Sponsored by Class Conscious Photographers, A Working Lens Exhibition, and Eastside Arts Alliance:

HOUSING!

An outdoor photo exhibit by Bay Area photographers
RECEPTION: FRIDAY, JULY 23

7 PM P.S.T

Fence at 1229 23rd Avenue (off International Blvd.), Oakland 
(Hopefully the exhibit will remain up for several months.)

Exhibit open from July 18, 2021
 

Featuring the works of: Andrés Alvarez, Brooke Anderson, David Bacon, Edward Ramirez, Eric Nomburg, Glenda Drew and Jesse Drew, John Novak, Luis Enrique Morales, Najib Joe Hakim, Ronald Orlando, Sharat Lin, Sloboda Dimitrov, Susana Barron, Tracy Perkins, and Yesica Prado.

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EastSide Arts Alliance and NAKA Dance Theater Present:

LAIR Jazz on Wheels / Fusion Band

SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2021

12 PM P.S.T

EastSide Garage Lot (23rd Ave at the corner of East 12th Street)

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Jazz on Wheels is a roving concert that will bring the magic of jazz to the neighborhoods of deep East Oakland.

Featuring: Elandis Brooks, Joshua Grayson, Jordan Davis, Ken Burton and Omi Bahari = Fusion Band.  

Jazz on Wheels will start at noon with stops at:
1. EastSide Garage Lot (23rd Ave at the corner of East 12th Street)
2. San Antonio Park (Foothill Blvd at the corner of 18th Ave.)
3. Fruitvale parking lot (Foothill Blvd and Fruitvale Ave.)
4. Taco Trucks Lot (International blvd and High Street)
 

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EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater and Búsqueda De Familiares "Regresando A Casa" A.C. Morelos, México present:

Acto de Memoria (Act of Memory) 

JULY- AUGUST, 2021

IN PERSON:: East 12th Street and 23rd Avenue

 

​Para Español, desplazarse hacia abajo

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Acto de Memoria  / Act of Memory

All events are free of charge!! Spanish <->English translation provided. 

 

Acto de Memoria  (July 2021) is a series of virtual talks, and an art installation that shines a light on the phenomena of forced disappearance in Mexico and how it intertwines with gun smuggling, sex trafficking and the drug market in the US. The focus of this series is a partnership with Regresando a Casa, a grassroots organization of women from Morelos, Mexico, whose family members have been forcibly disappeared. After realizing that Mexican government was doing very little to solve this problem, Regresando a Casa created a national network of mainly women to take the lead in the search for their loved ones. 

IN PERSON - July to August - Public Art Exhibition from Families of Regresando a Casa on the fences of EastSide Arts Alliance’s Garage Lot and on the windows of the EastSide Cultural Center. 

This exhibit is a collection of panels with embroidered text and images of family members who have been forcibly disappeared. These panels will be exhibited on the fence of the EastSide Garage Lot, at the corner of East 12th Street and 23rd Avenue in East Oakland and on the windows of the EastSide Cultural Center.

......

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Acto de Memoria (Julio 2021) es una serie de charlas virtuales y una instalación de arte que arroja luz sobre el fenómeno de la desaparición forzada en México y cómo esto se entrelaza con el contrabando de armas, el tráfico de tratas y el mercado de drogas en Estados Unidos. El enfoque de esta serie es una asociación con Regresando a Casa, una organización de base de mujeres de Morelos, México, cuyos familiares han sido desaparecidos por la fuerza. Luego de darse cuenta de que el gobierno mexicano ha hecho muy poco para resolver este fenómeno, Ellas han creado una red nacional de mujeres principalmente para tomar el liderazgo en el proceso de búsqueda de sus seres queridos.

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¡Todos los eventos son gratuitos! Se proporciona interpretación Español <—> Inglés.

EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater and Búsqueda De Familiares "Regresando A Casa" A.C. Morelos, México present:

Volverte a Ver (To See You Again) Film Screening

TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2021

6-8:30pm PST

Online Film Screening

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Para Español, desplazarse hacia abajo

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Volverte a Ver is a documentary film that tells the story of forced disappearance in Mexico through the specific story of mass graves discovered in the state of Morelos, Mexico in 2014. The story begins to shed light on a tragedy that is still shrouded in mystery today.

