=\"A WPA-era mural by Victor Arnautoff depicting slave ownership and Native American genocide is part of a new controversy at George Washington High School in San Francisco.\" width=\"800\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-800x321.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-160x64.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1-768x308.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/gwhs-mural-1.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A WPA-era mural by Victor Arnautoff depicting slave ownership and Native American genocide is part of a new controversy at George Washington High School in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(George Washington High School Alumni Association)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But some students at George Washington, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Offensive-or-important-Debate-flares-anew-over-13748800.php\">speaking\u003c/a> to the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>, criticized the imagery as unavoidable and distressing, regardless of the artist’s intentions. San Francisco Board of Education President Stevon Cook has asked the superintendent to determine the cost of removing \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> by the end of the school year in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials have also proposed changing the name of George Washington High School. Last year the school board cited the two panels in its rejection of a proposal to pursue landmark status for the building. The board then convened an 11-person “Reflection and Action Panel,” which recommended painting over or otherwise removing the entire mural.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alumni association Vice President Lope Yap Jr., a Marin filmmaker and 1970 graduate, was a dissenting panelist. He said he sympathizes with students who have a “viscerally negative” reaction to the mural, but supports an alternative that obscures the disturbing panels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not trying to criticize anyone’s emotional pain,” he said. “Where we part is the recommendation to whitewash or permanently remove the murals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yap Jr. and the alumni association instead \u003ca href=\"https://sfrichmondreview.com/2019/03/29/george-washington-high-school-alumni-oppose-censoring-controversial-murals/\">propose\u003c/a> installing screening over the two panels “to prevent inadvertent viewing,” placing didactic plaques to clarify the artist’s intent, and complementing \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> with new, prominently installed murals positively depicting Native Americans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, the alumni association called \u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em> a “radical and critical” artwork. “There are many New Deal murals depicting the founding of our country; very few even acknowledge slavery or the Native genocide. The Arnautoff murals should be preserved for their artistic, historical, and educational value.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Life of Washington\u003c/em>‘s depiction of black people as slaves has long been controversial. In the 1960s, students pressured the school district to commission new murals by the black painter Dewey Crumpler; his \u003cem>Multi-Ethnic Heritage: Black, Asian, Native/Latin American\u003c/em> works, completed in 1974, show empowered minority figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arnautoff, who studied under Diego Rivera, also contributed artwork to the lobby of Coit Tower and several post offices in California. He was a Stanford University art professor from 1938-1962. In 1955, the House Un-American Activities Committee unsuccessfully sought to oust him from the teaching post because of his communist political beliefs.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Do You Know the Way to San Jose's Chicano Murals?",
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"content": "\u003cp>A few weeks ago, news broke about Bay Area artist Jose Meza Velasquez \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/05/mysterious-removal-of-historic-san-jose-mural-sparks-5-million-lawsuit/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filing a $5 million lawsuit\u003c/a> after a real estate developer painted over his historic \u003cem>Mural de la Raza\u003c/em> in San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by and large, Chicano mural art is still thriving in the South Bay—and worth a sightseeing tour on your preferred set of wheels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Mural de la Raza\u003c/em> was not the only mural to pay homage to Chicano culture, but it was up for more than 30 years; one of a shrinking number of murals to last that long. Murals, and especially Chicano murals, function as a form of visual history for the neighborhoods in which they sit. That helps to explain the outrage when Velasquez’s work disappeared under a coat of gray paint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked a few people in the know where to spot some of San Jose’s most impressive older murals. Jose Manuel Valle of \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleydebug.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Silicon Valley De-Bug\u003c/a> was more than happy to oblige with a list. He’s a key figure behind El Emergency Comité for the Preservation of Chicano Arts, which sponsored an \u003ca href=\"https://www.change.org/p/restore-mural-de-la-raza-in-san-jose\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">online petition in support of Velasquez\u003c/a> that’s garnered more than 2,900 signatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the most important thing is to build public interest,” Valle says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845893\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of "Mural de la Raza' by Jose Meza Velasquez, Frank Torres and a local youth group. At the time, the building was a Payless Shoes store. Ahead of a recent sale of the property, a developer painted the mural over with gray paint. Velasquez is now suing.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detail of “Mural de la Raza’ by Jose Meza Velasquez, Frank Torres and a local youth group. At the time, the building was a Payless Shoes store. Ahead of a recent sale of the property, a developer painted the mural over with gray paint. Velasquez is now suing. \u003ccite>(Photo: Courtesy of Jose Manuel Valle)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Murals are delicate artworks, vulnerable to oblivious landlords, paint-bleaching sunshine and teenage taggers. So grab your camera and start photographing community treasures like \u003ci>La Medicina y La Comunidad\u003c/i>, by Gustavo Bernal, on the front of the \u003ca href=\"https://gardnerfamilyhealth.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gardner Health Center\u003c/a> on East Virginia Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health care providers are depicted alongside Aztec and Roman Catholic icons, making doctors look like the modern-day heroes they are. \u003ci>La Medicina \u003c/i>no doubt benefits from its position above street level. (It was also retouched in 2009 by San Jose artist \u003ca href=\"http://www.pauljgonzalezartstudios.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paul J. Gonzalez\u003c/a>.) Valle notes that Bernal also painted a mural on the side of Miller Elementary that’s no longer there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Juan Carlos Araujo was a kid growing up in San Jose when he visited this health center with his mother. Back then, he didn’t know much about the artwork he passed by, but something must have stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845896\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845896\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt='\"La Medicina y La Comunidad Mural\" (1990) by Gustavo Bernal, on the Gardner Health Center off of 5th and East Virginia in San Jose.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘La Medicina y La Comunidad Mural’ (1990) by Gustavo Bernal, on the Gardner Health Center off of 5th and East Virginia in San Jose. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Today, the 36 year-old runs \u003ca href=\"https://www.empiresevenstudios.com/about-e7s-empiresevenstudios-japantown-sanjose/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Empire Seven Studios\u003c/a> along with Jennifer Ahn, helping to put up new murals by modern artists reflecting San Jose’s past, present and future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Like life itself, [murals don’t] last forever. What is important is to leave some knowledge, some history behind. You know, it’s generational,” Araujo says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next on the tour is \u003ca href=\"https://www.olgparishsj.org/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Our Lady of Guadalupe Church\u003c/a> in East San Jose. Cesar Chavez attended services here, and started organizing farmworkers. McDonnell Hall, in the back of the church, is now a National Historic Landmark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technically, the church’s art isn’t a mural but a mosaic, a triptych traveling through time from the Aztecs to the 1960s. There are lots of clever touches: a toothy Quetzalcoatl on the bottom left corner, the two contrasting suns in the top corners, the labor union signs on the bottom right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katherine Oppenheimer of Sunnyvale originally created the mosaic in 1967, along with two fellow artist friends, for a planned Chicano community center that never came to be. Oppenheimer passed on about five years ago, but her son David Oppenheimer says she was “deeply inspired by the civil rights movement,” and meant the mosaic to celebrate how that movement freed so many people from colonial (and also religious) oppression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845897\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845897\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-800x600.jpg\" alt=\""Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe" by Katherine M. Oppenheimer, Marie G. Hutton, and Lois C. Cronemiller. The mosaic is visible from the street but you'll want to walk on to the campus of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose to get a closer look.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe’ by Katherine Oppenheimer, Marie Hutton, and Lois Cronemiller. The mosaic is visible from the street, but you’ll want to walk on to the campus of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose to get a closer look. \u003ccite>(Photo: Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He points out that we see a man bowing down in the left, a couple on their knees in the middle, and marchers “for the first time, standing on their feet” on the right. Ironically, a church became the caretaker for the piece after the community center fell through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s tradition. It’s heritage. It’s really our teachings, outside of English textbooks,” Araujo says, adding this mosaic is blessed to be on this church campus, because that means it’s not under the kind of threat those on commercial properties face. Take the mural that used to grace the Cal Foods store in the Five Wounds neighborhood: after gang members defaced large parts of it with graffiti, the property owner painted over those sections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Araujo used to come to Cal Foods for the cheese burritos. “I’ve known the property owner for some time. She’s been here for over 25 years. At some point, she’s going to retire. Who am I to tell her ‘no’? So this will be another mural that will be gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Murals are often intended to beautify the streets and alleys they’re chosen for. They may not erase the sight of homeless encampments, or empty parking lots, or other signs of urban decay. But their splashes of color and intricate storytelling brightens the neighborhood, shouting out to pedestrians passing by to stop, look and learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845898\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845898\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-800x1068.jpg\" alt=\"What's left of a larger mural that included the Virgen de Guadalupe by an unknown artist on the wall of Cal Foods Tienda y Carniceria in the Five Wounds neighborhood of San Jose.