We moved our art space blog!

Hi, everyone.

We just finished migrating this blog to our new wordpress website. Check it out at actualcafe.com/art. I won't be maintaining this blog anymore, but we've copied all the old posts, so you won't have to look at both to see them.

thanks
sal

Sneak Preview: Paper Trails (a zine show) - opens Friday 3/9

The folks at Rock Paper Scissors, Fly Away Mobile Zine Library and Rad Dad are busy right now making holes in our walls and hanging zines everywhere...here are a couple early shots to whet your appetite.

Don't miss the opening, tomorrow (Friday March 9) from 6-10. Look, read, touch, listen, contribute, and have a swell old time.

Images from Live Drawing; also April open drawing workshop coming!

Alison Tharp, who's been coordinating our Live Drawing parties (and drawing in them herself), sent on some new photos of last month's event. For those of you who have never been to one of our Live Drawing Parties: a group of artists come out and draw/paint/whatever, and sell their art over the course of the night for not much dough. It's a great opportunity to watch the creative process of lots of great local working artists, and also collect their work for peanuts.

In April, Alison and I are working on a new event, which will be an open drawing workshop - open to all comers. Folks of all skill levels can come, draw together, have a beer or two, and maybe pick up some new tips or techniques. Details coming soon on this one...

For now, enjoy the Live Drawing Photos!

on March 3 - a mini opening for a new series of portraits by Lena Zentgraf

Lena shot a series of portraits during the opening of Alternate Takes (the show that's still hanging in the cafe). She'll be back to display the result of that shoot, and do another portrait sit and shoot.

These are really striking portraits - you have to see them in person to really appreciate them. And, if you sit for a portrait, you can become part of what's becoming a really beautiful and interesting series of Lena's work.

These shots will only be displayed in the cafe until the end of this show's run, so your time to come check them out will be limited. Don't miss them.

on the facebook

Upcoming show: Paper Trails (a zine show) - opens March 9

We're excited to announce another collaborative art show - this time partnering with the Rock Paper Scissors Collective and Tomas Moniz of Rad Dad Zine. Paper Trails is a zine-themed show, encompassing hundreds of zines, many of which are locally-produced.

The show runs from March 9th through April 12th and opens with a party on March 9th from 6-10pm. The opening will feature a Zine Variety Show with readings by Tomas Moniz, John Bobst, and Mari Naomi along with music performances by Annah Anti-Palindrome and Jon Barba. DJ Baro will add some vinyl flavor to the party.

At the opening party, and for the duration of the show, we'll host the Paper Trails zine-making station. Visitors will be encouraged to contribute pages to the crowdsourced Paper Trails zine, which will be curated from submissions, then printed and distributed by the R.P.S. crew after the close of the show - it will be available for purchase at R.P.S., Actual Cafe, and other art spaces and book outlets when it's done.

We'll hang featured installations from local zinesters Endless Canvas, MariNaomi, Jaime Crespo, and others, and show tons of other zines on a display designed by Jamie Mayne of RPS. Genres will include Riot Grrrl, Radical Politics, Parenting, Gender & Sexuality, Comics/Art/Photography, DIY Skill-Sharing, and more. Zines will be available for sale or trade, and a zine reading library will be installed in the cafe (replacing our normal book exchange for the month).

I'll post some images and such as soon as I can get some. Don't miss this show - it's a one-of-a-kinder.

new show up...Alternate Takes / People Make the World Go 'Round

We just opened an excellent new show of portraits in several media (photos, drawings, paintings), by a really talented group of artists: Chloe Crossman, Ashley Eberlein, Sage Redclay, Stephanie Sarley, Daniel Salo, and Jeffrey Chung. Apologies for not getting this stuff up before the opening, but the show's up for a full month, so you've got some time to come check it out. I'll do a few posts over the next couple weeks focused on each artists work, but for today, here's a quick overview...enjoy!

Last night's Live Drawing output...

A photo of our new Live Art wall, with lots of awesome drawings made at our party last night. Thanks to David Seiler for the photo. Sorry I don't have all the artist credits for this one, but I'll pull together and post some more photos of the event and the art soon.

Live Drawing - Friday January 20

We had a Live Drawing event last month, and it was such a hit, we've decided to make it a regular monthly occurrence, starting this month.

Every Third Thursday from 6-10pm, come hang out with some great local artists, watch them draw, and buy their work right out from under them...drawings are priced super-affordably - from $15-$40, and all the money goes directly to the artists - we take no commission on their work.

Artists will rotate - we'll have a dozen or so at each event. Participating artists include such rockstars as:

Heidi Cregge Cabra . John Casey . David Seiler . Carrie Hall . Alison OK Frost . Maya Kabat . Alex Rosmarin . Nathaniel Parsons . Dave Higgins . Patricia Gillespie . Sarah R. Filley . Obi Kaufmann . Michael McConnel . Alissa Goss . Jon Carling . Alison Tharp . Jake Walting . Matt Decker . Kelly Monson . Forest Stearns . Benjamin Carder . Martin Webb . Scott Greenwalt . Crystal Morey

DJs all night long, starting at 6. Drawing starts at 7.

