New Book ‘Painting the Streets: Oakland Uprising in the Time of Rebellion’ Documents and Celebrates Protest Art as Vital To Black Liberation Movements
Nomadic Press and EastSide Arts Alliance partner to create an art book featuring Oakland murals to express solidarity with inter/national protests against the police brutality/murder of Black people and systemic-institutional racism in the US
“Our Movement” by Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith (rachelwolfegoldsmith.com), photographed by JJ Harris (techboogie.com)
East Oakland, in collaboration with: Leslie “Dime” Lopez (@ladimeuna), Angela López, Cece Carpio @cececarpio, Franceska Gámez @franceskagamez, Priya Handa @priya.k.handa, Inbal Rubin @Inbalrubinart, and Sarai Reminisce, photo by Joe Keefe
Oakland, CA - February 1, 2022 - Nomadic Press and EastSide Arts Alliance have joined forces to create Painting the Streets: Oakland Uprising in the Time of Rebellion, a full-color, hardcover art book featuring the Oakland murals that emerged in tandem with the international and national protests against the police brutality/murder of Black people and systemic-institutional racism in the US between May and October of 2020. Through visuals from over 65 artists, essays, interviews and poetry, this book — now available to pre-order for $40, and ships at the end of February 2022 — offers context for a response to the current, and historical, sociopolitical moment and inspires a vision of the future grounded in the struggle for Black liberation.
“Oakland is a city of artists, and of people who appreciate the vital role of art in accelerating social change. Painting the Streets is an enduring reminder that we caught sight of the future in the murals and art that radically transformed Oakland during the protests in the summer of 2020.” — Angela Y. Davis, Distinguished Professor Emerita History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies University of California, Santa Cruz
From cover to cover, Painting the Streets is an artistic expression of solidarity and self-determination, with its contents including:
An introduction by Alicia Garza
Interview with Emory Douglas (conducted by Tongo Eisen-Martin)
Essays by thinkers such as Robin D. G. Kelley
Poetry by artists such as Sonia Sanchez, Ayodele Nzinga and Umar Bin Hassan II
Art by Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith and 65+ other visual artists
Photography by JJ Harris and Rohan DaCosta
Collective Vision Through a Local Lens
Bay Area Mural Program (BAMP) Team @bayareamuralpro
Painting the Streets transmutes grief and anger into a celebration of and reverence for life, with a focus on Oakland murals as a local reflection of this historic moment. These principles are espoused in an essay within the book titled “Guiding Principles That Honor, Preserve & Protect Protest Art In Oakland” from Carolyn Johnson, Mizan Alkebulan-Abakah, MPH, and Randolph Belle (Black Cultural Zone’s Art for the Movement):
“These artworks are artifacts of a social justice movement and carry with them important stories and context. The work to document, preserve, and present this protest art is not simply an art initiative; it is part of the movement and represents an effort to seek solutions to injustice and racism...This protest art is not an aesthetic addition to social change—it is the vibrant vein that runs through the movement, which inspires transformation, ignites our resilience, and channels our healing from the trauma of state-sponsored violence and racism. The work to honor, preserve, and protect this art is akin to the need to honor, preserve, and protect Black lives, Black families, and Black land. We are on the path!”
The book will support visual arts in the flatlands schools' programs: all net proceeds from the sales of this book will go into the Nomadic Press Painting the Streets Fund (NPPSF) overseen by J. K. Fowler (Nomadic Press), Elena Serrano (Eastside Arts Alliance), Leslie Lopez (EastSide Arts Alliance), Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith (BAMP), and Andre Jones (BAMP). On Juneteenth (June 19) 2020, Nomadic Press also launched the Nomadic Press Black Writers Fund (NPBWF), where one dollar from every book sale goes into a forever fund that is directly built into the fabric of the organization for as long as Nomadic Press exists.
