Inside | Out
T h e M useu m o f us Oa k l a n d m useu m o f ca li fo rn ia
The Black Panthers at 50 A new exhibition examines the homegrown revolution—then and now Community Celebrations Días de los Muertos and Diwali festivals honor the Bay Area’s diversity
The Rise of Sneaker Culture Exploring the “sole” of the footwear phenomenon FA L L 2 0 1 6
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welcome
In Dear OMCA Family
“We believe our ‘museum of the people’ can be a place for deeper exploration, collective learning, and creative inspiration.”
Visitors examine a signed basketball and a pair of Festus Ezeli’s court shoes from the Warriors Pride, Oakland Pride installation.
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October 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale drafted the Ten-Point Program that outlined the goals and beliefs of the Black Panther Party. Among the statements—most of which remain as relevant today as they were fifty years ago—is this declaration: • We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society. • We believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of self. If a man does not have knowledge of himself and his position in society and the world, then he has little chance to relate to anything else. It is with this shared belief that OMCA is pleased to present All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50. The Museum began development of this project close to three years ago, recognizing the importance of the Party’s history not only to Oakland as the city of its founding, but also to national and international communities. The Party’s impact has been a powerful force for racial justice and social innovation. The anniversary also has special resonance for the Museum, as our landmark building was being constructed at the same time as the Party’s development. OMCA can be seen in many of the photographs of the protests that took place at the Alameda County Court House where Huey Newton stood trial. As the project developed, it became even more evident that issues of race, equity, and justice are as urgent today as they were in the late 1960s and 1970s. By presenting history—in all its complexity within the context of current events—we hope to contribute to the vital discussions that are happening and must continue to happen around these fundamental issues. The fall also brings our beloved Days of the Dead Community Celebration on October 16. For the second year, OMCA joins in a worldwide celebration of Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, on November 13. These events provide a way for visitors to learn about the cultural traditions practiced in our community while also offering people a chance to share personal stories, remember loved ones, and create their own rituals. In these challenging times, when our divisions seem starker than our commonalities, we believe our “museum of the people” can be a place for deeper exploration, collective learning, and creative inspiration. Our mission is to “inspire all Californians to create a more vibrant future for themselves and their communities,” and we believe we all have the power to work toward a better future. With appreciation for your support, Lori Fogarty Director and CEO
top : C ourtes y of H ank W illis T homas and J ack S hainman G aller y , N ew York ; B O T T O M : ron wood , C ollection of the B ata S hoe M useum , gift of P ierre H ard y ; C ourtes y of A merican F ederation of A rts / B ata S hoe M useum
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Left: Hank Willis Thomas, Black Righteous Space, 2012. The multimedia work is featured in All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50.
The Revolution in Our Backyard All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 examines
the radical Oakland-born organization that reshaped politics and continues to impact us today.
1 4 Just for Kicks
Get the lowdown on Converse high-tops and other
famous footwear in the upcoming exhibition Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture.
departments 4 Advancement Longtime Members and Donors share their appreciation of OMCA and why they support a progressive museum.
Right: Black Panther visionary Ericka Huggins. Below: Pierre Hardy’s 2011 Poworama sneaker.
5 Retail Tales Kick off your holiday shopping at the annual Indian Market.
6 Thought Leader A conversation with Black Panther Party activist and educator Ericka Huggins.
16 In the Galleries Join Dub Nation at the Warriors Pride, Oakland Pride exhibit.
17 Programs The Días de los Muertos and Diwali festivals celebrate the cultural diversity of the Bay Area.
18 Calendar A guide to OMCA’s exhibitions, events, and programs.
Inside Out is published three times a year by the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607 museumca.org © 2016 Editor: Lindsay Wright
Contributors: Lori Fogarty, Sarah Kimmerle, Rebecca Kirkpatrick, Linda Larkin, Claudia Leung, Maggie R. Pico, Lisa Sasaki, Michael Silverman Photography: Terry Lorant Produced by: Diablo Custom Publishing dcpubs.com
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advancement
Why We Support OMCA OMCA strives to bring some of the most relevant issues of our time to light, incorporating a range of community perspectives on complex topics. The Museum’s progressive nature is as bold and diverse as both Oakland and California, attracting loyal Members and Donors. Here, longtime Donors weigh in on why they support OMCA’s innovative approach to exhibitions, programs, and events.
