Arts and culture
Group behind Richmond Arts Corridor asks City Council for more time and money to put a plan together
Richmond Renaissance, the collective of local artists spearheading development of the Richmond Arts Corridor, is asking City Council for more money and a six-month deadline extension to produce a plan. Tuesday’s City Council agenda shows the group will seek an additional $15,000 for door-to-door canvassing to beef up the Arts Corridor’s strategic plan. The project aims to revitalize downtown Richmond by establishing an arts hub at the intersection of Macdonald Avenue and 23rd Street. The plan is expected to include…
Flag bearers entered Richmond Auditorium carrying an eagle staff adorned with feathers, marking the start of Grand Entry at the 15th Annual Richmond Powwow on Saturday. Behind them, dancers followed as All Nations, one of the oldest drum groups in the Bay Area, sang a flag song that filled the space. Under the theme, “Richmond Santa Fe Indian Village,” the powwow honored Laguna and Acoma Pueblo families who came from New Mexico in the 1920s to work on the Santa…
On the third Thursday of each month, Richmond’s poet laureate, Stephen Sharpe, hosts a poetry Open Mic Night at CoBiz Richmond, a coworking space on Macdonald Avenue next to the BART station. At the October event, Sharpe and CoBiz Executive Director Wesley Alexander arrived early to transform the atrium into an intimate auditorium. They set up three rows of eight chairs before the mic stand, and projected the logo of Afterword Press, Sharpe’s publishing business, on the wall behind the…
With a slice of pizza in one hand and a brush in the other, Julia LaChica worked with about a dozen others in paint-splattered aprons Thursday on a banner that eventually would read: “Japanese Americans say: Stop repeating history. No more camps. ICE out of CA.” The art build, at the Richmond studio of art activist David Solnit, moved quickly from tracing to cloth cutting, to painting, and screen printing, ending in three large yellow banners and hundreds of small…
With a push from Richmond’s art community, the city is moving forward with plans to create an arts corridor that will showcase local talent, encourage tourism and foster collaboration among creatives. In early October, the City Council took the first step by awarding a $50,000 contract to Independent Arts & Media, the fiscal sponsor of artist collective Richmond Renaissance, which will be executing the contract. The collective is tasked with planning and designing a vibrant arts corridor in Richmond’s downtown…
The annual Holiday Arts Festival will return to the Richmond Art Center for its 62nd year on Sunday, with over 50 local arts and crafts vendors, live music, food, and art activities to create your own holiday gifts. Everything from ceramics to knitwear will be showcased by artists from across the Bay Area, including many from Richmond. This year, the festival will include the Zine Zone for the first time, spotlighting independent zines, comics and prints. Amy Spencer, community engagement…
In a dimly lit backroom of The Factory Bar, a neighborhood cocktail and beer spot in Richmond, Maria Tuttle and her life partner, Ana Gutierrez, set up prizes and Lotería cards on a small table in the back corner with a banner that bears the name of Tuttle’s organization, Children’s Art Studio Richmond. A year ago, the organization opened and began providing free art classes in English and Spanish to young children, ages 2 to 5 years old, in Richmond….
It was opening night. The air was buzzing with excitement. As Kim Thoman and Joell Jones scanned the room, they took a moment to take in their success. What they saw was not just a populated art gallery, but a room full of family, friends, art lovers and Richmond residents who were eager to celebrate their artistry and creative journeys. In early September, the Richmond Art Center unveiled ”Sentinels and Saviors: Iconic Avatars,” an exhibition featuring the work of Thoman…
Dipping his brush into light blue paint, Peter Bakke filled numbered panels with the color. The sea was taking shape Saturday on the long wall in front of him, where dozens of other volunteers were applying shades of blue with careful strokes. Working all morning and much of the afternoon, the crew was the last of six to paint pieces of a mural called “Seeds to Harvest,” which stretches across 88 panels on a soundwall separating Richmond’s Parchester Village from…