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1068\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-800x1068.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-768x1025.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-1020x1362.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-899x1200.jpg 899w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut.jpg 1534w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Part of what’s left of a larger mural that included the Virgen de Guadalupe, by an unknown artist on the wall of Cal Foods Tienda y Carniceria in the Five Wounds neighborhood of San Jose. \u003ccite>(Photo: Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While much of the iconography in Chicano murals is familiar to anyone who grew up in California, there are personal touches from the artists, who often work as a team, sometimes including young people on court order to do community service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those kids might not be up on Spanish colonialism, or the Valley of Heart’s Delight, or the early days of Silicon Valley, but murals like the one Opski Chan painted on an old IBM building near Roosevelt Park in San Jose give a nod to all of that history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chan pulled some of his imagery and fonts from the packing boxes of the fruit orchards that once filled the Santa Clara Valley. “It’s a lot like graffiti, but used in a different way,” says Araujo, who grew up doing graffiti himself before he turned to art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-800x379.jpg\" alt=\"Mural by Opski Chan on the wall of what used to be an IBM building near the corner of St. John and 16th in San Jose.\" width=\"800\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-800x379.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-160x76.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-768x363.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-1020x483.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-960x454.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-240x114.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-375x177.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-520x246.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mural by Opski Chan on the wall of what used to be an IBM building near the corner of St. John and 16th in San Jose. \u003ccite>(Photo: Courtesy of Empire Seven Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That sensibility is evident in many of the murals Empire Seven collaborates on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Here & There\u003c/em> by Sam Rodriguez, in San Jose’s Japantown, mashes together bits from multiple visual languages. A lotus flower floats in the same scene with Mexican bread and images from the video game Pac-Man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is San Jose’s culture, Araujo says. It’s where Rodriguez comes from. It’s where we come from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve lost a lot of murals,” Araujo says, but new murals are going up, too. “It’s hard to erase people’s culture. Our culture is rooted deep here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845942\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845942\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of "Here & There" by Sam Rodriguez in San Jose's Japantown. The more you look, the more you see, like the letters "S" and "J" in Olde English font on either side of his daughter's face. You know: SJ, for San Jose.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detail of ‘Here & There’ by Sam Rodriguez in San Jose’s Japantown. Note the letters “S” and “J” in Olde English font on either side of his daughter’s face, for San Jose. \u003ccite>(Photo: Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Want to go on your own Chicano mural walking tour in San Jose? In collaboration with Empire Seven, software engineer \u003ca href=\"https://www.yanyinchoy.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yan-Yin Choy\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"https://www.codeforsanjose.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Code for San Jose\u003c/a> developed \u003ca href=\"http://www.codeforsanjose.com/heartofthevalley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Heart of the Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, an open-source map of murals and other public art in the South Bay. \u003ca href=\"http://www.codeforsanjose.com/heartofthevalley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Check it out here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A few weeks ago, news broke about Bay Area artist Jose Meza Velasquez \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/05/mysterious-removal-of-historic-san-jose-mural-sparks-5-million-lawsuit/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filing a $5 million lawsuit\u003c/a> after a real estate developer painted over his historic \u003cem>Mural de la Raza\u003c/em> in San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by and large, Chicano mural art is still thriving in the South Bay—and worth a sightseeing tour on your preferred set of wheels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Mural de la Raza\u003c/em> was not the only mural to pay homage to Chicano culture, but it was up for more than 30 years; one of a shrinking number of murals to last that long. Murals, and especially Chicano murals, function as a form of visual history for the neighborhoods in which they sit. That helps to explain the outrage when Velasquez’s work disappeared under a coat of gray paint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked a few people in the know where to spot some of San Jose’s most impressive older murals. Jose Manuel Valle of \u003ca href=\"https://www.siliconvalleydebug.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Silicon Valley De-Bug\u003c/a> was more than happy to oblige with a list. He’s a key figure behind El Emergency Comité for the Preservation of Chicano Arts, which sponsored an \u003ca href=\"https://www.change.org/p/restore-mural-de-la-raza-in-san-jose\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">online petition in support of Velasquez\u003c/a> that’s garnered more than 2,900 signatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the most important thing is to build public interest,” Valle says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845893\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of "Mural de la Raza' by Jose Meza Velasquez, Frank Torres and a local youth group. At the time, the building was a Payless Shoes store. Ahead of a recent sale of the property, a developer painted the mural over with gray paint. Velasquez is now suing.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34242_dEBsesIhcbhuqUG-800x450-noPad-qut-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detail of “Mural de la Raza’ by Jose Meza Velasquez, Frank Torres and a local youth group. At the time, the building was a Payless Shoes store. Ahead of a recent sale of the property, a developer painted the mural over with gray paint. Velasquez is now suing. \u003ccite>(Photo: Courtesy of Jose Manuel Valle)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Murals are delicate artworks, vulnerable to oblivious landlords, paint-bleaching sunshine and teenage taggers. So grab your camera and start photographing community treasures like \u003ci>La Medicina y La Comunidad\u003c/i>, by Gustavo Bernal, on the front of the \u003ca href=\"https://gardnerfamilyhealth.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gardner Health Center\u003c/a> on East Virginia Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health care providers are depicted alongside Aztec and Roman Catholic icons, making doctors look like the modern-day heroes they are. \u003ci>La Medicina \u003c/i>no doubt benefits from its position above street level. (It was also retouched in 2009 by San Jose artist \u003ca href=\"http://www.pauljgonzalezartstudios.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paul J. Gonzalez\u003c/a>.) Valle notes that Bernal also painted a mural on the side of Miller Elementary that’s no longer there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Juan Carlos Araujo was a kid growing up in San Jose when he visited this health center with his mother. Back then, he didn’t know much about the artwork he passed by, but something must have stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845896\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845896\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt='\"La Medicina y La Comunidad Mural\" (1990) by Gustavo Bernal, on the Gardner Health Center off of 5th and East Virginia in San Jose.' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34244_Photo-Nov-26-10-52-23-AM-qut-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘La Medicina y La Comunidad Mural’ (1990) by Gustavo Bernal, on the Gardner Health Center off of 5th and East Virginia in San Jose. \u003ccite>(Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Today, the 36 year-old runs \u003ca href=\"https://www.empiresevenstudios.com/about-e7s-empiresevenstudios-japantown-sanjose/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Empire Seven Studios\u003c/a> along with Jennifer Ahn, helping to put up new murals by modern artists reflecting San Jose’s past, present and future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Like life itself, [murals don’t] last forever. What is important is to leave some knowledge, some history behind. You know, it’s generational,” Araujo says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next on the tour is \u003ca href=\"https://www.olgparishsj.org/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Our Lady of Guadalupe Church\u003c/a> in East San Jose. Cesar Chavez attended services here, and started organizing farmworkers. McDonnell Hall, in the back of the church, is now a National Historic Landmark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technically, the church’s art isn’t a mural but a mosaic, a triptych traveling through time from the Aztecs to the 1960s. There are lots of clever touches: a toothy Quetzalcoatl on the bottom left corner, the two contrasting suns in the top corners, the labor union signs on the bottom right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katherine Oppenheimer of Sunnyvale originally created the mosaic in 1967, along with two fellow artist friends, for a planned Chicano community center that never came to be. Oppenheimer passed on about five years ago, but her son David Oppenheimer says she was “deeply inspired by the civil rights movement,” and meant the mosaic to celebrate how that movement freed so many people from colonial (and also religious) oppression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845897\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845897\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-800x600.jpg\" alt=\""Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe" by Katherine M. Oppenheimer, Marie G. Hutton, and Lois C. Cronemiller. The mosaic is visible from the street but you'll want to walk on to the campus of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose to get a closer look.