Making a mark on Campbell Street
on December 9, 2016
A former grocery store and pizza spot turned community center is getting a fresh look thanks to the work of Refa One, a community artist. Refa started painting the sprawling seven-panel mural in October and hopes to finish by the end of the year.
The mural, located in West Oakland’s Lower Bottoms neighborhood, includes a mix of African and African-American imagery, symbolism and cityscapes, from Timbuktu to Oakland. Refa has been painting murals in Oakland for over 15 years.
Click on the button on the audio player below the photos to hear Refa and Batsch, a French artist, discuss the elements of the mural.
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- A full view of the mural in progress on 8th Street, between Campbell and Willow in West Oakland. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Refa and Batsch work together to mark chalk lines for a panel of the mural. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Refa, a local community artist, has been painting murals in Oakland for over 15 years. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Batsch and Refa look at the mock-up of what the mural will look like when it is finished. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Batsch, a French artist, met Refa during 2014 at Festigraf in Dakar, an international graffiti festival. He flew out to help Refa with the mural.
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- The beginnings of the panel that will feature Harriet Tubman. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Two young men walk by the mural on an afternoon in November. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Refa and Batsch work together on the mural in early November. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Batsch adds his flair to a series of triangles and squares above the kingdom of Timbuktu. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- A look at some of the key materials used to create the mural. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Batsch (bottom) goes to work on finishing the bottom layer of a scene from Timbuktu, as Refa (top) marks out a geometric pattern. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Batsch and Refa discuss which color to fill in between the rays of the sun. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- The monkey wrench (right), symbolized a resting and rejuvenation stop along the Underground Railroad. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- The face of a little girl is featured as one of the main panels of the mural. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Batsch adds the red background behind the little girl who, he says, is “looking forward into the future.” (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Refa has continued to work on the mural through November. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- A view of the mural’s progress as of November 21, 2016. (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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- Local artist Refa has been painting murals in Oakland for over 15 years. The little girl in this mural is “looking forward into the future.” (Ryan Lindsay/Oakland North)
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