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Q&A with the director Carolina Corral Paredes and family members of Regresando a Casa.

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See trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOEBQO6Vmkk

 

Join us here
https://www.facebook.com/EastSideArtsAlliance/videos/...

 

This event is free of charge!! Spanish <->English translation provided. 

 

Volverte a Ver is part of Acto de Memoria (July 2021) a series of virtual talks, and an art installation that shades light to the phenomena of forced disappearance in Mexico and how this is intertwine with gun smuggling, sex trafficking and the drug market in the USA. The focus of this series is a partnership with Regresando a Casa, a grassroots organization of women from Morelos, Mexico, whose family members have been forcibly disappeared. After realizing that the Mexican governments have done very little to solve this phenomena, they have created a national network of mainly women to take leadership in the process of searching for their loved ones.

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Español

EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater y Búsqueda De Familiares "Regresando A Casa" A.C. Morelos, México presentan:

Volverte a Ver— película documental  
Martes, 13 de Julio, 6-8:30 p.m. PT

Después de la película, preguntas y respuestas con la directora Carolina Corral Paredes y Familiares de Regresando a Casa.

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Volverte a Ver es un documental que narra la historia de los otros Desaparecidos en México. Las fosas comunes, utilizadas de manera irregular, y descubiertas en el estado de Morelos, México desde 2014, arrojan luz sobre una práctica cuyas repercusiones son un misterio hasta el día de hoy.

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Ver avance 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOEBQO6Vmkk

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Enlace aquí
https://www.facebook.com/EastSideArtsAlliance/videos/...

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Volverte a Ver is parte de Acto de Memoria (Julio 2021) una serie de charlas virtuales y una instalación de arte que arroja luz sobre el fenómeno de la desaparición forzada en México y cómo esto se entrelaza con el contrabando de armas, el tráfico de tratas y el mercado de drogas en Estados Unidos. El enfoque de esta serie es una asociación con Regresando a Casa, una organización de base de mujeres de Morelos, México, cuyos familiares han sido desaparecidos por la fuerza. Luego de darse cuenta de que el gobierno mexicano ha hecho muy poco para resolver este fenómeno, Ellas han creado una red nacional de mujeres principalmente para tomar el liderazgo en el proceso de búsqueda de sus seres queridos.

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¡Todos los eventos son gratuitos! Se proporciona interpretación Español <—> Inglés.

EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater and Búsqueda De Familiares "Regresando A Casa" A.C. Morelos, México present:

Opening Reception for Acto de Memoria Exhibit

TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2021

6-7 PM PST

Facebook Live

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Para Español, desplazarse hacia abajo

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Families of Regresando A Casa Morelos. A virtual conversation with the collective and their upcoming actions and programs. 

 

Join us here
https://www.facebook.com/EastSideArtsAlliance/videos/...

 

This event is free of charge!! Spanish <->English translation provided. 

 

Acto de Memoria (July 2021) is a series of virtual talks, and an art installation that shades light to the phenomena of forced disappearance in Mexico and how this is intertwine with gun smuggling, sex trafficking and the drug market in the USA. The focus of this series is a partnership with Regresando a Casa, a grassroots organization of women from Morelos, Mexico, whose family members have been forcibly disappeared. After realizing that the Mexican governments have done very little to solve this phenomena, they have created a national network of mainly women to take leadership in the process of searching for their loved ones. 

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Español

EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater y Búsqueda De Familiares "Regresando A Casa" A.C. Morelos, México presentan:

Recepción de la exhibición Acto de Memoria
Martes, 20 de julio, de 6 a 7 pm hora del Pacífico -

Families de Regresando A Casa, Morelos. Una conversación virtual con el colectivo y sus próximas acciones y programas.

 

Enlace aquí
https://www.facebook.com/EastSideArtsAlliance/videos/...