If you're interested in the creative process, want to collect great inexpensive art, or just want to enjoy some great beer & music and admire the work these folks can make, you'll love this event.

Oakland Art Enthusiast Femme Cartel Photo Spread

Check out oaklandartbeat's photo spread on our Femme Cartel opening!

femme cartel - just two days away...

This is the last batch of preview images from the Femme Cartel show - I'll try to get some photos of folks hanging their art tomorrow night. Remember, the opening is just two days away. Tie a ribbon on your finger, put a note on your fridge - tattoo it on your thigh if you need to. If you forget, you'll be sad after.

Last taste of Femme Cartel for the weekend

Still more coming next week, but we're taking a little art blog break for the weekend...these will have to tide you over for a couple days.

even yet still more Femme Cartel...

There's so much variety in this show. More beautiful images...

More femme cartel sneak preview...

Emily from Femme Cartel has been sending me images for the Cartel show just a couple at a time (what a tease!), but today I have a stack to post. I love this show. I think you will too.

So, don't miss it!

Femme Cartel coming next week - more sneak preview!

We're getting new images from the Femme Cartel, and we'll be posting them every few days as they come in...don't miss the opening party!

January art show - Femme Cartel!

After all the excitement of our awesome two year anniversary party and the opening of our December show “We are the People in Your Neighborhood” (which if you haven't seen yet, you ought to), we're getting ready for next months show, produced by our friends at Femme Cartel. We're planning a big block-long event for the opening on January 13th, including our neighbors at A Verb for Keeping Warm, James and the Giant Cupcake, and The Essence of Beauty. This is the first time we're hosting an art event produced by an outside promoter, but Femme Cartel is a great group, and likes to throw art events in Oakland just as much as we do, so it's a great fit.

Femme Cartel is an all-women's collective of artists, musicians, craft vendors, and performers. They produced their first show in Uptown this past summer, and it was a huge hit. We're excited to be bringing their energy to the Golden Gate, and excited about the art they make. In their own words: “Hot, local, boundary-pushing, emotionally-on fire, talented contemporary urban artists of all stripes...who happen to be females/femmes/girls/ladies."

The show will include a wide range of media - oil painting, sculpture, assemblage, textile art, drawings, photography (with lots of affordable pieces for your collection) - along with great fashion and accessories and both DJ and live music.

There’s bound to be something for boys and girls of all ages at this show. Don't miss it, and stay tuned for more sneak-previews from the show over the coming weeks!

We Are The People In Your Neighborhood - show opens tonight!

I'm so excited to see the art on the walls for our opening and anniversary party this evening. The walls have become a huge collage of small pieces - many of the artists are showing literally dozens of small things, which makes the experience of looking at the art just that much more engaging - there are so many images to take in. Most subjects are local people and places - if you live in the neighborhood, you'll recognize many of them.

The show is super affordable - many of the pieces are $25 or less, and most are less than $50 - great for gifts, or to add to your collection (even if your art budget is tiny).

Also, Kim Babnik's beautiful mural (also titled 'We Are The People In Your Neighborhood') is done, and sooo great. We spent most of yesterday and today putting together a limited run of signed prints of the original sketch from which the mural design evolved - we'll be selling these at the cafe as part of the show, and on an ongoing basis until they're all gone. Kim will be taking a portion of each sale to help compensate her for all her long hours and hard work. I wrote a couple paragraphs about the mural, which touch on the overall theme of the show - I thought it would be good to post them here...

"We Are The People In Your Neighborhood"

We (some of the Actual crew and I) came up with this tagline one day while we were brainstorming about what to write on our sidewalk sign.

I liked the allusion to Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, which for me brings to mind a very specific feeling about community. I remember watching those shows as a kid in the New Jersey suburbs, and being fascinated by the idea of urban neighborhood - it wasn't my direct experience then, but it appealed to me in a way that my life at the time really didn't. I grew up in a town totally unlike Oakland - it was not terribly diverse in any way: socioeconomically (mostly middle-class), racially (near 100% white), religiously (I think I might have gone to school with one hindu, and didn't meet a muslim or a buddhist until I was an adult), and sexually (although I'm sure there were gay folks, they were not prominent). There weren't even old people in any significant numbers - it was a town of young families trying to live the American dream. Unfortunately, the version of the American dream practiced there didn't accommodate a weirdo like me, and I never felt comfortable in that environment. I was geeky and awkward, not athletic, and just socially inept - a typical young outcast.

The window that PBS gave me into a different sort of life was really attractive - I often wished I could be living in a city, where people of all different stripes found ways to live together and make community in a very different way. I visited Manhattan a lot growing up, both with my family as a young kid, and with my friends as a teenager. My experiences there solidified the idea of urban living as something particularly suited to me. Even the sometimes-sketchy late-70s/early-80s gritty streets, run-ins with hustlers, the vague sense of danger, the bad smells, the neglected corners - I soaked up the whole experience, and knew that it was what more like what I wanted. I considered living there when I moved from my parents' house, but it didn't quite fit - it was a bit too crowded, too psychically demanding (a great place to visit, as they say, but I wouldn’t want to live there).

