THE R3 COLLABORATIVE PRESENTS
The R3 collaborative will present a compelling vision of how Liberation includes RE-MEMBERING, RE-SISTANCE, and RE-CLAIMING BLACK legacy in Oakland. Black Oakland has borne the brunt of systemic racism and social and economic inequality in Oakland. The time is now to bring forth radical ideas to reimagine a Oakland where we are all prospering together. At the heart of this initiative, the R3 Collaborative will use the transformative power of the arts as a catalyst for racial justice. Alena Museum is using its experience in art and spacial activism to support in the REMEMBERING and RESISTING aspects of this initiative.
ALENA MUSEUM + BLACK CULTURAL ZONE + BLACK TERMINUS + EAST SIDE ARTS ALLIANCE & CULTURAL CENTER
RE-MEMBERING
The work of establishing a Justice Oakland starts with recognizing and remembering the oppressive systems of Urban Renewal and War on Drugs that adversely impacted the Black population of Oakland.
Alena will work with artists/cultural practitioners and the communities they are rooted in to co-create a project that captures the history of the Town. We will use our experience in creative public art activism and movement-building engagement to connect our community to the history of the Black legacy in Oakland and the policies that tried to tear it down.
How?
Visibility Campaign
Posters of beautiful Oakland resident portraits will be wheatpasted up all over the Town, each using AR to bring the portrait to life and have the resident tell us their unique story. The images will aim to spark interest and direct people to our groups work.Digital Storytelling
Stories bridge the gap from past to present. We must highlight the stories of Oakland’s past to understand the current situation which directly informs how we can envision our future. We will highlight the two most impactful events, Urban Renewal and the War on Drugs, through the eyes of the those who lived it. Alena museum will interview present day community members that are victims of the policies of urban renewal and war on drugs that adversely affect the Black community.Community Garden, Gathering Space & Altar
We will direct and collect these stories to a space of remembrance- a community garden that will act as a gathering space and altar for the lives impacted by Urban Renewal and the War on Drugs. It will be a place for collective healing, creativity, enlightenment and empowerment.
RESISTING
Our practice of remembering & resisting are interconnected. The act of remembering seeds the conscious awakening to resistance and the act of resisting stems from the desire to respond to past/present wrongs that have and are being experienced.
We will continue our creative public art activism and engagement to connect to the community through the power of creativity and art experiences in Oakland as an act of RESISTANCE.
How?
Public Art Activism/Space Making
Youth Engaged Living Alter : this is will be a living alter that will be one of many public spaces that are needed for Black Oakland to feel recognized. We will involve the arts department in a school to Oakland to participate in the making of the living altar. This will be incorporated into the Community Garden & Gathering Space, connecting the activism to the remembering.Activism through Fashion/R3 Swag
Uplift the globally impactful brand identity of Black Oakland legacy, using fashion as the medium. Wearable fashion and functional merchandise will tie in the mission of the R3 Collaborative and our respective members works.
RE-CLAIMING
Follow our creative collaborators as they engage and active Oakland in various ways and always with community.
“Without community there is no liberation.”
Audre Lorde
“Although the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed is universal, forms of oppression vary.”
Huey P. Newton
“Justice is what love looks like in public.”
Cornel West
Follow our journey.
FAQs
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The focus is on East Oakland, between 80th and 90th Street, which is the biggest corridor of Black business and home ownership in Oakland.
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Follow us on Instagram @alenamuseum or check back here for updates and projects as they come to life.
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We would be honored to hear your story and consider it for our project.
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We have a variety of ways you can support our creative endevours and cultural mission. Please see our SUPPORT page for more info.