art

Hip-hop is one of the most popular genres in the country. Matthew Policarpio, a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School, wanted to understand why so many of his friends are die-hard rap fans.

KALW is listener-supported. Donate to support local public radio.  

Antoine Hunter is an Oakland-based dancer, choreographer, director, and advocate for the Deaf community — that’s Deaf with a capital D, which refers to Deaf culture. When Antoine was growing up, dance became a lifeline to the world around him.

Jaimel Hemphill’s comic book hobby grew into a passion. He and his friends launched National Press Comics, a publishing company in Oakland with diverse characters and genres. He stopped by to talk comics and wound up sharing a funny wrestling story.

Jena McRae, a dancer with the Embodiment Project, first met David "Dublin" Schwirtz, a vocalist with the Shotgun Wedding Quintet, during a rehearsal at the Treat Street Social Club. They sat down with StoryCorps and shared a few highlights of how their relationship evolved over time, into love.

THE INTERSECTION looks at changing cities through physical intersections. This time we’re doing something different: The city is temporary and the intersections are conceptual. We’re going to a remote corner of Nevada for Burning Man.

If you take BART often, your ride has probably been interrupted by folks playing instruments, rapping, dancing — or all of the above. This month, BART’s Board of Directors will be considering a ban on aggressive panhandling, which might effectively put an end to busking on board.

Brendon Chan’s dancing talents have taken him to many countries. Now, he’s back home in San Francisco performing in the hit musical Hamilton. Brendon spoke to KALW’s Jenee Darden about what it took to reach this point of his career.

Oakland singer-songwriter Zakiya Harris performs under the name Sh8peshifter. She came to that name and her musical career when her personal and professional life fell apart.

As a young girl, henna artist Sabreena Haque learned about her culture’s ancient traditions during family visits to Pakistan. She became fascinated with the intricacy of henna designs at a family wedding and saw the art form as a way to share her culture with others.

From The Stoop:

Whether it's the music we hear, the clothes we wear, or the way we talk, a lot of us at some point were made to feel 'not black enough.' In this episode, we go deep with comedian W. Kamau Bell who's felt awkward in black circles and before black audiences, and we'll meet Black Benatar, a drag queen who struggles with performing blackness.

The Golden State Warriors season ended last week with a dramatic loss to the Toronto Raptors. It’s not the send-off Oakland fans were hoping for as the team bids farewell to Oracle Arena. Now, a season of promise turns into an off-season of uncertainty. There are still signs of the team all over the Town and that’s not going to change any time soon. In fact, the logo for this podcast is the iconic Warriors’ bridge image dripping off a brick wall, and that’s from a mural in Oakland by Illuminaries. In this edition of Bounce, we catch up with Illuminaries co-founder Tim Hon whose crew are painting for the Dubs. 

Poet and college professor Daniel B. Summerhill grew up in Oakland and first picked took an interest in creative writing when he was in high school. Since then, Daniel has performed spoken word all over the world and he’s helping the next generation of Bay Area wordsmiths find their voices.

For actor and playwright Dan Hoyle, theatre is part of his DNA. His father is veteran stage performer Geoff Hoyle, and Dan has had several acclaimed one-man shows that not only make audiences laugh but think. He’s back at the Marsh for his latest production "Border People."

Mia Nakano is a photographer and archivist with an interest in LGBTQ stories. But she used to struggle to find resources on queer and trans Asian American history. So she took it upon herself to begin documenting their experiences.

If you could see inside my brain when I was looking at a piece of art, would you know what it was like for me to look at that art?

In his memoir "Paper Sons," award-winning author Dickson Lam takes readers to the North Beach projects of San Francisco, where he grew up in the early 90s.

Fahrenheit 213 is a group art exhibit made by feminist artists and writers, dozens of them from around the Bay. It spotlights works inspired by feminist protest. The exhibit is co-curated by artist-activist Karen Gutfreund. 

Fahrenheit 213 is showing at the Arc Gallery in San Francisco through May 11.

More than forty years ago, San Francisco’s Theatre of Yugen became one of the first American theater companies to feature classical Japanese theater arts.

What does it mean to have good (or bad) taste in music?

In the Bay Area’s Independent Clothing Market, it’s not uncommon for the worlds of fashion and art to intersect. One artist who has made the transition from the spray can to garments is San Francisco’s Nathan Tan. 

Vickie Simms is a docent for the Pan American Unity Mural, painted by 20th-century artist Diego Rivera. Vickie gave up a business career to study art history, and this is a plum gig. The artwork is extraordinary. And Vickie’s pretty amazing, herself.

Have you ever wondered where you can find the murals by Mexican artist Diego Rivera in San Francisco? KALW listener Monzerrath Gonzalez has. So, KALW Reporter Sara Nora Koust went with her to San Francisco Art Institute to check one out.

Today is Valentine’s Day. To celebrate we want to share with you a love story set here in the Bay Area.

Sandip Roy experiences a testiment to resiliance.... at the Pavlov Mental Hospital.

From the Carlos Santana tribute wall in the Mission District to his Jerry Garcia piece in the Haight, much of Water’s work celebrates the iconic figures of San Francisco’s past.

We’re introducing a new semi-regular segment—Bay Views. It’s a chance for you—folks from our community of listeners and makers—to share your thoughts about our changing city and region. 

Over five million Syrians have fled their homes, seeking refuge from a brutal civil war that’s killed an estimated half a million people since 2011. It can be easy to get lost in the numbers and lose perspective on the individual people living admist the violence. So how can you connect with people living around the world? Try with a shipping container, a Skype account, and a little gold paint.

From the ashes of the Tubbs wildfire, a Sonoma, CA community rebuilds it’s community through one man’s pottery.

The Bay Area is known for its mural art. Vibrant colors, intricate details, and a variety of styles tell the stories of San Francisco’s diverse communities. This summer a new mural in San Francisco went up. It’s called “Humanity is Key” and tells the story of an artist’s homeland: Palestine. KALW’s Mira Nabulsi visited the mural and talked to the artist behind it.