“ OMCA continually thinks of new things and new ways to present them.” — GregG Cook, Union Bank vice president of corporate social responsibility, OMCA donor and Heritage Society member
“ The Museum does an excellent job of portraying the true California.”
“The Museum gives so much to the community and is so thoughtful about creating exhibitions that make sense for Oakland.” —emily zell, OMCA Donor, Heritage Society Member, and history docent
How to Support OMCA
Museum supporter Emily Zell.
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help the museum engage and excite visitors for generations to come 1. Upgrade Your Membership: Enhance your benefits and increase your impact. 2. Ask Your Employer to Match Your Gift: Many companies sponsor a matching gift program. Check with your employer and double the impact of your gift. 3. Join the Heritage Society: Include OMCA as a beneficiary of your will, living trust, or retirement account and help ensure OMCA’s future for the next generation. In appreciation, we’ll include you in the Heritage Society. To learn more, visit museumca.org/give, call 510-318-8520, or email membership@museumca.org.
OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
T op to bottom : O dell H usse y P hotograph y ; A ndria L o ; O dell H usse y P hotograph y
—Victor Rosario, OMCA donor and Heritage Society member
Gregg Cook (left) and Victor Rosario have been visiting OMCA for more than two decades.
retail tales
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Native Treasures Find contemporary and traditional works by 20 local artisans at the third annual Indian Market at OMCA. Held November 4 from 3 to 9 pm and November 5 from 10 am to 4 pm, the event—created in partnership with News From Native California— highlights jewelry, basketry, and other items.
Above: Works by Wanda Quitiquit of the Pomo tribe. Right: Jewelry by Clint McKay of Dry Creek Pomo/Wappo/ Wintun tribes.
L eft : K risten L oken ( 3 ) ; R ight : K enneth R a y S eals
Left: Pieces by Niel Martinez of the Paiute/ Dine tribe.
Keeping With Tradition “The Market is a celebration of California Indian indigenous craft that will feature work of people from all over the state,” says Michael Silverman, associate director of retail and product development at OMCA. One of those artists is Paul Stone (above), who creates striking pencil drawings, sculptures, and wood burnings, in addition to playing the flute. He is a self-taught artist who was born and raised on the Bishop Paiute Reservation in Bishop, California. A Paiute and Washoe, Stone cites his heritage and family traditions—his grandfather, Raymond Stone, was a noted sculptor and medicine man—as major influences on his art and music.
Member Shopping Days / OMCA loves its Members! The OMCA Store’s special shopping days, held December 2–4, offer an additional 10 percent discount on top of the 10 percent off already included with Membership.
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thought leader
Q&A
A Conversation With Ericka Huggins A Black Panther Party visionary on education as political liberation, women as game-changing activists, and meditation as spiritual healing
It’s remarkable that Ericka Huggins has held so true to her calling—this fierce and gentle woman, who at age 18 led the Black Panther Party’s Los Angeles chapter with her husband, John Huggins, only to have to cope with his killing; who endured two years in jail, including a month in solitary confinement, while awaiting trial with fellow Party leader Bobby Seale on conspiracy charges; and who went on to become director of the Party’s groundbreaking Oakland Community School. In subsequent years, Huggins was a professor in the Peralta Community College District and is now a sought-after speaker and teacher who, among other things, engages audiences at leading universities and offers occasional relaxation classes in youth correctional facilities. You were among the community advisers OMCA invited to help plan All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50. What were those discussions like? Really amazing—sometimes heated, sometimes emotional, sometimes full of laughter. We realized that the Museum can’t be responsible for all the different things that need to be done, but the exhibition can be a spark. Conversations need to be happening all the time, not just about the Black Panther Party but also about race and other inequities in the United States. What did you take away from those discussions? I felt affirmed in the importance of pausing and assessing, spending time with oneself, even if it’s only for a few minutes. I watch the Black Lives Matter network [which includes a group called Black.Seed], for example. They practice self-care. Yeah, they closed down a bridge. And then they give each other neckand-shoulder massages; they sit quietly with each other. What connections do you see between the activists of today’s generation and the Party? We started the Black Panther Party by focusing on police brutality and community patrols of the police. Black Lives Matter is continuing this focus in the twenty-first century. They’re careful not to do that thing called the cult of the personality. There are chapters everywhere, but it’s a network, not a top-down leadership. They pay attention to history. I love what they’re doing.
