accessible art

Oakland has a vibrant art community, and not just in the galleries. Living in the O pointed us to a recent show at the Awaken Café. East Bay Outtakes mentions a visual arts town hall meeting. The Oakbook has a huge run down of the month ahead in Oakland art. Oakland is home to the California College of the Arts (I still think of it as CCAC, but understand why they dropped the 'Crafts'), and the community learning center, Studio One.

Lately I've been looking at more accessible art, the kind you can walk or drive past. With all the sunshine we've been having (thankfully there was rain last night and more on the way today), colorful murals just pop off the walls. This one is near Edis' house in Fruitvale.

La Clínica mural

The Brothers market

Just up the street is this colorful market. While the artwork is crude, the bright color is awesome, and the Marinela truck with its Donald Duck-esque character reminds me of mission trips to Mexico. It's also great to see this building being used again. It was originally a gas station, but was sitting empty for a long time.

Oakland High School mural

I've watched the murals on the Park Blvd. side of Oakland High School continue to evolve over the years. While not as skillfully painted overall as the La Clínica mural, I love the variety and the spirit behind it. And some of the panels, like the unfinished one of the Dalai Lama, show some great promise.