 

Acto de Memoria (Julio 2021) es una serie de charlas virtuales y una instalación de arte que arroja luz sobre el fenómeno de la desaparición forzada en México y cómo esto se entrelaza con el contrabando de armas, el tráfico de tratas y el mercado de drogas en Estados Unidos. El enfoque de esta serie es una asociación con Regresando a Casa, una organización de base de mujeres de Morelos, México, cuyos familiares han sido desaparecidos por la fuerza. Luego de darse cuenta de que el gobierno mexicano ha hecho muy poco para resolver este fenómeno, Ellas han creado una red nacional de mujeres principalmente para tomar el liderazgo en el proceso de búsqueda de sus seres queridos.

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¡Todos los eventos son gratuitos! Se proporciona interpretación Español <—> Inglés.

EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater and Búsqueda De Familiares "Regresando A Casa" A.C. Morelos, México present:

BRIGADAS DE BÚSQUEDA/ Search Brigades in Mexico: Discussion

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2021

6-7PM PST

Facebook Live

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Para Español, desplazarse hacia abajo

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BRIGADAS DE BÚSQUEDA: En búsqueda de cuerpos, memoria, justicia y dignidad. 
 

A virtual discussion with key members of the “Brigadas de Busqueda,” (Search Brigades) who have become experts in the field as they search for their own family members.

 

Join us here
https://www.facebook.com/EastSideArtsAlliance/videos/...

 

This event is free of charge!! Spanish <->English translation provided. 

Brigadas de Busqueda is part of Acto de Memoria (July 2021) a series of virtual talks, and an art installation that shades light to the phenomena of forced disappearance in Mexico and how this is intertwine with gun smuggling, sex trafficking and the drug market in the USA. The focus of this series is a partnership with Regresando a Casa, a grassroots organization of women from Morelos, Mexico, whose family members have been forcibly disappeared. After realizing that the Mexican governments have done very little to solve this phenomena, they have created a national network of mainly women to take leadership in the process of searching for their loved ones. 

————
Español

EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater y Búsqueda De Familiares "Regresando A Casa" A.C. Morelos, México presentan:

Foro de discusión / Brigadas de búsqueda 

Martes, 27 de julio, de 6 a 7 pm PT 

BRIGADAS DE BÚSQUEDA: En búsqueda de cuerpos, memoria, justicia y dignidad.
Un debate virtual con miembros claves de las Brigadas de Búsqueda, estos se han convertido en expertos en el campo de búsqueda de sus familiares.

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Enlace aquí
https://www.facebook.com/EastSideArtsAlliance/videos/...

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¡¡Este evento es gratis!! Se proporciona traducción español <-> inglés.

EastSide Arts Alliance, Dnaga GirlProject Presents.

Practically Speaking: Life Prep, Skill Share, and Self Care Sessions

THROUGH THE MONTH OF AUGUST 

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Join us through the month of August for Practically Speaking! Our next GP session's aim is support all of our capable young folks in ways to navigate some of the more complicated parts of growing up. We will share tools for patience, Identifying toxic friendships/relationships/behaviors.

Keys to healthy friendships/relationships

how to save, and how to make a household budget.

Chime in and help us land on the dates and subjects that most interest you!

Center for Political Education, Bandung Books, and Third World Resistance network present

Writing the Third World with Vijay Prashad and Rhonda Ramiro

TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021

5 PM P.S.T

Online Webinar​

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Join Center for Political Education for a discussion of Vijay Prashad's new book, Washington Bullets.

Vijay will be in conversation with Rhonda Ramiro, Chairperson of BAYAN-USA.

This is the second event of CPE’s Writing the Third World series that puts scholars and movement leaders and organizers in conversation about a recent work of scholarship on internationalist struggles for liberation and self-determination.

Bios: 
Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian and journalist. Prashad is the author of thirty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. He is the Chief Correspondent for Globetrotter and a Columnist for Frontline (India). He is the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books (New Delhi). He has appeared in two films – Shadow World (2016) and Two Meetings (2017). 

