Cities in Transition: Anti-Gentrification Tools and Art Projects

This session brings together a NY-based arts organization with Oakland curators and artists to examine gentrification.

ARTS East NY will present a process-based Toolkit that empowers people to fight against the intentional destabilization of existing communities for the financial gains of “Urban Renewal”. We will be unpacking the preconceived gentrification process, understanding where our neighborhoods fit in, and detailing how communities can use art as a tool for economic development.

I want you to know… is an artist/community driven exhibition that explores how gentrification is changing the demographic, economic and social fabric of Oakland. Led by OMCA’s Curator of Public Practice Evelyn Orantes, and created in collaboration with Oakland artist and social justice educator Chris Treggiari along with community collaborators from West Oakland and other surrounding neighborhoods, the exhibition explores how Oakland residents are grappling with the tensions that surface through the City’s economic development and gentrification.