Family Friendly Oakland
  • Home
  • About
    • Infographics
    • Resources
    • Play Oakland >
      • Play Oakland Photos
      • Play Oakland Partners
    • Safe Streets
    • Gallery
  • Blog
  • Map
  • Contact Us

Not All Artists Are Young. Or Single.

1/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
On Dec. 3, the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland became the deadliest in the city’s history, claiming the lives of 36 individuals. The warehouse inferno also consumed an event venue and artist collective that up to two dozen people—many of them artists—called home.
In the weeks since the fire, there's been no shortage of reporting on the many factors that set the scene for this tragedy, including the lack of coordination between public agencies, the disregard for common safety measures, and the broader housing crisis that disproportionately affects artists.
​
And yet, there has been little reported on the fact that for the past few years, a family that included three young children was living in the Ghost Ship in unsafe and substandard living conditions. While the subtenants who made the warehouse their home opted into the collective, the children likely had little choice in the matter. While their lives were thankfully spared, their improvised home was not.

Given the circumstances, it’s not enough to characterize artists simply as individuals in need of affordable places to create and live. We need to first understand that artists are a very diverse group, with a range of incomes, ages, and household sizes. And as the victims of the fire have demanded, we also need strong rental protections, eviction controls, and safe and affordable spaces for those who have been marginalized by society to gather and collaborate.
But if we genuinely want to make room for our artistic communities to thrive, we need to consider them within the full circle of life.


Read More
0 Comments

Oakland artists are parents too! 

11/15/2016

4 Comments

 
There are no shortage of examples of artistic parents who are working to keep Oakland creative. Here are just a few examples: 
Picture
  • Oakland’s Innosanto Nagara has written and illustrated some of the best children’s books available for today’s complicated times, including  A is for Activist and Counting on Community.
    ​ 
  • Jennifer Anderson is the Oakland parent and designer behind the popular Oaklandish/Fairyland re-branding 

  • Tommy Wong is an Oakland parent and artist working to keep Oakland Chinatown creative. He just helped to open a new pop up, the E14 Gallery in Old Oakland. ​


Read More
4 Comments

    Archives

    November 2018
    May 2018
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015

    Categories

    All
    Map
    Mosaic Trash Cans
    Parents Too
    Play Everywhere
    Play Oakland

      Keep up with us

    Subscribe
Website by Karla Tapia at Hack the Hood Bootcamp
  • Home
  • About
    • Infographics
    • Resources
    • Play Oakland >
      • Play Oakland Photos
      • Play Oakland Partners
    • Safe Streets
    • Gallery
  • Blog
  • Map
  • Contact Us