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34246_Photo-Nov-26-11-16-23-AM-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe’ by Katherine Oppenheimer, Marie Hutton, and Lois Cronemiller. The mosaic is visible from the street, but you’ll want to walk on to the campus of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose to get a closer look. \u003ccite>(Photo: Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He points out that we see a man bowing down in the left, a couple on their knees in the middle, and marchers “for the first time, standing on their feet” on the right. Ironically, a church became the caretaker for the piece after the community center fell through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s tradition. It’s heritage. It’s really our teachings, outside of English textbooks,” Araujo says, adding this mosaic is blessed to be on this church campus, because that means it’s not under the kind of threat those on commercial properties face. Take the mural that used to grace the Cal Foods store in the Five Wounds neighborhood: after gang members defaced large parts of it with graffiti, the property owner painted over those sections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Araujo used to come to Cal Foods for the cheese burritos. “I’ve known the property owner for some time. She’s been here for over 25 years. At some point, she’s going to retire. Who am I to tell her ‘no’? So this will be another mural that will be gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Murals are often intended to beautify the streets and alleys they’re chosen for. They may not erase the sight of homeless encampments, or empty parking lots, or other signs of urban decay. But their splashes of color and intricate storytelling brightens the neighborhood, shouting out to pedestrians passing by to stop, look and learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845898\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845898\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-800x1068.jpg\" alt=\"What's left of a larger mural that included the Virgen de Guadalupe by an unknown artist on the wall of Cal Foods Tienda y Carniceria in the Five Wounds neighborhood of San Jose.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1068\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-800x1068.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-160x214.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-768x1025.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-1020x1362.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut-899x1200.jpg 899w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34247_Photo-Nov-26-11-39-35-AM-qut.jpg 1534w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Part of what’s left of a larger mural that included the Virgen de Guadalupe, by an unknown artist on the wall of Cal Foods Tienda y Carniceria in the Five Wounds neighborhood of San Jose. \u003ccite>(Photo: Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While much of the iconography in Chicano murals is familiar to anyone who grew up in California, there are personal touches from the artists, who often work as a team, sometimes including young people on court order to do community service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those kids might not be up on Spanish colonialism, or the Valley of Heart’s Delight, or the early days of Silicon Valley, but murals like the one Opski Chan painted on an old IBM building near Roosevelt Park in San Jose give a nod to all of that history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chan pulled some of his imagery and fonts from the packing boxes of the fruit orchards that once filled the Santa Clara Valley. “It’s a lot like graffiti, but used in a different way,” says Araujo, who grew up doing graffiti himself before he turned to art.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845901\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845901\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-800x379.jpg\" alt=\"Mural by Opski Chan on the wall of what used to be an IBM building near the corner of St. John and 16th in San Jose.\" width=\"800\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-800x379.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-160x76.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-768x363.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-1020x483.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-960x454.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-240x114.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-375x177.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003-520x246.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34243_IMG_9003.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mural by Opski Chan on the wall of what used to be an IBM building near the corner of St. John and 16th in San Jose. \u003ccite>(Photo: Courtesy of Empire Seven Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That sensibility is evident in many of the murals Empire Seven collaborates on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Here & There\u003c/em> by Sam Rodriguez, in San Jose’s Japantown, mashes together bits from multiple visual languages. A lotus flower floats in the same scene with Mexican bread and images from the video game Pac-Man.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is San Jose’s culture, Araujo says. It’s where Rodriguez comes from. It’s where we come from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve lost a lot of murals,” Araujo says, but new murals are going up, too. “It’s hard to erase people’s culture. Our culture is rooted deep here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13845942\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13845942\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of "Here & There" by Sam Rodriguez in San Jose's Japantown. The more you look, the more you see, like the letters "S" and "J" in Olde English font on either side of his daughter's face. You know: SJ, for San Jose.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/11/RS34249_Photo-Nov-26-12-35-21-PM-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detail of ‘Here & There’ by Sam Rodriguez in San Jose’s Japantown. Note the letters “S” and “J” in Olde English font on either side of his daughter’s face, for San Jose. \u003ccite>(Photo: Rachael Myrow/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Want to go on your own Chicano mural walking tour in San Jose? In collaboration with Empire Seven, software engineer \u003ca href=\"https://www.yanyinchoy.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yan-Yin Choy\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"https://www.codeforsanjose.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Code for San Jose\u003c/a> developed \u003ca href=\"http://www.codeforsanjose.com/heartofthevalley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Heart of the Valley\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, an open-source map of murals and other public art in the South Bay. \u003ca href=\"http://www.codeforsanjose.com/heartofthevalley\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Check it out here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "oakland-dots-new-mural-program-is-street-art-literally",
"title": "Oakland DOT's New Mural Program is Street Art—Literally",
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"headTitle": "Oakland DOT’s New Mural Program is Street Art—Literally | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>This summer, the Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) is bringing neighborhoods together to beautify their streets as part of a new program called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/dot/paint-the-town\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Paint The Town\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which began in May of this year, supplies permission and resources to artists who want to paint temporary murals on Oakland streets. The OakDOT started Paint the Town with the intention of giving local residents a sense of ownership in their neighborhoods, especially in under-resourced areas. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paint the Town is the first step in re-imagining what our streets are and what they can be,” OakDOT transportation planner Lily Brown said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13836047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead shot of a new mural in Oakland, at Herman and Ayala Streets.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13836047\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Overhead shot of a new mural in Oakland, at Herman and Ayala Streets. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Oakland DOT)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Paint The Town came about from the results of the city’s 2017 \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@Oakland/transforming-oaklands-streets-into-public-space-b6ecb3fe7304\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Request for Community Interest\u003c/a> survey. The 130 respondents said they wanted the city to use its resources to turn streets and crosswalks into works of art. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Transforming a busy street doesn’t always need complicated plans or millions of dollars. There is real potential for Oaklanders to create playful and artistic public spaces,” the OakDOT report stated. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a call for submissions last winter, the city approved 30 mural applications. Each winner receives a $300 gift card for paint, plus liability insurance for the street closure. For seven winners, the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation pays for all materials and even assists with day-of logistics. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 42 applications it received, the city focused on approving applications for projects in disadvantaged areas. For every one mural approved in a census tract with a low level of disadvantage, the city wanted two in high-to-medium disadvantaged areas. In the end, the city surpassed its intended 2-to-1 ratio, approving 27 projects in high-to-medium neighborhoods and three in areas of low disadvantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We exceeded the goal for advancing equity in this program,” Brown said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13836668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Students help paint a mural near the ASCEND School in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13836668\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students help paint a mural near the ASCEND School in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of OakDOT)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Paint The Town is currently in its pilot phase, but Brown says it’s proven to be quite successful. Local groups have painted \u003ca href=\"https://hoodline.com/2018/06/street-art-deal-oakland-dot-rolls-out-beautification-program\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">four murals since May\u003c/a>—the most recent a giant hummingbird on 25th Street, between Telegraph and Northgate Avenues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown says the mural events are much like block parties, with the bonus of providing “an activity where people have to work together to accomplish something.” She attended the first mural painting at Dashwood and Arthur in East Oakland, and said that the event was a joyous occasion where participants and visitors alike expressed pride in the resulting art work. “Some people even got out of their cars to take pictures,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the best part about Paint The Town: it’s something that seems really simple and relatively cheap but it has this huge, positive ripple effect,” Brown added. “A street doesn’t just have to be gray asphalt that cars are speeding through; it can be a canvas for people to showcase their neighborhood pride and their uniqueness. They can help foster a sense of ownership.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Oakland DOT's New Mural Program is Street Art—Literally | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This summer, the Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) is bringing neighborhoods together to beautify their streets as part of a new program called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/dot/paint-the-town\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Paint The Town\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which began in May of this year, supplies permission and resources to artists who want to paint temporary murals on Oakland streets. The OakDOT started Paint the Town with the intention of giving local residents a sense of ownership in their neighborhoods, especially in under-resourced areas. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paint the Town is the first step in re-imagining what our streets are and what they can be,” OakDOT transportation planner Lily Brown said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13836047\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead shot of a new mural in Oakland, at Herman and Ayala Streets.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13836047\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Oakland-Mural-PTT-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Overhead shot of a new mural in Oakland, at Herman and Ayala Streets. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Oakland DOT)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Paint The Town came about from the results of the city’s 2017 \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@Oakland/transforming-oaklands-streets-into-public-space-b6ecb3fe7304\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Request for Community Interest\u003c/a> survey. The 130 respondents said they wanted the city to use its resources to turn streets and crosswalks into works of art. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Transforming a busy street doesn’t always need complicated plans or millions of dollars. There is real potential for Oaklanders to create playful and artistic public spaces,” the OakDOT report stated. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a call for submissions last winter, the city approved 30 mural applications. Each winner receives a $300 gift card for paint, plus liability insurance for the street closure. For seven winners, the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation pays for all materials and even assists with day-of logistics. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the 42 applications it received, the city focused on approving applications for projects in disadvantaged areas. For every one mural approved in a census tract with a low level of disadvantage, the city wanted two in high-to-medium disadvantaged areas. In the end, the city surpassed its intended 2-to-1 ratio, approving 27 projects in high-to-medium neighborhoods and three in areas of low disadvantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We exceeded the goal for advancing equity in this program,” Brown said. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13836668\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Students help paint a mural near the ASCEND School in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13836668\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/PTS-ASCEND258-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students help paint a mural near the ASCEND School in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of OakDOT)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Paint The Town is currently in its pilot phase, but Brown says it’s proven to be quite successful. Local groups have painted \u003ca href=\"https://hoodline.com/2018/06/street-art-deal-oakland-dot-rolls-out-beautification-program\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">four murals since May\u003c/a>—the most recent a giant hummingbird on 25th Street, between Telegraph and Northgate Avenues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown says the mural events are much like block parties, with the bonus of providing “an activity where people have to work together to accomplish something.” She attended the first mural painting at Dashwood and Arthur in East Oakland, and said that the event was a joyous occasion where participants and visitors alike expressed pride in the resulting art work. “Some people even got out of their cars to take pictures,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the best part about Paint The Town: it’s something that seems really simple and relatively cheap but it has this huge, positive ripple effect,” Brown added. “A street doesn’t just have to be gray asphalt that cars are speeding through; it can be a canvas for people to showcase their neighborhood pride and their uniqueness. They can help foster a sense of ownership.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Father Making Art Into a Better Life for His Sons in East Oakland",
"headTitle": "A Father Making Art Into a Better Life for His Sons in East Oakland | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">J\u003c/span>amaica The Artist recently cut his long locs, so I hardly recognized him at Lake Merritt last Sunday. But he caught my attention as I overheard him discussing the ups and downs of being an artist in Oakland, as well as being a father; not just a father, but dad to six African American boys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I looked a little closer, I realized I’d taken photos of him painting a mural, dedicated to the late rap artist known as the Jacka, on MacArthur and 94th Avenue in deep East Oakland. I also had photos of him painting by the lake just over two years ago. I can’t recall where I first met him, but I knew him, or at least his name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I decided it was time I got to know his story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamaica’s real name is Brandon Ehieze, his last name attributed to his Nigerian lineage. A friend of his nicknamed him Baby Jamaica, because of the locs he had at the time. The name stuck. Now people know him as Jamaica The Artist, or simply Jamaica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And people \u003cem>know\u003c/em> him. He’s connected to a huge family of Bay Area based artists, maintaining a brotherhood-like bond with rappers like Shady Nate and working relationships with visual artists, like GATS. His networking ability and artistic skill means his work is featured all around town: on the old American Steel Building in West Oakland, on the walls of Complex Oakland on 14th and Broadway, or on the walls of Mistah Fab’s new Dope Era store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He works constantly. Sleeps rarely. And is a firm believer in the motto: “You have to go through it to get to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13835200\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13835200\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">J\u003c/span>amaica’s studio is in the back of East Oakland, somewhere between the Coliseum and the airport, in a maze of warehouses and office buildings. Inside of his two-room studio, there’s ample evidence of his artistry. A pair of freshly painted Nike Huaraches dry on the windowsill. The T-shirt press sits stopped in mid-operation. On the table lay painted Warriors shirts, made in celebration of the most recent championship. And amidst the paint supplies and colorful creations, there’s Jamaica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I walk in the studio, he’s deep in the art of cleaning, a self-proclaimed “clean freak”—something he probably picked up while incarcerated, he tells me. So we sit down in the second room of the studio—the cleaner side—for a little chat about art, entrepreneurship and being a father to six African American boys in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two box fans buzz in the background as I place my recorder on the lip of his weed-rolling tray, letting the tape roll as he does the same with his herb. Above his head is an abstract painting of Erykah Badu, which spans the length of the wall. The first thing he tells me is his fandom of Queen Badu, and how one time he almost fought a friend because they called Erykah a b-word that wasn’t Badu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second thing he tells me is the origin story of his artistic ability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first spark came when his mother’s friend, an Oakland fire captain, used to give Jamaica sketchbooks when he was elementary school aged, around the same time Jamaica used to hit hip-hop shows with his older brother and perform as a background dancer. His own creative impulse just needed to find the right canvas, is all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13835206\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13835206\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt.jpg\" alt=\"Jamaica the Artist painting at Lake Merritt.\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-240x159.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-375x249.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-520x345.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamaica the Artist painting at Lake Merritt. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I had some Bugle Boy jeans, and a yellow highlighter, I’ll never forget it,” says Jamaica. “I drew some shit on my pants, my mom saw that, and was like, ‘Boy, what the hell is wrong with you!?’” His mom properly punished him, and left him thinking, “I’m not drawing on anything else ever again in life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That lasted until one fateful night during the hyphy movement, when a group of his friends were about to perform, and needed some cool shirts made. He charged them $15 each, and created his business right then and there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The business, however, was short-lived. He was soon arrested for charges related to a robbery and kidnapping; the incident happened just months after his first son was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After his release from prison, he was searching for work when, sure enough, a friend pulled up needing another shirt made. He got to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now I’m tearin’ stuff up when it comes to walls, shoes, canvases, clothes. And it’s like, damn, I got my ass whooped for this, and now I’m getting paid for this,” says Jamaica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I ask the types of things he paints. “Shoes, shirts, walls, canvases, banners. Yeah, man, whatever you want, I’ll paint a car! Straight up, I’ll paint your house,” Jamaica says, rattling off the list without pausing for breath. “I’ve got to go finish my little cousin’s fireplace in a minute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13835201\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13835201\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">J\u003c/span>amaica literally sleeps in his studio, which may not seem attractive to most, but it’s something he’s happy to do. “I’ve slept in trap houses with roaches, and rats, and heroin bundles, and coke addicts sleeping next to me,” Jamaica told me. “I feel good to be in an art studio I built from the ground up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with support from his children’s mothers, his current girlfriend and his family, he manages to make sure his sons have more than he had as a child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I go back to the things that I didn’t like as a kid—did I even have the chance to say, ‘Daddy, I want them shoes?’” Jamaica reflects, noting that he grew up without his father. “It’s not like I get (my children) every pair of Jordans they want, but I make sure they have fresh clothes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He knows he’s not perfect. No parent is. Hell, no human is. With that in mind, his advice to his sons—Brandon Jr., Knowledge, Bomani, Sincere, Legend and another child due in September of this year—is almost perfection in verse:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Stop following what your friends think is cool. I thought certain shit was cool, but it wasn’t. You can’t even claim your name if you aren’t living your truth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamaica continues, his fatherhood showing. “We live in a world where being you isn’t cool until you’re getting money for it. I always tell my sons to be the best you you can be. And then get paid for it!