Art

Mural movement continues at lunch initiative’s office

Grinning at his colleagues clustered nearby and draping one arm across the shoulders of executive director Amana Harris, artist Justin Metoyer-Mullon cut a red ribbon. The ribbon stretched across the opening to the courtyard of the Marcus Foster Education Center to the right of a large, bright mural depicting the center’s namesake.  “We’re really using our art to transform our environment,” said Metoyer-Mullon, gesturing to the space behind him.  The five murals contrast sharply with the fence to which they…

LGBTQ youth congregate to share poetry

In a brightly decorated room in the event space Oakstop, seven teenagers laugh with one another as they share anecdotes from the past week. A box of pizza balances on the table next to the entrance. The young people, ages 13 to 19, circle around an oblong table, some chatting, others writing or drawing in their notebooks. Colored pencils are scattered in a pile, like pick-up sticks, alongside a pencil bag with a Scrabble piece design. This group is attending…

Members, staff of East Oakland Youth Development Center celebrate opening of newly expanded facility

EOYDC serves students in East Oakland with free after-school programming. It was founded in 1973, officially opening in 1978. The existing facilities recently underwent renovation as well as the construction of over 6,000 square feet of additional space including an art and ceramics studio, an Apple Mac lab, a rooftop deck and an exercise studio where dance, yoga and martial arts classes are held.

At North Oakland hackerspace, enthusiasts tinker with microcontrollers

Ace Monster Toys, a North Oakland-based hackerspace, hosted its first-ever Arduino Night on Wednesday, as a handful of attendees had a chance to tinker with microcontrollers. Microcontrollers, which are small low power computers that don’t require a keyboard, mice or monitor to work, can be found in gadgets that control something as simple as a button that turns on a light or moves a toy robot.