Arts and culture
Princesses, superheroes and inflatable dinosaurs filled buckets with endless candy as families gathered at the Hercules Community Center for the city’s annual Halloween in Hercules Friday. The free event, hosted by the Hercules Parks and Recreation Department since 2019, brought an estimated 2,000 community members together for an evening of seasonal festivities. For the “Trunk or Treat,” local businesses, schools and organizations decorated 31 cars and booths, with themes from Alice in Wonderland to alien abductions, and passed out favors…
More than 300 people filled an exhibition room at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for the opening of Orlando “O.” Smith’s first solo exhibition. Tucked into a corner of the second floor of the museum, it expands into three rooms, with open entry on either side, letting patrons choose which order they interpret Smith’s story. Family, friends and others walked among 28 of his works. The artist was the only one missing. Smith’s first solo show opened in…
Fifteen years after volunteering at the Richmond Art Center as an emerging artist, Vicky Chen returned as its executive director, joining the center’s 90th anniversary gala in September, just four days into the job. “I was a volunteer, but always dreamed of becoming an art class manager to lead youth in their art classes here,” Chen said at the Sept. 25 event. “Now look at me.” In her new role, Chen aims to expand youth programs and partnerships with community…
Wearing rainbow-colored shirts, socks, pants and even hair, people of all ages moved easily on a breezy Saturday afternoon through Martinez’s Waterfront Park, which was decorated for the Fourth annual Pride in Martinez. More than 50 organizations set up tables in the park on the banks of the Carquinez Strait. Artists and artisans sold handmade art and jewelry. Food trucks dished up pizza and quesabirria tacos, the seasoned aroma filling the air. And ice cream vendors walked the perimeter, ringing…
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…