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: Go through it to get to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pendarvis Harshaw is the author of ‘\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-og-harshaw-20170409-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OG Told Me\u003c/a>,’ a memoir about growing up in Oakland. Find him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ogpenn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">J\u003c/span>amaica The Artist recently cut his long locs, so I hardly recognized him at Lake Merritt last Sunday. But he caught my attention as I overheard him discussing the ups and downs of being an artist in Oakland, as well as being a father; not just a father, but dad to six African American boys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I looked a little closer, I realized I’d taken photos of him painting a mural, dedicated to the late rap artist known as the Jacka, on MacArthur and 94th Avenue in deep East Oakland. I also had photos of him painting by the lake just over two years ago. I can’t recall where I first met him, but I knew him, or at least his name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I decided it was time I got to know his story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamaica’s real name is Brandon Ehieze, his last name attributed to his Nigerian lineage. A friend of his nicknamed him Baby Jamaica, because of the locs he had at the time. The name stuck. Now people know him as Jamaica The Artist, or simply Jamaica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And people \u003cem>know\u003c/em> him. He’s connected to a huge family of Bay Area based artists, maintaining a brotherhood-like bond with rappers like Shady Nate and working relationships with visual artists, like GATS. His networking ability and artistic skill means his work is featured all around town: on the old American Steel Building in West Oakland, on the walls of Complex Oakland on 14th and Broadway, or on the walls of Mistah Fab’s new Dope Era store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He works constantly. Sleeps rarely. And is a firm believer in the motto: “You have to go through it to get to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13835200\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13835200\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica.Portrait-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">J\u003c/span>amaica’s studio is in the back of East Oakland, somewhere between the Coliseum and the airport, in a maze of warehouses and office buildings. Inside of his two-room studio, there’s ample evidence of his artistry. A pair of freshly painted Nike Huaraches dry on the windowsill. The T-shirt press sits stopped in mid-operation. On the table lay painted Warriors shirts, made in celebration of the most recent championship. And amidst the paint supplies and colorful creations, there’s Jamaica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I walk in the studio, he’s deep in the art of cleaning, a self-proclaimed “clean freak”—something he probably picked up while incarcerated, he tells me. So we sit down in the second room of the studio—the cleaner side—for a little chat about art, entrepreneurship and being a father to six African American boys in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two box fans buzz in the background as I place my recorder on the lip of his weed-rolling tray, letting the tape roll as he does the same with his herb. Above his head is an abstract painting of Erykah Badu, which spans the length of the wall. The first thing he tells me is his fandom of Queen Badu, and how one time he almost fought a friend because they called Erykah a b-word that wasn’t Badu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second thing he tells me is the origin story of his artistic ability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first spark came when his mother’s friend, an Oakland fire captain, used to give Jamaica sketchbooks when he was elementary school aged, around the same time Jamaica used to hit hip-hop shows with his older brother and perform as a background dancer. His own creative impulse just needed to find the right canvas, is all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13835206\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13835206\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt.jpg\" alt=\"Jamaica the Artist painting at Lake Merritt.\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-240x159.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-375x249.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/JamaicaLakeMerritt-520x345.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamaica the Artist painting at Lake Merritt. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I had some Bugle Boy jeans, and a yellow highlighter, I’ll never forget it,” says Jamaica. “I drew some shit on my pants, my mom saw that, and was like, ‘Boy, what the hell is wrong with you!?’” His mom properly punished him, and left him thinking, “I’m not drawing on anything else ever again in life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That lasted until one fateful night during the hyphy movement, when a group of his friends were about to perform, and needed some cool shirts made. He charged them $15 each, and created his business right then and there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The business, however, was short-lived. He was soon arrested for charges related to a robbery and kidnapping; the incident happened just months after his first son was born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After his release from prison, he was searching for work when, sure enough, a friend pulled up needing another shirt made. He got to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now I’m tearin’ stuff up when it comes to walls, shoes, canvases, clothes. And it’s like, damn, I got my ass whooped for this, and now I’m getting paid for this,” says Jamaica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I ask the types of things he paints. “Shoes, shirts, walls, canvases, banners. Yeah, man, whatever you want, I’ll paint a car! Straight up, I’ll paint your house,” Jamaica says, rattling off the list without pausing for breath. “I’ve got to go finish my little cousin’s fireplace in a minute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13835201\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13835201\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/Jamaica1-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamaica the Artist in his deep East Oakland studio. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">J\u003c/span>amaica literally sleeps in his studio, which may not seem attractive to most, but it’s something he’s happy to do. “I’ve slept in trap houses with roaches, and rats, and heroin bundles, and coke addicts sleeping next to me,” Jamaica told me. “I feel good to be in an art studio I built from the ground up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with support from his children’s mothers, his current girlfriend and his family, he manages to make sure his sons have more than he had as a child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I go back to the things that I didn’t like as a kid—did I even have the chance to say, ‘Daddy, I want them shoes?’” Jamaica reflects, noting that he grew up without his father. “It’s not like I get (my children) every pair of Jordans they want, but I make sure they have fresh clothes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He knows he’s not perfect. No parent is. Hell, no human is. With that in mind, his advice to his sons—Brandon Jr., Knowledge, Bomani, Sincere, Legend and another child due in September of this year—is almost perfection in verse:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Stop following what your friends think is cool. I thought certain shit was cool, but it wasn’t. You can’t even claim your name if you aren’t living your truth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamaica continues, his fatherhood showing. “We live in a world where being you isn’t cool until you’re getting money for it. I always tell my sons to be the best you you can be. And then get paid for it!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: Go through it to get to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pendarvis Harshaw is the author of ‘\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-og-harshaw-20170409-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OG Told Me\u003c/a>,’ a memoir about growing up in Oakland. Find him on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ogpenn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "nine-new-murals-to-see-in-oakland-this-summer",
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"content": "\u003cp>After last month’s \u003ca href=\"http://bamfestival.boomity.com/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oakland Mural Festival\u003c/a>, Oakland’s already-rich street art scene gained nine more stunning surfaces coated with public art. KQED Arts takes you on a tour to find out more about the artists and inspirations behind the murals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834332\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13834332 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Turfin” mural featuring the likeness of turf dancer No Noiz aka Noh Justice by Lower Bottoms Collective as part of Oakland Mural Festival 2018. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Turfin”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Martin Luther King Jr Way and Embarcadero West\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.creativeshields.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creative Shields\u003c/a> a.k.a. Lower Bottoms Collective\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High above the train tracks on MLK and Embarcadero West, a turf dancer moves across a glowing Oakland skyline. Rocks quake under the weight of his steps and as he slides his way over massive concrete slabs and takes his first step right out of the frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The mission of this was to represent authentic Oakland culture. We saw that possibility through turf dancing and showing that movement on the canvas,” explains James Shields, founder of Creative Shields and creator of the \u003ci>Hip Hop Coloring Book\u003c/i>. But why this mural, and why now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like we have been losing the true authenticity in Oakland by having so many people come in and take over our equity out here—our space,” says Timothy B., an artist born and raised in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The muse behind the mural is turf dancer Noh Justice (a.k.a. Nonoiz). When talking about his dance style, Noh Justice sums it up simply with what he calls “a hood ballet.” With turf dance, the creative process starts with anything around him: “Mainly our stories and our lives and things we don’t like to talk about.” It’s not the first mural he’s found himself starring in; he routinely (and proudly) points out another three Oakland walls to his kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rocks floating around the dancer capture the force of his moves. “It shows he’s making an impact,” says Timothy, referencing the Hindu god Shiva, who destroys and recreates the world around him. “To me, he’s dancing for change. He’s making an impact and destroying his surroundings to create change for a new way of being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow their work on Instagram: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/creativeshields/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@creativeshields\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/timothyb_art/\">@timothyb_art\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chuckinglights/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@chuckinglights\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berj.j.berj/\">@berj.j.berj\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834333\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834333\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-800x464.