Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain

Now on view | Great Hall

七月 18, 2025—星期日, 三月 1, 2026

Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain navigates the braided histories of displacement, resistance, and resilience within Black American communities in Oakland and the East Bay. Through new commissions in art, architecture, and archival research, the exhibition traces how these communities have creatively resisted dispossession and reimagined spaces of home and belonging.

Drawing inspiration from the legacies of West Oakland and Russell City, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain pulls from both OMCA’s permanent collection and loans from local repositories to trace the rise of these communities and their subsequent displacement. In response to this history, the exhibition presents three unique perspectives from an artist, Adrian Burrell; an architect, 6月 Grant with blinkLAB architecture; and an archive, the Archive of Urban Futures and Moms 4 Housing. These installations reflect the ongoing struggle and success in reclaiming and reshaping self-determined spaces in the face of systemic violence, erasure, and urban renewal.

Developed in collaboration with East Bay residents affected by displacement, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain invites reflection on the intersection of activism, memory, and the materiality of home. It is a meditation on how Black American communities, in spite of ongoing systemic oppression, conjure wells of creativity and resistance that carve out places to hold their histories and futures.

Looking to engage your students during your visit? Download our student and teacher guides.

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Already a Member? RSVP for the opening celebration on 七月 17.

 *Photo credits: Kiki King

赞助商

Major support for Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain is provided by The Oakland Museum Women’s Board.

*Header image: Keith Dennison, Untitled [Sherman tank prepares to destroy homes for post office site], 1960, Gelatin silver print, The Oakland Tribune Collection, Oakland Museum of California, Gift of ANG Newspapers