Rhonda Ramiro is Chairperson with BAYAN-USA, a nationwide, multi-sectoral alliance of grassroots peoples’ organizations fighting for national and social liberation of the Philippines. BAYAN-USA serves as an information bureau for the national
democratic movement of the Philippines and as a center for educating, organizing, and mobilizing anti-imperialist and progressive Filipinos in the U.S. Rhonda served as Secretary General of BAYAN-USA from 2009-2012, Vice Chair 2012-2018, and now the Chairperson elected in BAYAN USA’s 6th Congress in 2018.

***Accessibility Information***
Spanish interpretation and English-language live captioning will be available.
This event is co-sponsored by the Third World Resistance network and Bandung Books.

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Bandung Books and Eastside Arts Alliance present

Black Panther Tales of Wakanda Anthology Authors

Jesse J. Holland, Editor | Sheree Renée Thomas |Glenn Paris | Milton Davis

SATURDAY, MAY 15, 2021

1PM P.S.T

Facebook Live

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Join Bandung Books and Eastside Arts Alliance on Facebook Live May 15th for a virtual author talk from writers of the newly released Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda Anthology!

 

We will be joined by Black Speculative Fiction authors Jesse J. Holland, Sheree René Thomas, Glenn Parris, and Milton Davis for a conversation on the newly released anthology. Copies of the anthology will be available for purchase at Bandung Books!

 

This author talk will be live streamed to Eastside Arts Alliance’s Facebook Page Saturday May 15th at 1pm.

 

JOIN FACEBOOK LIVE HERE

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EastSide Arts Alliance

The Youth Anti-Displacement Cohort Seeks Youth:

Help prep and run an Art & Healing community event

Application due Friday, APRIL 30, 2021

Zoom and the EastSide Garage on 23Ave

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The Youth Anti-Displacement Cohort needs your help!!
We are seeking 4 volunteers to help us prep and run an Art & Healing community event in our Oakland neighborhood. All volunteers will be stipend $150 after the event.

Volunteer Meeting Dates/Times:
1. May 7th, 2021 6pm - 7pm (Zoom)
2. May 15th, 2021 1pm - 3pm (In-person @ Eastside Garage)
3. May 21st, 2021 6pm - 7pm (Zoom)
4. May 28th, 2021 6pm - 7pm (Zoom)
5. May 29th, 2021 10am - 5pm (Day of the Event!)

Please note that we will be taking all needed precautions to stay safe during any in-person meetings (mandatory mask usage & social distancing). If there are any questions please let us know below.

We will share more information about our event and meetings, once our sign-up is closed on April 30th.

 

Get application here

 

 

EastSide Arts Alliance & NAKA Dance Theater present

LAIR Virtual: Weaving Past & Present – a ceremonial basket in mosaic tile. 

Linda Yamane & Susanne Takehara in conversation.

TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021

7 p.m. PDT

Facebook Live

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Join us on Facebook Live as the artists speak about the history of the ceremonial baskets and the creation of the mosaic.

 

 

STATEMENT FROM LINDA YAMANE, Ohlone Artist and Basketweaver
“In 2012, when I completed this Ohlone ceremonial basket — and another for the Oakland Museum of California — they were the first of their kind to be made in about 250 years. It was my joy and honor to bring their beauty back into the world again.
This basket speaks to the creativity and skill of Ohlone artisans of the past, who transformed sticks and roots, feathers and shells, into remarkable works of art. May this stunning mosaic by Susanne Takehara remind us of Oakland’s first peoples, their resourcefulness, and their thoughtful relationship with the land.”

 

Read more here

 

 

ONLINE EVENT

Artist Talk: Erina Alejo and Adrian L. Burrell

Related Exhibition Bay Area Walls

THURSDAY, Apr 22, 2021

4 p.m. PDT

Virtual

Free and open to the public.

Join SFMOMA in supporting artists Adrian L. Burrell and Erina Alejo. Log in for an online conversation with these two brilliant photographers whose photographs are shown together (Floor 3, through Sep 6) as part of the series Bay Area Walls. In these commissions, both artists respond to the storefront murals and signage that have appeared in San Francisco and Oakland during the pandemic. Alejo and Burrell will be in conversation with scholars Dr. Tiffany E. Barber and Kazumi Chin. 