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I appreciate them out loud, everywhere I go. I think we have a responsibility to support young people who are doing their best to carry forward the work of transforming society for all. You speak about the importance of spiritual practice in social justice work. How did your own practice begin? This came up recently when I visited fifth-graders at Malcolm X Elementary School in Berkeley. A boy asked, “How did you handle such sadness and sorrow (referring to John Huggins’ assassination and the separation from my baby daughter)—and you were in jail?” I told him that, at one point, my heart felt like shattered glass. I asked my lawyer, Charlie Garry—who did a headstand every morning before he entered the courtroom—to give me a book on Hatha Yoga and meditation. I told the fifthgrader that I needed to sit still, to quiet my mind. Doing this, I was able to feel my heart becoming whole again. Does teaching youth continue to be a force in your life? I love it. It’s for my growth as well as theirs. It keeps me on purpose. For two years I taught a class at Merritt College called “The Black Panther Party: Strategies for Organizing the People.” We not only explored the truth of the Black Panther Party, but also the Brown Berets, Yellow Peril, the Young Lords Party, the American Indian Movement, the early women’s movement, the gay liberation movement, and the anti-war and student movements. One of the joyful things was to mention names they hadn’t heard of and have them researched and revered. What would be on your political and personal bucket lists? Facilitating conversations about racial inequity with police departments. I believe all humans can be educated or reeducated depending on the approach. I saw this kind of opening in the officers who took me to the courthouse every day for six months in 1971. It isn’t whether we wear a uniform, it’s how we’re trained by the larger society—and what we allow inside. I also want to write a children’s book about the Black Panther Party and about the myths of race, gender, and class. I must finish my memoir. I want to be part of abolishing prisons, especially those for children; that’s at the top. Get them out of cells and into programs that will help them live the lives of their dreams.
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“ Conversations need to be happening all the time, not just about the Black Panther Party but also about race and inequities in the United States.” —Ericka Huggins
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All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 explores the homegrown fight for social justice that reshaped politics and art
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Top From LEFT: Lonnie Wilson, Collection of OMCA , The Oakl and Tribune Collection, Gif t of ANG Ne wspapers; Kenne th P. Green, Sr; Bl air Stapp, Collection of Omca , All Of Us Or None Archive , Gif t of the Rossman Family
The Revolution in Our Backyard
nisargmedia.com / shutterstock.com
The contemporary Black Lives Matter movement follows the political path paved by the Black Panther Party.
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A Multimedia Experience “The Black Panther Party was controversial to some and inspirational to others, and it cannot be seen as simply ‘altruistic’ or ‘unlawful,’ ” says Lori Fogarty, OMCA director and CEO. To explore all sides of the Black Panthers, the exhibition incorporates a multitude of perspectives, using music, photography, immersive video, interactive art pieces, audio, and installations. Among the artifacts on view are historic photographs, original drawings, police footage of the aftermath of raids on Panther offices, and bars from jail cells where Panthers were imprisoned. Highlighting cultural and artistic responses to the Panther legacy, Sam Durant’s Proposal for a Monument to Huey Newton at the Alameda County Courthouse invites visitors to sit in a bronze replica of the wicker peacock chair in which Newton was photographed for one of the Party’s most iconic posters. Elsewhere, firstperson narratives from former Party members provide insight into Black Panther history and its continued significance. René de Guzman, senior curator of art and director of exhibition strategy, who organized the exhibition with Lisa Silberstein,
Left: Unknown maker, Huey P. Newton, circa 1969.
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C oll e ct i o n of O M C A , A ll of Us o r No n e A r c h i v e , G i ft of t h e Rossma n fam i l y
There is no better time than the present—as the country mourns the many recent casualties of racial violence—to reflect upon the powerful legacy of the Black Panther Party, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. OMCA’s new exhibition All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 takes a fresh look at this revolutionary Oakland-born organization, creating a space for visitors to gain insight into the many different narratives created about, for, and by the Panthers. A militant black empowerment organization founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Panthers became one of the most significant political groups of the twentieth century. Its influence can be felt in modern efforts such as Black Lives Matter.
C oll e ct i o n of O M C a , T h e O akla n d T r i B u n e C oll e ct i o n , G i ft of A N G N e wspap e r s
experience developer, notes how effectively the Party used imagery to communicate its messages. The show will present poster art by Emory Douglas, the Party’s minister of culture, whose bold style is universally associated with the Panthers. “Art has the unique ability to move people emotionally,” de Guzman says of Douglas’ work. “Sometimes, it’s the poetry that persuades and not polemics.” A Closer Examination Despite—and sometimes, because of—the actions taken in pursuit of their goals, the Panthers were understood differently than they are today. One of the exhibition’s challenges is to examine the many conceptions about the Party and to explore Panther contributions and innovations that are not as widely known. Given the prevalent images of male Party members in leather jackets, some visitors will be surprised to learn of the significant role that women played, featuring notably charismatic figures such as Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, Ericka Huggins, and others less familiar, such as Tarika Lewis, the first woman to join the Party, and Gayle Dickson, a Panther newspaper artist. Another conception is that the Party was anti-white. “The Party was inclusive and very progressive in that regard,” says de Guzman. “It was about embracing other communities as part of its identity and recapturing a sense of pride.” The exhibition also spotlights the efforts of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his agency’s COINTELPRO campaign to disrupt the Party through sometimes illegal—and lethal—means. Contemporary Viewpoints Issues of repression, race, and identity are also addressed in contemporary works exhibited in All Power to the People. Examples include Oakland mixed-media artist and longtime activist Ellen Bepp’s portrayal of the cost of police officers’ use of deadly force in 100 African Americans Killed by Police in 2014. Carrie Mae Weems, whose award-winning work offers incisive takes on race, gender, and politics, reinvigorates past civil rights movements
This is our opportunity to explore the many stories of the Black Panthers and their unique and powerful place in local history, as well as the far-reaching national impact they had.”—Lori Fogarty, OMCA director and CEO
Above: Keith Dennison for the Oakland Tribune, Untitled (Panthers before the Alameda County Court House), 1968.
in Constructing History: A Requiem to Mark the Moment, which presents staged reenactments of global fights for human rights through film and photographs. Hank Willis Thomas tackles the painful paradox of racial inequality in the U.S. in We The People, a quilt crafted from decommissioned prison uniforms. As visitors make their way through this remarkable exhibition, there will be spaces for reflection and dialogue—one feautures church pews, where they can sit and contemplate their exhibition experience. Visitors will also be able to spark ongoing reflection and inquiry. The exhibition will include an area where people can leave their own stories and the names of Black Panthers they would like to remember.
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Connecting to Today’s Activism A focal point of the exhibition, presented on a wall in graphic lettering, is the striking display of the Party’s Ten-Point Program. It highlights the inspiration and rationale for the Party’s survival programs, such as the distribution of free food and shoes, free breakfast programs for schoolchildren (which predated breakfast programs in public schools), Oakland’s Black Pantherrun school, health clinics, and free buses to prisons to visit family. The Ten-Point Program, which includes demands for full employment, housing, education, an end to police brutality, and freedom for incarcerated black men, serves as a timely reminder about how these problems continue in today’s society. “In many ways, the Ten-Point Program doesn’t seem like history at all,” de Guzman says. “It speaks about today.” “The Black Panther Party was a part of a complicated time in our history,” says Fogarty. “Our hope is that we can play a unique role in encouraging dialogue and discussion about these complex issues and their impact today. We believe this is a unique opportunity—and responsibility— for OMCA.”
In the OMCA Store Delve into the archives and the art of the Black Panther Party with historical books, reproductions, and contemporary merchandise. Visit shop.museumca.org.
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All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 will be on view in the Great Hall from Oct. 8, 2016, to Feb. 12, 2017. See page 19 for previews and related programs.
T op f r om l e ft : © C a r r i e M a e W e e ms , C o u r t e s y of t h e a r t i st a n d J ack S h a i n ma n G all e r y , N e w Yo r k ; C o u r t e s y of Ha n k W i ll i s T h omas
Art Meets Politics in Current Culture Right: Hank Willis Thomas, We The People, 2015. Below: Carrie Mae Weems, The Assassination of Medgar, Malcolm, and Martin, 2008.
