(Oakland, CA) March 2, 2012: “It’s exciting to see the city come alive” Oakland resident Kait Singley said about Friday night’s
Art Murmur. “It’s exciting to see so much creativity coming out of everyone,” she said, pointing out how many parents brought their kids to the free art walk and seeing parents selling their art on the sidewalk with their children selling cupcakes.
Over a thousand people turned out to Oakland’s Art Murmur Friday night, March 2, and the attendees came from diverse backgrounds. There were young hip hop artists, dancers, street performers, and an interesting mix of students, Occupy Oakland folks, working professionals in suits, parents with their kids, can collectors, and hip grandmas.
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| Inside Hatch Gallery on 23rd Street |
Mizery, a hip hop artist from
Dope City Saints said “Ten blocks that way [
pointing to West Oakland] people don’t know what’s going on here. They’re not in tune to it. And 20 blocks that way [
pointing to East Oakland], people haven’t even heard of it. Most of the people here aren’t from Oakland, but it’s poppin’ tonight.”
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| Mizery from Dope City Saints |
I wasn’t able to independently confirm Mizery’s statement that most people weren’t from Oakland. Nearly everyone I spoke with said they lived in Oakland.
San Francisco resident Joe Sciarrillo whose photographs are featured in this post said that the grassroots nature of Art Murmur makes it different from the San Francisco art gallery openings he attends.
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| Steven Mendoza's paintings and photography for sale on Telegraph |
“In Oakland the art spreads throughout the area organically. It’s not just limited to the galleries, but it spills out onto the sidewalks and streets,” Sciarrillo said. Artists set up tables selling paintings, photography, buttons, silk screened posters, and clothing on the Telegraph Ave. sidewalk from
West Grand Ave. to 25th Street.
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| "Hella Occupy Oakland" posters drying after being silk screened on the Telegraph sidewalk |
On 23rd Street, there was just as much activity in the street as in the galleries. The street was blocked off and packed with food vendors and street performers. Around 8:30pm, I heard Brazilian samba music and loud drums rhythmically echoing down the street. I went over and found a Carnival flash mob of 50 dancers marching their way through the crowd of hundreds to the intersection of
23rd and Valley Streets.
A woman on stilts wearing a Carnival outfit and feathers led the dancers as the
SambaFunk! Carnaval Explosion drummers played for a half hour in the street.
People were smiling; some were confused seeing a Carnival parade at night in Oakland, but many joined in and danced to the drums.
After dancing and gallery hopping, I informally interviewed several people about their experiences with Art Murmur. A woman in her early 30s told me about how Art Murmur has grown since she first attended the open galleries five years ago. She said that back then it consisted of a “hipster/art school crowd with a ‘too cool for school’ type of vibe.” She said that it’s changed with the influx of families attending. She commented on how the Oakland do-it-yourself ethic is all over Art Murmur with people selling their handmade jewelry and homemade food at sidewalk stands to make some extra money to get by during the recession.
She keeps coming back to see the latest innovations by Oakland artists, referencing an exhibit of etchings laser-cut into birchwood. When I told her I was surprised at how many people showed up tonight when the temperature is in the 50s, she replied, “Wait until summer—if you thought March was poppin’, wait ‘til you see how it is in July.”
By Matt Werner. Joe Sciarrillo also contributed to this report. All photos are copyright © Joe Sciarrillo. See more photos from the March Art Murmur on Google+.
A version of this post is also cross-published on Oakland Local.
Over a thousand people turned out to Oakland’s Art Murmur Friday night, March 2, and the attendees came from diverse backgrounds. There were young hip hop artists, dancers, street performers, and an interesting mix of students, Occupy Oakland folks, working professionals in suits, parents with their kids, can collectors, and hip grandmas.
A woman on stilts wearing a Carnival outfit and feathers led the dancers as the SambaFunk! Carnaval Explosion drummers played for a half hour in the street.
People were smiling; some were confused seeing a Carnival parade at night in Oakland, but many joined in and danced to the drums.
After dancing and gallery hopping, I informally interviewed several people about their experiences with Art Murmur. A woman in her early 30s told me about how Art Murmur has grown since she first attended the open galleries five years ago. She said that back then it consisted of a “hipster/art school crowd with a ‘too cool for school’ type of vibe.” She said that it’s changed with the influx of families attending. She commented on how the Oakland do-it-yourself ethic is all over Art Murmur with people selling their handmade jewelry and homemade food at sidewalk stands to make some extra money to get by during the recession.