This event is co-presented with Stanford University’s Institute for Diversity in the Arts, and in partnership with Kearny Street Workshop.

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About the Speakers 

Artist and researcher Erina Alejo, born and raised in San Francisco, works across time and place to construct archives on labor, displacement, family, and communal history. Alejo’s SFMOMA commission, My Ancestors Followed Me Here, explores the textures, cultural landmarks, objects, and people along San Francisco’s vibrant Mission Street before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Born and raised in Oakland, Adrian L. Burrell is a storyteller who uses photography, film, and site-specific installation to examine issues of race, class, gender, and intergenerational dynamics. His SFMOMA commission, It’s After the End of the World, Don’t You Know That Yet?, is a collective self-portrait that examines the normalized violence inflicted on Black lives in American society.  

 

Dr. Tiffany E. Barber (moderator) is a scholar, curator, and critic of visual art, new media, and performance of the Black diaspora, who has published widely on abstraction, Afrofuturism, Black feminist praxis, dance, and fashion. 

 

Kazumi Chin (moderator) is a poet, educator, and student of cultural studies at UC Davis. 

PHOTO: Erina Alejo (left); photo: Evelyn Anderson. Adrian L. Burrell (right); photo: Nikk La. 

EastSide Arts Alliance, Black Cultural Zone, Bandung Books, and Nomatic Press presents:

Outdoor Reading with the Poets of Patrice Lumumba: An Anthology of Writers on Black Liberation.

SUNDAY, APRIL 18

12:30 PM PST 

LIBERATION PARK, 7101 Foothill Blvd (Above Eastmont Mall)

FREE ADMISSION

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Community!Come out and show your support at Liberation Park and experience this free, Covid safe, outdoor reading with the Poets of Patrice Lumumba. Temperature taken upon entry.

EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater, and Amara T. Smith Present...

LAIR: back and FORTH / Jennifer Johns

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021

7PM PST 

Facebook Live

 

Jennifer Johns is a powerhouse, vocalist, songwriter, producer, activist, and entrepreneur who creates sounds, experiences, and products that are sure to stir your soul, inspire your mind and move your body.  
Ms. Johns has taken her brand of “afro-diasporic world music” all over the globe, rocking stages from Denver to Dusseldorf, Los Angeles to London, Kuala Lumpur to Kampala. Jennifer has shared line ups with some of the best in the business including the likes of Ms. Lauryn Hill, The Black Eyed Peas, Mos Def, Capelton, Ziggy Marley, Gil Scott Heron, Wyclef, Les Nubian, De La Soul, and Common to name just a few.  
Jennifer’s journey as a recording artist began in 2004 with the underground success of her first album, HeavyElectroMagneticSoularPoeticJungleHop. Songs like the title track “Heavy” with its accompanying artfully futuristic video, broke through the national and international underground soul and hip hop scene making Jennifer a notable force in her field.  
In 2008, Jennifer shifted her attention from the entertainment industry to leveraging her art for social movements. Immediately she began to find herself sharing stages with thought leaders like Reverend Dr. Michael Beckwith, Van Jones, Phaedra Ellis-Lampkins, Malkiya Cyril, Dr. Shawn Ginwright, and more. Her brand of soul-inspiring sounds has landed her gigs at The Kennedy Center, The Apollo, and on stage for both NFL World Bowl and The NFL Hall of Fame.  
Over the last 8 years, Jennifer has also become a Green For All Fellow, a BoldFood Fellow, Artist in Residence at Food First, the First Artist in Residence at Langston Hughes Center for Performing Arts Institute, and a Montalvo Performing Arts Guest Fellow.  
In February of 2016, Jennifer began a journey called The F.U.N. Manifesto to ask people about their ideas of freedom. What was meant to be a three-week trip became a 10-month odyssey that ultimately produced Jennifer’s first official release in nearly 10 years, AZANIA.  
While in most circles Jennifer is best known as a musician and activist, in the last 5 years since returning from Soth Africa, Jenn has explored more creative ways of being through performance installations and visual arts. In the summer of 2018, Jennifer presented Liv: A Ritual for Humanity at Montalvo’s Art on The Grounds where she simulated a citizen’s and ancestor’s arrest of a police officer. In the fall of 2019, she wrote poetry, story, and songs for reD:zONE a ritual and choreopoem. A stage performance on transmuting sexual trauma into the awareness of one's own divine power and joy. Produced by Kendra Barnes of K-Star Productions at Oakland’s historic Malonga Casquelourd Center. In the winter of 2020 Jenn presented Good Medicine at Zoo Labs, a series of images or "super -doodles", as Jenn likes to call them, accompanied by 3 songs produced by Kev Choice and vocals by Jenn. In the fall of 2020, Jenn collaborated again with Kendra Barnes and K Star Productions for a video installation featuring Movement by KKDE and music/story by Jenn under the working title Resilience in Joy. 
In the months to come, you will see more of Jenn's work through The F.U.N. Manifesto portal a place for Jenn's supporters to get to know one another. "After returning to cities year after year for shows, I began to realize that right in front of me was a little bit of everything a community needs to thrive- from bankers to teachers to developers to arts to students and though they lived in the same communities they didn't know one another. Music has the unique ability to bring diverse and sometimes divergent groups together in a way that when used well can change the world". Says Johns. Inspired by the ideals of groups like the Grateful Dead and Bob Marley, Jenn is building an online market

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EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater, and Amara T. Smith Present...

LAIR: back and FORTH / Zakiya Harris

TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021

7PM PST 

Facebook Live

 

Cultural architect and sh8peshifter

Zakiya Harris, affectionately known as Sh8peshifter, is a woman charting her own path in life. A Cultural Architect, she has over 2 decades of experience working at the intersections of Art, Education and Spiritual Entrepreneurship. Zakiya is the co-founder of nationally recognized projects Impact Hub Oakland, The Black Permaculture Network, Hack the Hood and a Culture Bank West Oakland Fellow. Currently, she serves as the Business Navigator for ArtsWeb, a decentralized community that connects community-based artists with business service providers. Zakiya is a published author and intuitive life coach on a mission to midwife purpose driven women from stagnation to activation through creativity and wellness. As a successful performance artist, she has released two EP’s and is also the company member of Ase Dance Theater Collective and House Full of Black Women. Awards and recognitions include the Ella Baker Center Future Leaders Award and YBCA 100. In 2019, she traveled to Osogbo, Nigeria where she became initiated as a priest of Oya in the West African Spiritual tradition of Isese. In her spare time, you can find her near a body of water, reading Octavia Butler, cooking with her 15 year old daughter.

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EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater, and Amara T. Smith Present...

LAIR: back and FORTH / brontë velez

TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2021 

7 PM PST 

Facebook Live

 

Transdisciplinary artist
brontë velez

brontë’s work and rest is guided by the call that “black wellness is the antithesis to state violence” (Mark Anthony Johnson). as a black-latinx transdisciplinary artist, designer, trickster, educator and wakeworker, their eco-social art praxis lives at the intersections of black feminist placemaking & prophetic community traditions, environmental justice, and death doulaship.

they embody this commitment of attending to black health/imagination, commemorative justice and hospicing systems of oppression through serving as creative director for Lead to Life design collective, educator for ancestral arts skills and nature-connection school Weaving Earth, and quotidian black queer lifemaking ever-committed to humor & liberation, ever-marked by grief at the distance made between us and all of life.

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EastSide Arts Alliance, NAKA Dance Theater, and Amara T. Smith Present...

LAIR: back and FORTH / Nicia De'Lovely

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021 at 7 PM PST

7PM PST 

Facebook Live

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Poetess/ARTivist

Oakland, CA native Nicia De'Lovely is an acclaimed published poet, creative, multifaceted artist, anti child-molestation/CSEC advocate, community servant and spirited survivor. She creates provocative survivor-based performances for education and healing of sexual traumas and other offenses committed against our marginalized populace under the production name, "Nicia De'Lovely Presents." In 2019 her provocative one-woman debut show, GET UNCOMFORTABLE, earned her a Best of the San Francisco Fringe Award. 