Meeting of the Minds / Genre-busting artists Chinaka Hodge and Hank Willis Thomas
are among the contemporary contributors to All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50. Hodge is a poet, playwright, screenwriter, and educator whose work on racial injustice, identity, and gentrification has earned her national acclaim. Thomas’ expansive art pieces address pop culture depictions of African Americans, racial violence, and civil rights. Here, they converse about how the Black Panther movement has influenced them.
Hodge: I am excited for what this exhibition offers in terms of a space to have important conversations. The Museum commissioned me to record a piece of poetry, which is about how the Black Panthers’ legacy speaks to what my generation inherited. I grew up in Oakland, and the Black Panthers have always been inextricable from my upbringing. Tarika Lewis, the first female Black Panther, taught music at my elementary school; they were members of our churches; they sent their children to school with me. It’s our family that we are talking about, but it’s also a legacy that is bigger than us. I don’t see them as historical relics; I see them as functional, moving, necessary parts of the machine that is Oakland. In fact, I think all of my work is in response to their legacy. Chinaka Hodge Hank Willis Thomas
Thomas: I can’t wait to hear the piece you do, Chinaka. I can’t imagine there being a more necessary time than now to do such work.
Hodge: Thank you; I am excited to do it. Your work has always deeply affected me and inspired what I write. I often wonder about the idea of legacy in your work, Hank. What do you feel your job is, being your mother’s son? [Editor’s note: Thomas’s mother, Deborah Willis, is one of the nation’s leading historians of African American photography and curators of African American culture.]
T o P to B ottom : C o u r t e s y of A r t i st ; A n d r e a B la n c h
Thomas: Stay black and live? And I am only using “black” as shorthand for human.
As an African American male, I think it is important to live a life in defiance of society’s traps. It’s a tall order, but I don’t really have a choice.” — hank willis thomas
I don’t believe in race as we have been conditioned to understand it through Eurocentric ideas. But as an African American male, I think it is important to live a life in defiance of society’s traps. It’s a tall order, but I don’t really have a choice. I have a few works in the show, including an interactive audio piece called Black Righteous Space. It’s about disrupting the image of oppression and reshaping the idea of rebellion. My father was a Black Panther in Philadelphia, and I think I became aware of the political elements of the Party in my early teens. Contrary to the way they are depicted as an anti-white organization, I think it has always been a humanist organization. I was inspired by this population of young people who took matters into their own hands.
Hodge: I have to ask you: How do you make the work you make, and stay sane and alive? Because I have a hard time staying afloat when I get to the realest art. Thomas: Our communities are how we stay afloat. I always go back to a poem by Audre Lorde called “A Litany for Survival.” The last line is: “It is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive.” The idea is that you are never going to win at life—it’s a futile objective—but you’re going to live so you might as well live. So if you have a voice, there’s no reason not to use it. I’m curious, what does being a writer mean for you? Hodge: My job is to make words into things that people want to repeat. We don’t have mantras the way we used to, and for better or worse, that’s part of what makes a movement. And I feel the same way you do about what my job is: Stay black, and stay alive and not die. I’m happy to engage in conversations about this at a really critical time.
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Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture celebrates the history and evolution of this high-impact footwear
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Ask any teenage boy willing to shell out $245 for a customized version of Kobe XI Elite ID basketball shoes: Sneakers are far more than utilitarian protection for your feet. They’ve been icons of sports and style for nearly two centuries. Starting December 22, OMCA will explore the art and impact of this fashion staple in the new exhibition Out
of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture. “This traveling show is the first exhibition in North America to focus on the design, technology, fashion, and history of the sneaker,” says Evelyn Orantes, OMCA’s curator of public practice. “Hip-hop and skateboard cultures are part of the story. So are Vans, which have been made in California since the 1960s. It’s a fun opportunity to reflect on what sneakers tell us about diverse people, eras, communities, and styles.”
Out of the Box displays displays nearly 160 notable sneakers from the 1820s to the present.