The Forces Behind Painting the Streets
Anya Riddell-Kaufman (@_anya_mind_) in collaboration with Milan Outlaw (@falselybukowski)
Nomadic Press — a recent Constellation Award recipient — is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and community-focused publisher that supports the works of emerging and established writers and artists. As part of Nomadic Press' mission to stimulate conversation among eclectic voices, Nomadic Press seeks out and encourages the translation and publication of non-Anglophone voices. The organization collectively weaves together platforms for intentionally marginalized voices to take their rightful place within the world of the written and spoken word and aims to build community among artists across disciplines.
A number of undercurrents led to the emergence of Nomadic Press, founded by J. K. Fowler in 2011: a desire for integrated community, longing for chosen family and a place for people to safely explore their many identities and community roles. In the 10 years since, Nomadic Press has published over 110 titles featuring works by over 440 writers and artists and hosted over 2,000 events in collaboration with other organizations in the Bay Area and beyond, ultimately co-creating a platform through which artists and community members may create, share, and in so doing, heal.
“There is no one right way to heal and we all come to this work of healing with our own karmic configurations and some of us have been at this for many incarnations. In so many ways art is the work of mirrors and projection—projecting the personality, viewing the personality reflected back, and on a different plane, the soul current where the work remains on a whole other level. Ultimately, it's the return inward to the personal transformation and evolution that leads to revolution.” — J. K. Fowler, Founding Publisher and Executive Director of Nomadic Press
EastSide Arts Alliance is an organization of Third World artists, cultural workers, and community organizers of color committed to working in the San Antonio and other Oakland neighborhoods to support a creative environment that improves the quality of life for our communities and advocates for progressive, systemic social change. The organization moves in the spirit of the Black Arts Movement and the Xicano Arts Movement, understanding and embracing the role of artists as those who seek to understand and change when necessary the worlds they live in.
The EastSide Arts Alliance & Cultural Center presents free youth art classes, cultural programming, public art projects, ongoing gallery exhibitions, community town halls, the annual Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival and other events in collaboration with other organizations and community groups. Through their programming, the EastSide Arts Alliance works to keep people connected to upending systems of oppression and reimagining the way things should be.
“‘Truth and Beauty’—these are the words poet, activist, scholar, revolutionary Amiri Baraka would almost chant to us as we were grappling with the injustices of the world. What we must do as cultural workers is strive for truth and beauty. This is indeed a very beautiful book and inside is the truth of this particular moment, in this particular city. The pandemic perhaps made folks more empathetic, so this time when another Black man, another Black woman was murdered by the police it bothered more than just us. Protests erupted all over the world when George Floyd and Brionna Taylor were murdered, as they should have. In Oakland, painters took to the walls - showing us all the pain, knowledge, heart and soul that we were all holding inside. Writers and poets did the same - singing and dancing the pain, getting stronger and more sure of what must change. We’ve tried to include pieces here that give us all of that. We are all beautifully here and determined to do the right thing. We trust this [book] inspires.” — Elena Serrano, Program Director of EastSide Arts Alliance
Painting the Streets Book Launch Details
Saturday, February 26, 2022
6-8pm PST
Virtual event (Zoom)
Link to register: https://fb.me/e/35G3dGEer
Order Painting the Streets: Oakland Uprising in the Time of Rebellion at https://www.nomadicpress.org/store/paintingthestreets or purchase the book at the following locations:
Medicine For Nightmares (SF, Mission)
Bandung Books (Oakland)
Marcus Books (Oakland)
Overview of book contents:
Cover art: Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith (“Our Movement” was created in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and is meant to invoke joy, empowerment, and cultural celebration. Standing at 20 feet tall a woman dances her way from being a modern woman into her ancestral roots. Located on one of the most historic buildings in the Oakland skyline, The Tribune Tower, this mural can’t be missed.)
