Matt's Writing

Oakland's First Friday Art Murmur. Photo by Matt Werner Oakland Authors are selling their books and reading short excerpts from their books at Oakland's First Friday Art Murmur on December 7, 2012. Come and check out our tables on Telegraph Ave. between 25th and 26th Street in Oakland from 6pm-10pm. Friday night will feature Tim McAtee, author of The Hipsters and me with hand-bound copies of Oakland in Popular Memory . Are you an author in Oakland? Check out the meetup group . For more details about Art Murmur, see the event website , my coverage of past months  on Oakland Local , and SF Fun Cheap .

Matt Werner reading at the 25th Street Collective in Oakland. Photo by Joe Sciarrillo I'm reading Wednesday, November 28 at the Oakland Main Library from my book Oakland in Popular Memory about what's been happening in the East Bay's art and music scene over the past few years. The book features interviews with 12 artists and musicians from Oakland and artists who've influenced Oakland artists. Here's a piece about the book in the East Bay Express . The book reading is from 6-7pm tomorrow at the Oakland Main Library in the Bradley C. Walters Community Room. I'll also briefly talk about my next book project, a book of local photography covering Bay Area social movements titled Bay Area Underground . Matt Werner answering questions at book reading in November, 2012. Photo by Joe Sciarrillo

Boots Riley was spotted at 23rd St. and Telegraph Ave. at the start of Oakland's Art Murmur on August 3, 2012. Oakland First Fridays Art Murmur is one of the largest regular gatherings of artists, street vendors, food vendors, and performing artists on the West Coast. I asked Boots Riley what he thought about the New York Times Magazine article  "Oakland, the Last Refuge of Radical America" profiling him. He replied that he wasn't entirely happy with it. He expressed a sentiment similar to what he wrote on Twitter , that "Oakland isn't the end of an old radical movement. It's the beginning of a new one." For a good recap of the night--the art exhibits, speakers, and food--read Susan Mernit's piece on Oakland Local . For photos of the event, see my photo album on Google+ . Click below for photos of past Art Murmurs by Joe Sciarrillo and myself : July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012

Excerpt from sign posted at 23rd and Telegraph. See the full sign at the bottom. Street vendors at the July 6, 2012 Art Murmur were in for a surprise. As many were setting up their tables on the Telegraph Ave. sidewalks between West Grand and 25th Street, security officers came by with flyers informing them that next month Oakland Police will be handing out tickets to people tabling and selling art and food on the sidewalks. 23rd Street was no longer blocked off for f ood vendors in July, and food vendors are restricted to the new "Eat Up" food pod at 21st and Telegraph. The sign and flyer handed out to vendors instructs those who sell art, jewelry, books, and other hand-made items to sell them in Rock Paper Scissors or the 25th Street Collective . The issue with this is that both of those mixed-use spaces are full of vendors, and there's likely a waiting list to get in. These two venues couldn't hold the dozens of additional street vendors, which typically l...

The biggest story of the night for Oakland's First Friday Art Murmur were the masses of people who turned out for what was likely the most popular Art Murmur to date. I estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people came out Friday, April 6 for Art Murmur in Oakland's Northgate-Waverly district . My photographer Joe Sciarrillo estimated that total turn out was closer to 5,000 people came to the 5-block area between West Grand and 26th Street between Telegraph Ave and Webster between 6pm and 10pm on Friday. The 25+ art galleries open last night were over-brimming with people. Lines to see the exhibits extended into the streets, similar to last month's Art Murmur . But what made last night's different from prior Art Murmur's I've attended was that Telegraph Ave was so packed with people from West Grand to 26th Street, it was difficult to even walk down the street. Across the street on Telegraph between 23rd and 24th, two different punk rock groups set up with full bands ...

How many Oakland hip-hop artists fill their tracks with Gertrude Stein references and turn nursery rhymes into extended political allegories? How many tackle issues of gentrification in Oakland? Can't think of any? Let me introduce you to Daveed Diggs. His free mixtape Small Things to A Giant shows that a new giant has stepped on to Oakland’s trend-setting hip hop scene. <p><p><p><p><p><p>&am...

(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. 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’...

Little did I know that researching for an article on "Gertrude Stein's Oakland" would get me tear gassed today (Jan. 28, 2012). My day started innocent enough. I went to Bakesale Betty's for lunch. I then checked out the open art galleries near Downtown Oakland as part of the Saturday Stroll . I spoke with several artists showcasing their work, asking them about how they've enjoyed the increased attention and positive press on Oakland's art world. They spoke enthusiastically about the "urban renewal" and "revitalization" happening in Oakland's Uptown. I then cycled over to the Oakland Museum of California to research local history in their Gallery of California History . Because of all the construction on the west side of Lake Merritt, I took a circuitous route, which led me to 10th Street, where a large white police van was blocking the road in front of the Henry J Kaiser Convention Center . A police officer standing in the...