Over 70 people gathered outside the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center near Lake Merritt Wednesday to celebrate the first anniversary of the creation of the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District — bringing a moment of joy to many who felt discouraged by last week’s election of Donald Trump as president. Last November, the city declared an official LGBTQ+ Cultural District in the heart of Oakland, between Grand Avenue and El Embarcadero to the south, Lakeshore Avenue to the east, and Boulevard Way…
In the middle of a downtown Oakland studio, two artists stand on opposite sides of a canvas with brushes at the ready. They have no prompt, only 20 minutes to paint something. Music blares as the minutes tick down. Zoë Boston and Bud Snow are first up, and dozens of people begin to orbit the artists as their brushes hit the canvas. They went through the drill, as did a host of other artists, to raise money for a local…