16 Acity’sartistic soulis seared

BYANGELAHILL

Itwas supposed to be a safe haven for struggling artists who couldn’t afford Oakland’s high rents. Therewasnothing safe about it.

Inside the Ghost Ship warehouse—hometo an unpermitted live-work space inhabited by an art collective in the Fruitvaledistrict—achaotic clutter of furniture, artwork, pianos, hanging rugs, lamps, a warren of makeshiftliving units and a bevy of suspectedsafety-code violations fueled a ferociousblaze during a late-night techno music partyDec. 2,killing36people. Itwas the deadliestfire in Oakland’shistory, eventopping the toll of the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm.

Inthe days following the warehouse fire, workers tried to determine the cause of the blaze andcontinuedtorecover bodiesina painstaking,heartbreaking process — for victims’ families, emergency workers and the community.

The horrificevent made international headlines not only for the loss of life but for shedding light on often dangerous living conditions in the city’s thriving underground art and music culture — a culture now fearing repercussions.

Artists and musicians using warehouse spaces is nothing new in major cities around the world. In Oakland, such venues have been hives of creativity since the ’80s, when blue-collar industry left town and vacated buildings were converted to live-work spaces — some legally, some not.

Now in 2016, with Oakland’s increasing popularity — largely because of the vibrant arts scene itself — rents have skyrocketed, and many creative people resort to sketchy living conditions to get by. Alleged safety violations at Ghost Ship have sparked a criminal investigation, and now the city, the property owner and the collective’s founder face serious questions.

Because of this, many in the creative community feared a backlashofbuilding inspections at other warehousecollectives, resulting in evictions and a crushing blow to the underground arts scene.

While the story’s twists and turnswill likelyroll well into 2017, one thing’s certain: The tremendous lossof life has scarred Oakland’s arts community forever. AHILL@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM