Welcome to “The Sights + Sounds Show with Jeneé Darden," where every week we tap into the Bay Area arts scene and bring you rich conversations with artists. On today’s show: Host Jeneé Darden visits the home of the legendary Bay Area artist Mildred Howard to talk about her exhibition at the Oakland Museum. Then, artwork at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts that honors past queer and trans movements.
Today’s theme is about looking at the people whose shoulders we stand on.
Mildred Howard
There’s been a lot of buzz in the arts community about the Oakland Museum’s latest exhibition. It’s called “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory.” The works displayed span five decades of the iconic multimedia artists’ career. Mildred Howard was born in San Francisco and grew up in the East Bay. Most of those years in South Berkeley.
You might’ve seen her large bronze sculpture that looks like a piece of West African jewelry near Ashby BART station. She created that in honor of her mother and activist Mable Howard. She led a movement in the 1960s for BART tracks to run underground when so that they wouldn’t divide the predominantly Black, South Berkely neighborhood if above ground. Or maybe you’ve seen her bronze locks and keys installation in downtown San Francisco, which pays homage to union leader Harry Bridges.
Mildred is an internationally known artist with honorary doctorates, and she’s a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow. This is her first exhibition at a major museum. Host Jeneé Darden met with Mildred Howard at her West Oakland home.
"Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory" is currently running at the Oakland Museum until October 18.
Caro De Robertis and Tina Valentin Aguirre
We’re living in times that will be told in history books for many, many years to come. While some may be reimagining a better future, they’re also looking to the past for answers. How did our ancestors overcome days that were like these and worse? This came to mind for Host Jeneé Darden when she saw “Conjuring Power: Roots and Futures of Queer and Trans Movements.”
The multimedia exhibition features works inspired by and celebrating the history of resistance of trans and queer communities. Tina Valentin Aguirre and Caro de Robertis are the exhibition’s curators. Tina is a documentarian, poet, and director of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District. Caro is a creative writing professor at San Francisco State University and an award-winning author.
“Conjuring Power: Roots and Futures of Queer and Trans Movements" is currently running at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco until August 23.