This page, clockwise from top left: PUMA x Undefeated Clyde Gametime Gold, 2012; Thomas Dutton and Thorowgood Running Shoe, 1860–65; Nike Air Jordan I, 1985. Opposite page, top to bottom: Adidas x Run-DMC 25th Anniversary Superstar, 2011; Converse Rubber Shoe Company All Star/Non Skid, 1923; Nike x Tom Sachs Whites (Original), 2008–12.
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c l o c k w i s e f r o m t o p l e f t: R o n W o o d , p u m a a r c h i v e s ; G r e g W a s h i n g t o n , N o r t h a m p t o n M u s e u m s a n d A r t G a l l e r y ; R o n W o o d ; N i k e A r c h i v e s ; a l l C o u r t e s y o f A m e r i c a n F e d e r at i o n o f A r t s / B ata S h o e M u s e u m
We’ve Got
Shop Sneakers Gear /
T o p t o b o t t o m : r o n w o o d , C o u r t e s y o f R u n - DMC , c o l l e c t i o n o f E r i k B l a m ; C o n v e r s e A r c h i v e s ; C o l l e c t i o n o f t h e a r t i s t ; a l l C o u r t e s y o f A m e r i c a n F e d e r a t i o n o f A r t s / B a t a S h o e M u s e u m
Find fun gifts such as a shoe-shaped vase, and, yes, shoelaces at the OMCA Store.
My Adidas only bring good news And they are not used as selling shoes They’re black and white, white with black stripe The ones I like to wear when I rock the mic —Run-DMC, “My Adidas”
The Sporting Life Sneakers in their earliest form date back to the nineteenth century, when industrialization gave people more time and means to engage in leisure activities (Out of the Box includes the oldest existing running shoe from that era). Tennis, bicycling, and calisthenics were no longer just for the upper classes, and the clothing and equipment they required— including the first sneakers—were a sign of social standing. Between the 1920s and 1970s, there was increased focus on athletics. As more schools taught physical education, canvas sneakers became widespread. Celebrities began endorsing brands—including basketball player and coach Chuck Taylor, known for his association with Converse—and the rise of professional sports drove a market for specialized sport shoes and sneakers by European companies such as Puma and Adidas. Style and Status Just like a pair of Jimmy Choo heels today, boldly branded sneakers became wearable status symbols in the 1970s and 1980s—prompted by the growth of fitness culture, advances in running shoes, and the emergence of Nike. Synergies among hip-hop, sneakers, and basketball exploded in the mid-1980s with the Air Jordan franchise, promoted by Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, and the signing of rap group Run-DMC to Adidas. Some of the exhibit highlights include a classic pair of Adidas Superstars (the inspiration for Run-DMC’s song “My Adidas”) and Reebok Freestyles, an icon of aerobic fitness in the 1980s. Sneakers, through their bright colors, patterns, and designs, became the most baroque part of the male wardrobe. Customization pushed the art of footwear to extreme levels, putting a new, and costly, spin on existing products—Museum visitors will be able to see a pair of noted custom artist Mache’s Jokers, a visual nod to Heath Ledger’s acclaimed portrayal in The Dark Knight. Recent footwear designs by Prada and Louboutin further emphasize the role of sneakers in the world of high fashion. “For more than 150 years, sneakers have been part of our fitness and style identity,” Orantes says. “Out of the Box invites us to think about what our footwear says about local fashion, our culture, and the time and place in which we live.” Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum. The exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum.
Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture will be on view in the Great Hall from Dec. 22, 2016, to April 2, 2017. There is a $4 special exhibition fee in addition to Museum admission. Free for Members.
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Shop Dubs Gear at the OMCA Store / Find Warriors apparel and
in the g alleries
The Golden Age OMCA’s Warriors exhibit cheers on the home team
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ven if you aren’t a card-carrying member of Dub Nation (or a basketball fan, period), there is no denying the impact the Golden State Warriors have had on Oakland. OMCA’s installation Warriors Pride, Oakland Pride celebrates the team and its effect on the city. The centerpiece of the installation is a 2015 commemorative Championship Ring that the Warriors gave to Oakland, lent to OMCA by the Mayor’s Office. “It’s a special object, and we are treating it in a special way,” says Associate Curator of Contemporary History and
Above: “Oakland 510” jersey signed by the 2015
Above: Visitors can take selfies in front of a photograph of the 2015 Warriors Championship Rally. Left: Basketball signed by 2016 record-breaking 73-9 team.
