Love Letter to Oakland
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The Love Letter to Oakland Mural Project shines a light on the people in Oakland that have been shaping the cultural landscape in our city for decades while illustrating their critical connection to the younger generation growing up in the Bay. These cultural leaders use their voices and resources to uplift our community in tangible ways through advocacy, activism and education. The concept for the murals is to celebrate different generations of Oakland artists, activists and leaders and establish a visual lineage of excellence and creativity in our city. The murals depict the act of older generations "passing the torch" to the younger generations that they inspire and influence.
Over the last five years, we have committed ourselves to laying the groundwork to continue the series in various neighborhoods around Oakland. A key component to the project is a series of interviews with local artists where we begin to trace the connections and influences between various artists and culture keepers in the city. Throughout the process we began to find common threads between artists in different fields which revealed a sensibility that is unique to Bay Area artists. The result will be a film-short to accompany the murals that will include interviews of the people featured in the murals talking about how the Bay Area has shaped their art practice over the years.
Love Letter #1 Jack London Neighborhood • 4th & Oak St • Oakland • 2018
Featuring:
Tureeda Mikell: Poet & Performance Artist
James Gayles: Painter
Vanessa “Agana” Espinosa: Aerosol Artist and Muralist
Samuel Getachew: Youth Poet & Model
painted by: David Burke • Joevic Yeban • Keena Romano • Dorias Brannon • Zach Cotham • Shawn Burson
Love Letter #2 Temescal District • 5143 Shattuck Ave • Oakland • 2022
Featuring:
Michael Morgan (in memoriam): Oakland symphony director
Hung Liu (in memoriam): Painter and Professor at Mills College
Kev Choice: Musician
Elaine Chu and Marin Perez-Wong: Muralists
painted by: David Burke • Pancho Pescador • Joevic Yeban • Pablo Raiz
Love Letter #3 East Oakland • 841 High Street • Oakland • 2023
Souls of Mischief Tribute Mural
painted by: David Burke • Joevic Yeban • Pancho Pescador • Pablo Raiz • Veronica Aguilar
Love Letter #4 ... coming soon!