Since 2004 Nicia has sown compassion throughout the Bay Area by holding healing gatherings and reciting at women shelters, community centers, places of worship, grade school campuses and universities. As a former event coordinator for Sony Ent., she lends her skills to non-profit fundraisers, while continuing to host her own empowering community events throughout the year. Her once monthly Pad-bag Pop-up has become an anticipated event, where she invites community to join her in passing out toiletries to our displaced sisters.

In 2018, Nicia was called by her mentor Regina Evans to participate in a significant project designing a healing wall for Conjure and Mend, a safe haven for survivors and Abolitionists of CSEC, co-owned by Amara Tabor-Smith. The experience further nurtured Nicia’s enthusiasm for using multiple textures to create mesmerizing altars and backdrops. Since then, she has added textile artist and scenic designer to her portfolio, with work appearing in local premier productions.

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EastSide Arts Alliance Presents...

LAIR Virtual:You Are Beloved Mural Reception

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021

6:30-7:30 PM PST 

Facebook Live

 

EastSide community! Join us for a virtual reception on January 12th at 7 pm, honoring the latest mural "You are Beloved" painted by great local graffiteras and muralistas: Cece Carpio, Leslie Lopez, Priya Handa, Frankie Gámez, Angelica Lopez, Inbal Rubin, and Sarai. "You are Beloved," the mural, is part of The Project Sarai Mural and Beloved: An Insistence, led by Regina Evans and Amara Tabor Smith in collaboration with EastSide Arts Alliance.

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We believe that art can be healing and transformative when the intention is clear. The Project Sarai Mural and Beloved: An Insistence are part of an ongoing commitment by artists, spiritual warriors, activists and abolitionists working together to end the culture of misogyny, child abuse, sexual violence and rape in our communities; and repair our collective humanity.

EastSide Arts Alliance uses arts and culture as a way to build community power and self-determination. We have been serving our neighborhood for over 20 years. We now have a third generation coming to our cultural center. We are dedicated to building deep connections between and among working class & low-income communities of color, communities whose histories, stories and cultures are actively erased from mainstream narratives. Through year-round programming at our cultural center and other public spaces in East Oakland, EastSide provides an example of how progressive artwork and the growing traditions of cultural offerings offer a creative framework for community solidarity and inclusivity. 

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Mural photo: Mark Lilly; Mural detail photos: Joe Keefe 

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The HAVEN Project, East Side Arts Alliance and RyanNicole presents..

HAVEN Video Premiere: Bay Area Artists for Housing Justice

On Sunday, November 1st HAVEN premiered a special video project by Bay Area Artists for Housing Justice. 

Full Length Video To Come​

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Featuring: RyanNicole, Jenn Johns, Kev Choice, Daveed Diggs, Goapele, Fantastic Negrito, Ruby Ibarra, Destani Wolf, Karega Bailey, Chris Riggins, Rocky Rivera, Gina Madrid, Zumbi, Alan Dones, Don Reed, and more!

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HAVEN is a cultural media production and distribution initiative for housing justice aimed at local Bay Area voters.  It is a project of EastSide Arts Alliance conceived by artist-activist Ryan Austin (RyanNicole).

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HAVEN engages local artists, media makers, experts, and leaders in the field to share their perspectives, experiences and testimonies on housing justice.  Through the creation and distribution of social justice media, HAVEN invites members of a community to radically imagine more just neighborhoods and cities.

 

We know that traditional campaign messaging can shift voter behavior for short-term electoral wins.  HAVEN hopes to use cultural media from popular and trusted artists to shift voter values and sentiments towards long-term and comprehensive, equity and justice actions and voting. Our supposition is that if popular media propagates songs, shows, fashion, and art that asserts a “brothers/sisters keeper” message, it will lead to a cultural shift towards collective caretaking, encompassing fair and equitable housing, education, medical care, etc.

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For more info visit http://havenprojectoakland.com/

And don't forget

HOLLA BACK VIRTUAL HOLLABACK ON IG

@Eastsidecultural