Trends Suzanne Fischer. “Visitors will sense how precious it is.” Warriors Pride also features a basketball and jersey signed by the entire team, plus sneakers worn by 2015– 2016 team members Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli, and Harrison Barnes. The team’s charitable arm, the Warriors Community Foundation, partnered with OMCA to obtain the items for the installation. The Museum got the idea for the exhibit following the 2015 championship rally held at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center next door. “There were so many people celebrating the win—we actually closed for the day due to the crowds and street closures around the Museum,” Fischer recalls. “Thinking about this exhibit from the perspective of local pride is really important. Seeing all your friends and neighbors so excited about the team— you can’t help but get swept up in it.”
chamionship team. Right: 2015 Championship Ring.
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Museumgoers have an opportunity to share exactly what the Warriors mean to them, and to Oakland, on a dialogue wall. “We’re always blown away by how thoughtful the responses are from our visitors,” says Fischer. “Community building, after all, is at the heart of the display—as it is in most of the Museum’s exhibits. For a community to come together around culture, as they do around sports teams, is an amazing and galvanizing moment. This year’s record-breaking season demonstrates the grit and tenacity of the Warriors and Oaklanders, and we congratulate them on a tremendous season.” Warriors Pride, Oakland Pride is on view in the Gallery of California History through the fall.
LEFT a n d CENTER : C o l l e c t i o n o f t h e W a r r i o r s C o m m u n i t y F o u n d a t i o n ( 2 ) ; b o t t o m RI G HT : G i f t o f t h e G o l d e n S t a t e W a r r i o r s t o t h e C i t y o f O a k l a n d
accessories at shop.museumca.org.
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Familiar Festivals, New Beginnings OMCA honors the Bay Area’s diversity with the Días de los Muertos and Diwali community celebrations Top: Dancers perform a traditional Aztec dance. Above: Community members in calavera face paint at an elaborate Days of the Dead altar.
TOP t o b o t t o m : S h a u n R o b e r t s ( 2 ) ; Ab h i n a b a B a s u ; N i n i s h G o g r i / F l i c k r C r e a t i v e C o m m o n s
“ OMCA takes great pride in reflecting the diversity that makes our town so beautiful.” —Cynthia taylor, associate director of public programs
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his fall, OMCA will recognize the Bay Area’s many rich cultures with its annual community celebrations honoring Días de los Muertos, or Days of the Dead, and Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights. “OMCA takes great pride in reflecting the diversity that makes our town so beautiful,” says Cynthia Taylor, associate director of public programs. “It’s important to us that the public has the opportunity to honor what makes the Bay Area and Oakland so unique.”
22nd Annual Days of the Dead Community Celebration Sunday, Oct. 16, 12–4:30 pm Days of the Dead has grown from its Mesoamerican origins to become a holiday that is celebrated worldwide. From October 31 to November 2, people gather to honor and celebrate their departed loved ones by creating ofrendas, or altars, and making symbolic offerings of calaveras (sugar skulls), tissue paper decorations, and the favorite foods and beverages of the deceased. OMCA is marking the holiday with its twenty-second annual Días de los Muertos Community Celebration, which will feature demonstrations of traditional Mesoamerican arts and cooking, community-created altars, Days of the Dead-inspired wares by local artisans, and a performance by Aztec dancers. The Museum’s Days of the Dead exhibition will not be held this fall and will resume on a biannual schedule beginning in 2017.
Celebrate Diwali—Festival of Lights Sunday, Nov. 13, 1–4 pm
Top: Rangoli, floor art made with colored rice or sand. Above: Diyas, or oil lamps, celebrate the triumph of light over darkness.
An ancient Hindu holiday, Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, is marked by the lighting of diyas, or oil lamps, to represent the triumph of light over darkness. This is the second year that OMCA celebrates the Festival of Lights, and Taylor is thrilled to introduce the holiday to many who may not be familiar with it. “This holiday is celebrated by 1.4 billion people around the world, and echoes local and global significance,” she says. The community celebration will feature a South Asian a cappella music performance; readings; and workshops in which visitors can create their own rangolis, elaborate floor decorations made with colored rice or sand, and diyas. Most importantly, the celebration fosters connections among community members and family members. “To see grandparents, parents, and children sharing their stories about Diwali is one of the most beautiful parts of the festival,” Taylor says.
