Every First Friday of the month, Oakland Art Murmur joins together to help raise awareness of and participation in the arts in Oakland, with an emphasis in visual arts. Go straight from work, grab some friends, walk around and be a part of the movement and activity that is happening!
Information about Oakland Art Murmur, from their website www.oaklandartmurmur.com:
Oakland Art Murmur is a coalition of art and cultural
venues dedicated to increasing popular awareness of and participation in
the arts in Oakland, with an emphasis on visual art. We promote visual
art in Oakland through collective marketing and outreach efforts and
our monthly First Friday events, which are open to the public and
attended by hundreds of local and visiting art enthusiasts.
Oakland Art Murmur began as an acknowledgment by eight
arts spaces located in the Northgate and Temescal neighborhoods that a
cooperative effort to promote the arts in the region would garner more
attention for their individual visual art programs. This led to the
monthly First Friday art walks, at which all participating spaces hold
concurrent receptions. The first Oakland Art Murmur occurred in January
2006. The oaklandartmurmur.com website soon expanded to list
exhibitions and cultural activities outside of those of Art Murmur
members.
Art Murmur membership continues to grow, and First Fridays are
capitalized on by neighboring businesses and arts spaces unaffiliated
with the Oakland Art Murmur. Attracting gangs of bicyclists, BART
riders and car-poolers from across the Bay Bridge or beyond the
Caldecott tunnel, the Oakland Art Murmur continues to see growing
attendance and community support. The First Friday art walk has grown
to include street performances, one night only art installations,
activists raising money and awareness for local social service
organizations and political initiatives.