Cover art photo: JJ Harris
Featured photographs: Rohan DaCosta, JJ Harris, Patricia Garcia, Kari Barnes, Edsel Rivera, and Eddie Kochiyama
Introduction by Alicia Garza
Interview with Emory Douglas (conducted by Tongo Eisen-Martin)
Essays by Robin D. G. Kelley, Cat Brooks, Greg Morozumi, Leslie Lopez, Mizan Alkebulan-Abakah, MPH & Sizwe Andrews-Abakah of Spearitwurx, and Black Cultural Zone’s Art for the Movement Team: Carolyn Johnson, Mizan Alkebulan-Abakah, MPH, and Randolph Belle
Poetry by: Sonia Sanchez, Umar Bin Hassan, Tureeda Mikell, Ayodele Nzinga, James Cagney, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Arnoldo García, Maisha Quint, Nia McAllister, DonJuan Carter-Woodard, and Amiri Baraka (courtesy of Amina Baraka)
Featured artists/arts organizations: BAMP (Bay Area Mural Program), Anya Riddell-Kaufman, Binta Oyafemi (in collaboration with Robert Liu-Trujillo), DeVante Brooks, Kufue, Shogun Shido, Keena Azania Romano, Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith, Sharon Virtue, Timothy B, Zoë Boston
Artists: Alex Sodari, Alrad, Angelica Lopez, Bud Snow, Cece Carpio, Chip F. Beal, Chris Granillo, Daniel Camacho, David Burke, David Foreman, Dime, EastSide Arts Alliance, Elizabeth Patrician, Elizabeth Peña, Eugenia Ho, Fay Banawis, ghost ghost teeth, Girl Mobb, Griffin One, Illuminaries, Inbal “Bali” Rubin, Irene Takahashi Coker, Jude Capili, Jun Yang, Kathy Liang, Keena Azania Romano, KeeneVisions, Lynn Huang, Mario Navasero, Maxx Slaughter, Nite Owl, Nyia Luna, Oree Originol, Pancho Pescador, Parul Sharma, Rafael Tapia III, Richard Choi, Serina Jasmin Koester, Shara Shimabukuro, Shawn Gibson, Shi Shi, Taylor Apple, TDK, The Tracy Piper, Trust Your Struggle, Wanli Wang, Zachary Sweet, and collages including 88 additional murals
###
Nomadic Press — a recent Constellation Award recipient — is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and community-focused publisher that supports the works of emerging and established writers and artists. As part of Nomadic Press' mission to stimulate conversation among eclectic voices, Nomadic Press seeks out and encourages the translation and publication of non-Anglophone voices. The organization collectively weaves together platforms for intentionally marginalized voices to take their rightful place within the world of the written and spoken word and aims to build community among artists across disciplines.
Nomadic Press's goal is to guide writers and artists through a supportive and connective process and to offer each artist the opportunity to have his or her work(s) presented in carefully edited and curated publications and events. We strive to juxtapose myriad voices and visions in ways that are surprising and complementary. Nomadic Press publishes an annual journal, seasonal chapbooks, and special issues in print, as well as book reviews and other articles online.
The Nomadic Press workspaces in Oakland, California (Fruitvale location opened in 2014; Uptown location opened in 2016), serve as small performance, workshop, and informal gallery spaces for visual, musical, literary, and performing arts. Through events and open community hours, this Oakland spaces also serve as gathering spaces for our writers, artists, readers, viewers, neighbors, and fellow travelers. In addition, Nomadic Press pop-up events in Brooklyn, New York, offer artists on the East Coast opportunities for creative fellowship.
The name "Nomadic" is an homage to the organization's original inspiration: artistic encounters created by physical and conceptual movement between locations, matter, ideas, and intentions—the movements of life.
EastSide Arts Alliance is an organization of Third World artists, cultural workers, and community organizers of color committed to working in the San Antonio and other Oakland neighborhoods to support a creative environment that improves the quality of life for our communities and advocates for progressive, systemic social change. The EastSide Arts Alliance & Cultural Center presents free youth art classes, cultural programming, public art projects, ongoing gallery exhibitions, community town halls, the annual Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival and other events in collaboration with other organizations and community groups.