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-800x464.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-160x93.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-768x445.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-1020x591.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-960x556.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-240x139.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-375x217.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-520x301.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artists Jack and Alise Eastgate review their completed work ‘Warmer Waters’ on the final day of Oakland Mural Festival 2018. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Warmer Waters’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Martin Luther King Jr Way and 2nd\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.aliseeastgate.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alise\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"http://www.jackeastgate.com\"> Jack\u003c/a> Eastgate\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just blocks from the Jack London Inner Harbor, a little girl valiantly rides a whale moving westward. In \u003ci>Warmer Waters\u003c/i> (also known fondly as “Whale Rider”), artists Alise and Jack Eastgate play with movement across time and space. The whale reflects the presence of ancestors, while the little girl, adorned with symbols native to Fiji, stands between the present and future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And their work is timely. Just days before completion, news broke of a beached whale found in the Jack London estuary. The industrialization of the oceans and the waning rights of people to freely move across borders inspire the Oakland-based muralists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of things felt right about this wall,” says Alise. Located at 679 2nd Street, the two noted the serendipity of the address. 679 is the area code for Fiji, Jack’s birthplace, while the blooming magnolia tree just overhead brings a sense of nostalgia to Louisiana-born Alise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Alise & Jack Eastgate’s work on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/eastrandstudios/\">@eastrandstudios\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834334\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Know Your Ancestors’ by Mike “Bam” Tyau and Jesus Rodriguez overlooks Martin Luther King Way and 2nd Street near the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Know Your Ancestors’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Martin Luther King Jr Way and Embarcadero West\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://miketyau.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mike “Bam” Tyau\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.josedejesusrodriguez.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesus Rodriguez\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their latest collaboration, Mike “Bam” Tyau and Jesus Rodriguez pay vibrant homage to their roots. “Besides the Olmec and Chinese motifs as ancestral guardian totems, we painted these to remind people to go to their pillars of support during these trying times,” Mike wrote in an Instagram post at the end of the seven-day-long Oakland Mural Festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Foliage and mountains encompass two figures, references to the artists’ ancestral homelands. For Tyau, the leaves of the plants ground the composition with symbols pointing back to Mother Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Mike “Bam” Tyau and Jesus Rodriguez on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/miketyau/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@miketyau\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ease_us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@ease_us\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834338\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13834338 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New work ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ by Caleb Duarte coming soon to Broadway and 2nd Street. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Embassy Of The Refugee’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2nd and Broadway\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.calebduarte.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Caleb Duarte\u003c/a> and Youth from Embassy of the Refugee Project\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our ability to create myth in order to understand certain realities; is what we do,” Duarte wrote on Instagram, under the image of his latest work. “Those of us with no political or economic power, exiles or displaced working people, turn to the creation of the ‘embassy of the refugee’… as a form of exercising a magical realism in order to thrive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Straddling a busy street that connects some of Oakland’s homeless encampments with million-dollar condos, Duarte’s silhouette of a figure pushing a shopping cart posits a powerful statement on the pursuit of finding “home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Caleb Duarte on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/caleb_arte_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@caleb_arte_\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834339\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trust Your Struggle collective unveiled their newest collaboration ‘Oakland Dreams’ as part of Oakland Mural Festival 2018. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Oakland Dreams’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://trustyourstruggle.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trust Your Struggle Collective\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two hands rise, palms open, up a wall. For the artists of Trust Your Struggle Collective, they simultaneously signify the power to hold on to, and reach for, your dreams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most visually striking element of the collective’s mural are the two large words spanning the sun-soaked wall: “Oakland Dreams.” The second word pays homage to one of the founding members of the TDK (Those Damn Kids) aerosol collective, Mike “Dream” Francisco, who lost his life to gun violence in a senseless street robbery in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Images of flora and fauna run subtly throughout the mural. A lotus—a symbol often associated with transcendence—blooms from the sidewalk while a yellow hummingbird emerges from a red triangle glistening in the sun. Some interpretations of the hummingbird link back to the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli, a deity associated with the resurrection of a fallen warrior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Trust Your Struggle Collective on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trustyourstrugglecollective/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@TrustYourStruggleCollective\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/erinyoshi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@erinyoshi\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nisha.k.sethi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@Nisha.k.Sethi\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/misterbouncer/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@misterbouncer\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13834340 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This mural of a giant rooster and the symbol ‘Han’ by Dave Young Kim and Erik T Burke is imbued with the symbolism of resistance. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Han’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3rd and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.daveyoungkim.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dave Young Kim\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://eriktburke.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Erik Burke\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though this mural revolves around just three core elements—a way-larger-than-life rooster, a Chinese character and a “rising sun”—Dave Young Kim and Erik Burke’s newest work is anything but simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rooster traditionally symbolizes tenaciousness, never giving up,” Kim shared in an Instagram post. And in the composition, the rooster reigns supreme in spite of the Chinese symbol “恨,” pronounced “han” in Korean, that towers over its head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Kim, the symbol represents a feeling that being downtrodden could be both a burden and a source of empowerment. “It could crush you, or you could rise up and fight til the end,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fittingly, the mural also gives a nod to Jack London, the prolific author who spent most of his childhood frequenting the waterfront district that now bears his name. Instead of a sun, a circular frame depicts a lone figure in a snowy landscape, facing a radiant fire for warmth. It’s painted after a photograph Burke fixated on for a long time, inspired by a scene in London’s short story “To Build A Fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting on \u003ci>Han\u003c/i>, Kim says he found his “mural soulmate” when working with Burke. They had plenty of time to bond in the two-and-a-half days of long working hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Dave Young Kim and Erik Burke on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/daveyoungkim/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@daveyoungkim\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ou35/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@ou35\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834341\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A collaborative work between Los Pobres Artistas muralist collective and students of Oakland International High School present two words ‘Earth’ and ‘Sanctuary.’ \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Sanctuary Earth’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://lospobresartistas.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Pobres Artists\u003c/a> and students from Oakland International High School\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven students and members of Los Pobres Artistas focused their creative energies on distilling images from the global refugee crisis. Sprawled across the right and the left sides of the mural are two words in all caps “EARTH” and “SANCTUARY.” At the center, giant hands support a raft filled with female refugees. In the foreground, schools of orange fish rise and fall as if to guide the raft safely to shore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Los Pobres co-founder Thomas Jones, the mural stands for the idea that Earth can be a sanctuary for everybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow their work on Instagram \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lospobresartistas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@lospobresartistsas\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hooperarts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@hooperart\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kilimunoz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@kilimunoz\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/frederickoalvarado/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@frederickoalvarado\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thomasjones_m/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@thomasjones_m\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834342\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The unnamed work by Susan Green and Art Forces spans the back wall of SeaWolf Public House. