Culture
Two days before Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park in Fruitvale will hold a grand opening celebration of “Indigenous Voices” a park-wide exhibition that has transformed the site into an immersive experience of Ohlone history and its enduring artistic voices. The exhibition will bring together the work of more than 10 artists, including Ohlone culture bearers, to commemorate the revival of Ohlone history in the East Bay. The core is a 12-foot sculpture that represents SII, the Chochenyo…
Films by Oakland-based filmmakers or set in the city will be screened at the New Parkway Theater Sunday as part of Oakland Style Week, an annual festival organized by Visit Oakland. The showcase — “Oakland Made” — also will raise funds to support community events and screenings through Cinemama, a Bay Area film nonprofit. “Bringing more events, more workshops also puts us in the space where we can pay more creatives to lead more workshops,” said Niema Jordan, an Oakland-based documentary…
Oakland’s Fruitvale Transit Village Plaza has a new addition. Commissioned by Fruitvale’s Unity Council, a 34-foot-tall handmade La Catrina sculpture was erected this month, ahead of Día de Los Muertos celebrations in November. The satirical skeleton dates to early 20th century Mexico and is known as an “equalizer” of death that strips away social status and wealth. Standing before it, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee echoed the festival’s theme, which stresses the difficult years Latino immigrants have endured under the Trump…
“Circle of Light” director Amir Aziz was born in Iran the week the Iran-Iraq War began 1980 and immigrated to Canada with his family when he was 3 years old. He remembers the land of his ancestors portrayed through images of conflict and political turmoil. Even as a child, he understood that human connection wasn’t built through wartime policies, negotiated treaties or diplomatic embassies but in the way cultures have always found common ground, through art. Informed by that experience…
This story was co-published with The Oaklandside. Before it was a puppet show, “Hummingbird Saves Fire” was a memory. For Deja Gould, historical preservation officer and language keeper for the Lisjan Nation, it was a ritual of her childhood — falling asleep to her mother’s voice explaining how fire came into this world. She recalled her mother using different voices to distinguish each character, and how the detail was so vivid, it felt like she was really there. Now Gould…
On the first Friday of the month, Telegraph Avenue fills with the sounds of music, conversation and laughter as crowds move between rows of food stands, clothing vendors and live performances. The smell of grilled meat and fried foods wafts through the air, while children take turns dancing in the middle of the street, drawing cheers from a circle of onlookers. Nearby, vendors greet customers by name, while people stopped to browse colorful displays of Oakland-themed apparel, and handmade art…
Victoria Shartzer arrived for the annual White Elephant sale at 8:30 a.m. Saturday — but this wasn’t her first rodeo. For the last 15 years, Shartzer has lined up early outside the warehouse on Glascock Street. For the first time, she was at the front of it. “You come for the things you never knew you needed,” Shartzer said. “It’s the thrill of the search.” “Everything I’m wearing is second hand, except my underwear and my bra,” she continued, pointing…
Misty Rose sat in concentration, threading, measuring, and cutting as she re-soled an old pair of Chuck Taylor Converse by hand. She was transforming the worn-out sneakers, which her niece had nearly thrown into the trash, into something brand new with a leather toe cap and chunky Vibram sole. Rose is a leatherworker and designer in Oakland. Her business, MzzTrzz, specializes in locally based shoemaking material and tool distribution for home crafters and artists. Rose demonstrated her sneaker refurbishing, or…
Dozens of local queer leaders, community members and allies gathered at the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center on a rainy Thursday afternoon to celebrate the unveiling of the city’s first permanent rainbow crosswalk and the second anniversary of the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District. The crosswalk was installed on Lakeshore Avenue, outside the LGBTQ center, symbolizing Oakland’s commitment to LGBTQ inclusion and visibility, the center said in a news release. Instead of paint, it is made from thermoplastic materials to ensure durability…