When I moved to Oakland in 1991, I found a version of that experience that resonated more deeply with me. I had all my belongings packed into a truck, and wasn't sure where I'd eventually settle. I had a friend in Oakland, and when I arrived, I fell in love. And what I fell in love with was the sense that not only was it acceptable to be different here, but that the character of the entire city was largely centered around people who were not on a career path, or motivated primarily by money. It was a town packed to the gills with creative people - musicians, artists, writers, DJs, party promoters, graphic designers, poets, dancers, circus people, motorheads, graffiti kids, skaters, fighters, and on and on. It was the norm for people to have two part-time jobs and three side projects. I became part of this crowd, playing music, making jewelry, and having free time to explore a different way of living.

I spent countless hours in coffee shops during my first several years here. I met and hung out with so many people at little wood tables, played spades and backgammon, read, wrote, talked about everything imaginable, and just soaked in the atmosphere. I interacted with people of all stripes, from all over the world. I grew up, and grew into a new self-image - I was a part of a community. I felt neighborhood, instead of imagining it.

So...the phrase - "We Are The People In Your Neighborhood" - it taps right into all of that. I remember the profiles of people on those PBS shows- the artists, the musicians, the tradespeople, the municipal workers, and everyone. I remember the very specific thought that a true community comes from the bringing together of all kinds of people, each living in their own ways, and doing things that give them identity, purpose, and pride. That idea excited me, and still does. I think we all deserve to live fulfilling lives, and that we ought to work together to find ways to do so. "We" in this context means all of us - the people who have lived in this neighborhood for decades, and those who just moved here; young people and old; black, white, and all shades of brown; straight, gay and all shades of queer; rich, poor, and otherwise; creative, professional, blue collar, students; families, single people; kids, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents; those who need help and those who can give it. It means the cafe staff, our customers, our neighbors, our vendors, and me.

It is important to me to preserve the unique qualities of this neighborhood as it evolves. I've seen the complete gentrification of too many areas, at the expense of those who have invested their lives there. I live here, and I don't want to walk down the street between strip malls and chain stores. We're better than that...we deserve better than that. We all have the ability to make an impact on our block, in our little community, and set an example that others can follow. We can learn from examples set elsewhere. We can remember what it was like, just a few decades ago, when the folks who sold us things knew our names, asked about our families, lived down the street, and became part of the web of social ties that make us strong. We can experience that today.

Thanks to Kim Babnik, our awesome barista and artist-in-residence, for making a mural to remind us of all this, and bring the idea to life through her beautiful work. The representation of the outside (the neighborhood), inside (the cafe), through the depiction of the buildings and other sights of our city, speaks to the integration between what we do here and what happens in Oakland at large. We're most successful when we work together, finding common ground instead of finding reasons to disagree.

We. Are the People. In your (our) Neighborhood. And that’s pretty all right.

-sal

We Are The People In Your Neighborhood - a retrospective show and anniversary celebration - opens December 9th

In December, Actual Cafe is celebrating two years of operation in Oakland’s Golden Gate district. On Friday December 9th from 5-10pm, we'll commemorate the occasion with the opening of a retrospective art show, entitled “We Are The People In Your Neighborhood”, and featuring our favorite artists who have shown at the cafe in the past year, along with artists from the Actual Cafe staff.


Artists in the show will include: Jon Suzuki (bicycle photography), Eva Silverman & Querido Galdo (Oakland and other urban photography), Alexis Babayan (woodcuts of local street scenes), Nissa Nicole (photography), Lauren Aczon (street corner illustrations), along with two of the cafe crew: Kim Babnik (character illustrations) and Rachyel Puleo (photography).




The opening will also include the unveiling of the cafe’s new indoor mural (also entitled “We Are The People In Your Neighborhood”), by Kim Babnik.

We're happy to be hosting more group shows of affordable art by local artists - look for more (details soon!)

The art show will be hanging until January 12th, 2012, but don't miss the opening reception/anniversary party. Here's the event listing on the Facebook.

Live Drawing - December 1, 6-8pm

Come join us for our first ever Live Drawing party! Watch awesome artists create one-of-a-kind works of art! Buy them while the ink is still wet!

We'll have a group of local artists, selected for their talent and ability to draw with an audience. Observers are encouraged to talk to artists about their work while they're making it.

All drawings will be on display and for sale throughout the night. Prices range from $5-$45.

Start or add to your art collection -these are extremely talented up and coming artists selling their work for insanely affordable prices!

Artists for this event:
Alex Rosmarin . Alison OK Frost . Kelly Monson . Jon Carling . Carrie Hall . John Casey . Obi Kaufmann . David Seiler . Heidi Cregge Cabra . Maya Kabat . Alison Tharp

We're hoping for a big turnout, which will lead to Live Drawing becoming a regular calendar feature here, so come out, k?

...Support local artists!...Buy awesome art for yourself or as gifts!...Observe the creative process unfolding before your very eyes!...it's Live Drawing at Actual Cafe!