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Unnamed\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://susangreene.org/art-forces/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Susan Greene and Art Forces\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spanning the rear wall of Seawolf Public House, catch a golden-hued scene in which Cheemah, the “Mother of the Spirit-Fire” descends onto the Port of Oakland atop a giant eagle. Locals might instantly recognize the figure from a bronze statue placed in Jack London Square. Originally sculpted by Osprey Orielle Lake, the mythic being stands for “cultural diversity, world unity and care for the earth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while the moment might look idyllic, a somewhat menacing clue stands out in the foreground. Two ships, halfway to shore, allude to the terrible reality of a colonized past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow them on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/artforces/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@artforces\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_attril/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@_attril\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/maxallbee/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@maxallbee\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/francolafresh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@francolafresh\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834343\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tribute to Oakland’s elders and youth in one sprawling work by David Burke and friends.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Love Letter To Oakland’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Oak\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.dburke.org/\">David Burke\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the photo-realistic \u003ci>A Love Letter to Oakland\u003c/i>, Burke and his collaborators bridge two generations. On the left, two Oakland artists, Tureeda Mikell and James Gayles, reach out across the downtown Oakland skyline toward two emerging local heroes — well-known muralist DJ Agana and youth activist Samuel Getachew. Between them, a glow lights their faces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A satellite view of Oakland streets extends across the concrete canvas like roots—an enduring symbol of the city. In an interview with the \u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em>, Burke calls out the importance of the festival that allowed for his most recent collaboration: “[The mural] becomes part of their collective experience,” Burke said, “and must reflect the stories, the diversity, the values and the histories of that community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow David Burke and his collaborators on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/davidburke_studio/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@DavidBurke_Studio\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/joevicyeban/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@joevicyeban\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dorias_brannon/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@dorias_brannon\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blacksphinxofquartz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@blacksphinxofquartz\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>To make seeing these beautiful works easier, here’s a map to all the locations:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1RyJwtH-ua5rYKrDET0kKYSXgdfhyMUZ1\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Thanks to the Oakland Mural Fest, the Town now has even more public art to purview.",
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"title": "Nine New Murals To See in Oakland This Summer | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After last month’s \u003ca href=\"http://bamfestival.boomity.com/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oakland Mural Festival\u003c/a>, Oakland’s already-rich street art scene gained nine more stunning surfaces coated with public art. KQED Arts takes you on a tour to find out more about the artists and inspirations behind the murals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834332\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13834332 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-7.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Turfin” mural featuring the likeness of turf dancer No Noiz aka Noh Justice by Lower Bottoms Collective as part of Oakland Mural Festival 2018. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Turfin”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Martin Luther King Jr Way and Embarcadero West\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.creativeshields.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creative Shields\u003c/a> a.k.a. Lower Bottoms Collective\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High above the train tracks on MLK and Embarcadero West, a turf dancer moves across a glowing Oakland skyline. Rocks quake under the weight of his steps and as he slides his way over massive concrete slabs and takes his first step right out of the frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The mission of this was to represent authentic Oakland culture. We saw that possibility through turf dancing and showing that movement on the canvas,” explains James Shields, founder of Creative Shields and creator of the \u003ci>Hip Hop Coloring Book\u003c/i>. But why this mural, and why now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like we have been losing the true authenticity in Oakland by having so many people come in and take over our equity out here—our space,” says Timothy B., an artist born and raised in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The muse behind the mural is turf dancer Noh Justice (a.k.a. Nonoiz). When talking about his dance style, Noh Justice sums it up simply with what he calls “a hood ballet.” With turf dance, the creative process starts with anything around him: “Mainly our stories and our lives and things we don’t like to talk about.” It’s not the first mural he’s found himself starring in; he routinely (and proudly) points out another three Oakland walls to his kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rocks floating around the dancer capture the force of his moves. “It shows he’s making an impact,” says Timothy, referencing the Hindu god Shiva, who destroys and recreates the world around him. “To me, he’s dancing for change. He’s making an impact and destroying his surroundings to create change for a new way of being.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow their work on Instagram: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/creativeshields/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@creativeshields\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/timothyb_art/\">@timothyb_art\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chuckinglights/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@chuckinglights\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berj.j.berj/\">@berj.j.berj\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834333\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834333\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-800x464.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-800x464.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-160x93.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-768x445.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-1020x591.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-960x556.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-240x139.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-375x217.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4-520x301.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-4.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artists Jack and Alise Eastgate review their completed work ‘Warmer Waters’ on the final day of Oakland Mural Festival 2018. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Warmer Waters’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Martin Luther King Jr Way and 2nd\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.aliseeastgate.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alise\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"http://www.jackeastgate.com\"> Jack\u003c/a> Eastgate\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just blocks from the Jack London Inner Harbor, a little girl valiantly rides a whale moving westward. In \u003ci>Warmer Waters\u003c/i> (also known fondly as “Whale Rider”), artists Alise and Jack Eastgate play with movement across time and space. The whale reflects the presence of ancestors, while the little girl, adorned with symbols native to Fiji, stands between the present and future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And their work is timely. Just days before completion, news broke of a beached whale found in the Jack London estuary. The industrialization of the oceans and the waning rights of people to freely move across borders inspire the Oakland-based muralists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of things felt right about this wall,” says Alise. Located at 679 2nd Street, the two noted the serendipity of the address. 679 is the area code for Fiji, Jack’s birthplace, while the blooming magnolia tree just overhead brings a sense of nostalgia to Louisiana-born Alise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Alise & Jack Eastgate’s work on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/eastrandstudios/\">@eastrandstudios\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834334\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-6.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Know Your Ancestors’ by Mike “Bam” Tyau and Jesus Rodriguez overlooks Martin Luther King Way and 2nd Street near the Port of Oakland. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Know Your Ancestors’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Martin Luther King Jr Way and Embarcadero West\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://miketyau.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mike “Bam” Tyau\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.josedejesusrodriguez.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesus Rodriguez\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their latest collaboration, Mike “Bam” Tyau and Jesus Rodriguez pay vibrant homage to their roots. “Besides the Olmec and Chinese motifs as ancestral guardian totems, we painted these to remind people to go to their pillars of support during these trying times,” Mike wrote in an Instagram post at the end of the seven-day-long Oakland Mural Festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Foliage and mountains encompass two figures, references to the artists’ ancestral homelands. For Tyau, the leaves of the plants ground the composition with symbols pointing back to Mother Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Mike “Bam” Tyau and Jesus Rodriguez on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/miketyau/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@miketyau\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ease_us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@ease_us\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834338\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13834338 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-10.