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calendar
Check out the full lineup of events and programs at museumca.org.
exhibitions, events, and programs SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 Oct. 8, 2016–Feb. 12, 2017 | Great Hall Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture Dec. 22, 2016–April 2, 2017 | Great Hall Altered State: Marijuana in California Through Sept. 25 | Great Hall Oakland, I want you to know… Through Oct. 30 | Gallery of California Art Warriors Pride, Oakland Pride Through Fall 2016 | Gallery of California History
Presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA. Made possible in part by generous support from Bank of America, the Oakland Museum Women’s Board, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Koret Foundation, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation.
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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
Museum Hours Monday Closed Tuesday Closed Wednesday
11 am–5 pm
Thursday
11 am–5 pm
Friday (through Oct.)
11 am–10 pm
Friday (Nov.–March)
11 am–9 pm
Saturday
10 am–6 pm
Sunday
10 am–6 pm
Odell Hussey Photography
Friday Nights @ OMCA Every Friday through Oct. 28, 5–10 pm Every Friday, Nov. 4 through Dec. 16, 5–9 pm Enjoy the best evening event in the Bay Area with OMCA and Off the Grid food trucks! Check out favorites like the Blue Oak beer garden, live music, hands-on activities for kids, pop-up talks and snack-size tours, Marketplace @ OMCA featuring local vendors, Makers & Tasters, and halfoff admission to the galleries. For weekly event details, visit museumca.org/fridays.
Bees: Tiny Insect, Big Impact Through June 2017 | Gallery of California Natural Sciences
Corporate Appreciation Night Friday, Sept. 16, 5–9 pm All employees of OMCA’s Corporate Partner companies are invited to join us for free gallery admission, discounts, a raffle, and the not-to-bemissed festivities of Friday Nights @ OMCA! RSVP to corporatepartners@museumca.org. Not sure if your company is a corporate partner? Check the list at museumca.org/corporate-partners.
T o p L e f t : C o l l e c t i o n o f OMCA , t h e o a k l a n d t r i b u n e c o l l e c t i o n , G i f t o f AN G n e w s p a p e r s
Howard Erker, Bobby Seale Checks Food Bags, 1972.
BLACK PANTHER PROGRAMS
OMCA TOURS
Donor Forum Preview Saturday, Oct. 8, 6–9 pm
California Art Tour Second and fourth Saturdays, 2 pm Every Sunday, 2 pm
Member Preview Friday, Oct. 7, 11 am–10 pm Makers & Tasters: Food Activism Friday, Oct. 7, 6–8 pm Two Generations of Black Struggle: Bobby Seale with Chinaka Hodge Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, 2 pm Black Panther cofounder Bobby Seale in conversation with writer Chinaka Hodge.
California History Tour First, third, and fifth Sundays, 1 pm California Natural Sciences Tour Third Saturdays, 2 pm Second and fourth Sundays, 1 pm OMCA Highlight Tour Fridays and Saturdays, 1 pm Architecture Tour First Sundays, 1 pm
SPECIAL HOLIDAY HOURS Friday, Dec. 23 and Friday, Dec. 30, 11 am–9 pm Saturday, Dec. 24 and Saturday, Dec. 31, 10 am–3 pm Monday, Dec. 26 and Tuesday, Dec. 27, 11 am–5 pm
Snack-Size Tour First and fourth Fridays, 7:30 pm LGBT History Tour Sundays in September, 12 pm First and fourth Fridays in September, 7 pm Bike Tour Third Sundays through October, 10 am
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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE Oakland Museum of California 1000 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94607-4820
PAID
SALT LAKE CITY, UT PERMIT NO.6563
Save the date!
Members see it first!
Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing
Above: Dorothea Lange, Pledge of Allegiance, 1942. Above right: Paul S. Taylor, Dorothea Lange in Texas on the Plains, circa 1935. Right: Dorothea Lange, The Road West, New Mexico, 1938.
coll e ctio n of omca . gift of p a u l s . ta y lor ( 3 )
May 13–Aug. 13, 2017