When the COVID-19 shut down hit back in 2020, artists went to Downtown Oakland and painted murals on boarded up businesses. The images expressed the rage and sadness over social justice issues, such as police killings of unarmed Black people. Some works celebrated the beauty of the city’s diversity. A new book documents nearly 100 of some of the city’s most profound murals. It’s called “Painting The Streets: Oakland Uprising In The Time Of Rebellion (Nomadic Press)” The cover art is a work by Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith. Her large murals are inspired by Afro-futurism, liberation, and abstract surrealism. In this interview she speaks about her rise as a muralist and her experience of painting during the 2020 protests.
There's this beautiful thing about making people look up to Black women, look up to Black people where you have to stand, raise your head and be in reverence.Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith
On Saturday June 18th, 4-7pm, Nomadic Press is celebrating the release of "Painting the Streets: Oakland Uprising in the Time of Rebellion" at Bandung Books/ EastSide Arts Alliance in Oakland.