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New work ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ by Caleb Duarte coming soon to Broadway and 2nd Street. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Embassy Of The Refugee’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2nd and Broadway\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.calebduarte.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Caleb Duarte\u003c/a> and Youth from Embassy of the Refugee Project\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our ability to create myth in order to understand certain realities; is what we do,” Duarte wrote on Instagram, under the image of his latest work. “Those of us with no political or economic power, exiles or displaced working people, turn to the creation of the ‘embassy of the refugee’… as a form of exercising a magical realism in order to thrive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Straddling a busy street that connects some of Oakland’s homeless encampments with million-dollar condos, Duarte’s silhouette of a figure pushing a shopping cart posits a powerful statement on the pursuit of finding “home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Caleb Duarte on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/caleb_arte_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@caleb_arte_\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834339\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-5.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trust Your Struggle collective unveiled their newest collaboration ‘Oakland Dreams’ as part of Oakland Mural Festival 2018. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Oakland Dreams’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://trustyourstruggle.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trust Your Struggle Collective\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two hands rise, palms open, up a wall. For the artists of Trust Your Struggle Collective, they simultaneously signify the power to hold on to, and reach for, your dreams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most visually striking element of the collective’s mural are the two large words spanning the sun-soaked wall: “Oakland Dreams.” The second word pays homage to one of the founding members of the TDK (Those Damn Kids) aerosol collective, Mike “Dream” Francisco, who lost his life to gun violence in a senseless street robbery in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Images of flora and fauna run subtly throughout the mural. A lotus—a symbol often associated with transcendence—blooms from the sidewalk while a yellow hummingbird emerges from a red triangle glistening in the sun. Some interpretations of the hummingbird link back to the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli, a deity associated with the resurrection of a fallen warrior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Trust Your Struggle Collective on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trustyourstrugglecollective/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@TrustYourStruggleCollective\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/erinyoshi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@erinyoshi\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nisha.k.sethi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@Nisha.k.Sethi\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/misterbouncer/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@misterbouncer\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13834340 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-2.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This mural of a giant rooster and the symbol ‘Han’ by Dave Young Kim and Erik T Burke is imbued with the symbolism of resistance. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Han’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3rd and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.daveyoungkim.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dave Young Kim\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://eriktburke.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Erik Burke\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though this mural revolves around just three core elements—a way-larger-than-life rooster, a Chinese character and a “rising sun”—Dave Young Kim and Erik Burke’s newest work is anything but simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rooster traditionally symbolizes tenaciousness, never giving up,” Kim shared in an Instagram post. And in the composition, the rooster reigns supreme in spite of the Chinese symbol “恨,” pronounced “han” in Korean, that towers over its head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Kim, the symbol represents a feeling that being downtrodden could be both a burden and a source of empowerment. “It could crush you, or you could rise up and fight til the end,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fittingly, the mural also gives a nod to Jack London, the prolific author who spent most of his childhood frequenting the waterfront district that now bears his name. Instead of a sun, a circular frame depicts a lone figure in a snowy landscape, facing a radiant fire for warmth. It’s painted after a photograph Burke fixated on for a long time, inspired by a scene in London’s short story “To Build A Fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting on \u003ci>Han\u003c/i>, Kim says he found his “mural soulmate” when working with Burke. They had plenty of time to bond in the two-and-a-half days of long working hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow Dave Young Kim and Erik Burke on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/daveyoungkim/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@daveyoungkim\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ou35/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@ou35\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834341\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-3.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A collaborative work between Los Pobres Artistas muralist collective and students of Oakland International High School present two words ‘Earth’ and ‘Sanctuary.’ \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Sanctuary Earth’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://lospobresartistas.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Pobres Artists\u003c/a> and students from Oakland International High School\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven students and members of Los Pobres Artistas focused their creative energies on distilling images from the global refugee crisis. Sprawled across the right and the left sides of the mural are two words in all caps “EARTH” and “SANCTUARY.” At the center, giant hands support a raft filled with female refugees. In the foreground, schools of orange fish rise and fall as if to guide the raft safely to shore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Los Pobres co-founder Thomas Jones, the mural stands for the idea that Earth can be a sanctuary for everybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow their work on Instagram \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lospobresartistas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@lospobresartistsas\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hooperarts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@hooperart\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kilimunoz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@kilimunoz\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/frederickoalvarado/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@frederickoalvarado\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thomasjones_m/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@thomasjones_m\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834342\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-15.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The unnamed work by Susan Green and Art Forces spans the back wall of SeaWolf Public House. \u003ccite>(Lina Blanco / KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Unnamed\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Webster\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://susangreene.org/art-forces/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Susan Greene and Art Forces\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spanning the rear wall of Seawolf Public House, catch a golden-hued scene in which Cheemah, the “Mother of the Spirit-Fire” descends onto the Port of Oakland atop a giant eagle. Locals might instantly recognize the figure from a bronze statue placed in Jack London Square. Originally sculpted by Osprey Orielle Lake, the mythic being stands for “cultural diversity, world unity and care for the earth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while the moment might look idyllic, a somewhat menacing clue stands out in the foreground. Two ships, halfway to shore, allude to the terrible reality of a colonized past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow them on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/artforces/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@artforces\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_attril/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@_attril\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/maxallbee/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@maxallbee\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/francolafresh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@francolafresh\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13834343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13834343\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13-520x347.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/OakMural-13.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tribute to Oakland’s elders and youth in one sprawling work by David Burke and friends.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Love Letter To Oakland’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4th and Oak\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.dburke.org/\">David Burke\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the photo-realistic \u003ci>A Love Letter to Oakland\u003c/i>, Burke and his collaborators bridge two generations. On the left, two Oakland artists, Tureeda Mikell and James Gayles, reach out across the downtown Oakland skyline toward two emerging local heroes — well-known muralist DJ Agana and youth activist Samuel Getachew. Between them, a glow lights their faces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A satellite view of Oakland streets extends across the concrete canvas like roots—an enduring symbol of the city. In an interview with the \u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em>, Burke calls out the importance of the festival that allowed for his most recent collaboration: “[The mural] becomes part of their collective experience,” Burke said, “and must reflect the stories, the diversity, the values and the histories of that community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Follow David Burke and his collaborators on Instagram at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/davidburke_studio/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@DavidBurke_Studio\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/joevicyeban/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@joevicyeban\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dorias_brannon/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@dorias_brannon\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blacksphinxofquartz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@blacksphinxofquartz\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>To make seeing these beautiful works easier, here’s a map to all the locations:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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