You can’t talk about the East Bay Area without mentioning the art. And you can’t mention the art without mentioning the rooted community. And if you’re talking about the community, you need to mention this area’s historical commitment to social justice, self-empowerment, and revolutionary ideals—exemplified by individuals like Huey P. Newton and Chinaka Hodge, two of the region’s most brilliant minds who’ve reached audiences worldwide with their messages of truth.
Add to that list Andre Jones. More commonly known by his alias, Natty Rebel, the Richmond-based artist is the founder and director of the Bay Area Mural Program, one of the only Black-owned public art organizations in Northern California.
A muralist himself, Natty started out like many Bay Area artists do— with a hunger to express his visions of a more peaceful and vibrant world. But early on, he often lacked opportunities, visibility, and recognition. That’s when he decided to launch BAMP and Art Clash, which offer a variety of workshops and events for local artists to engage with the community.
For the first time since COVID, the event returned in full-force for their second annual Art Clash installment. Implementing a voting-based system and auction, painters from around the area converge to create their themed work in real-time for a live audience, then sell their finished art to those in attendance at the Filipino-owned bar, 7th West.
“The theme this year was ‘What’s your imprint on the city?’ but I remixed it to ‘What’s the city’s imprint on me?’,” one artist, Javier Hernandez, told me.
An Oakland-raised visual designer, the Mexican American painter depicted himself among a background of Oakland’s symbols — the cranes near the harbor, the Oakland A’s elephant, a tree with roots, and the iconic lamps that line Lake Merritt’s perimeter. “If you know what’s up, you know what these mean,” he says.
He was a singular example of the many artists who wanted to communicate their pride and love for their city in public — something they haven’t been able to do since the statewide lock down was initiated 15 months ago.
“This event can change the trajectory for an artist,” Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith, BAMP’s Creative Director says. A former winner of the event herself, it helped to launch her path into the local arts as a profession. Now, she gets to curate, critique, and guide other creators with feedback and encouragement as a major power player in the art scene who helps amplify the voices of others.
“Before Art Clash, I wasn’t given that chance in other places,” she says. “But with events like this I’ve been able to elevate my craft. We have to support our artists because they are an essential part of this community.”
Indeed, the event provided an authentic feeling of unity, in which artists mingled with the interactive audience by exchanging jokes, gaining votes, and sharing love in every form. And best of all, each creator was financially compensated for their time. Though participants had to pay a $100 fee to enter, they were rewarded through donations and an auction. Each participant was able to break even — at minimum — or, in many cases, make profits (something that isn’t always the goal, but is necessary for any Bay Area artist to endure in 2021).
The winning painter, Tracy Williams, was awarded $1,000 for her publicly-voted piece, then additionally sold her original work for $550 in a lively atmosphere of bidders who were gathered in the West Oakland bar’s backyard space.
“I hella love Oakland,” Williams said during her acceptance speech. “I love our ancestors. I love peace. I love the acvitism here, the scraper bikes, the turf dancers, and all of the social movements that started out from right here. That’s what I tried to capture.”
Having lived in Utah for the past six years, Williams felt fulfilled in being back home, having recently relocated back to the Bay after the pandemic. The event provided her, along with the other 12 participants, hope in a profession that doesn’t always yield a financial return.
The second and third place winners received $300 and $200 gift cards, respectively, from a local art supply store, in addition to auctioning off their art, which ranged from $100–600.
In a time of displacement and economic survival for many creators in a rapidly shifting region, it’s events like this that serve as a reminder as to why the Bay is a special place to be — especially as people of color. For many, this is our home, and that affection is shown on each canvas and neighborhood wall— quite literally. And don’t be fooled by the recent commodification of Juneteenth by the U.S. government— these events happen year-round in the Bay Area with the aid of orgs like BAMP, and capture the vibe of our everyday existence around here.
For future activities like this, be sure to hit up the Bay Area Mural Program’s IG page. Like any locally-run non-profit, they depend on public awareness and support, such as donations and volunteers, to keep the spirit of the movement alive, so help them out by spreading the good word.
“Although an ‘Art Clash,’ everybody comes here to support and cheer one another,” artist, Papatson Suphavai, says. “It’s all-around uplifting, and the competition aspect was just another tool for everyone to walk away with something.”
And we all did.
