West Oakland Matters Artists Go to Art of the African Diaspora 2026
EARLY CALL FOR ARTWORKS:
WESTFEST 2026
With West Oakland changing so rapidly, photography and painting that has captured the neighborhood's environment or ambiance is especially prized. This is an early call for works by:
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all artists who have participated in West Oakland Matters exhibits in 2024 or 2025.
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New artists
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All photojournalists
HOW IT WORKS: Sign up now (see below) - feel free to supply a website link or Instagram address.
Between now and JUNE 1ST choose 1 to 3 artworks
We will ask you for digital images of your choice(s) in June.
TO SIGNUP FOR THIS THEMATIC 2026 Exhibit and its ONLINE GALLERY, click any picture above, and use subject line "WESTFEST26 MY WORK". Include your email contact info, medium, and Send. No images required until June; old and new work desired!
Street Photography, Journalists, Archivists
Interiors, Landmarks (This:Esthers Orbit Room)
Studio, Community and Public Art incl. Painting, Prints
(This: 7th West-Home of West Oakland Matters
WOM CURATORS AND VISUAL ARTISTS AT
THE ART OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
Click to see Simone Nia Rae, Jimi Evins, Malcolm Ryder, Leon Kennedy and others in the AOTAD Online Gallery
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For the second time in three years, Oakland's Mayor awarded our leadership with a proclamation, this year also commemorating July 26 as an official memorial day.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
For the second year in a row, Oakland City Council awarded a commendation to West Oakland Matters for our effort and impact.
West Oakland Matters Newsletter
West Oakland Matters 2025 Press Release
5-WAY ART COLLABORATION CREATES UNIQUE DONOR GIFT
This one-of-a-kind artwork will go with our great gratitude to some special donor to our organization. The work is a completely unique color print, 36 inches high framed, and is a collaboration of five different arts concerns in or serving West Oakland, including the neighborhood's own internationally renown abstract expressionist sculptor Bruce Beasley, photographer Malcolm Ryder, printers Hanson Digital and Underdog Film Lab, and custom framer Sterling Art Services.
Signed by Beasley and certified by Ryder, the work perfectly symbolizes the West Oakland Matters modus operandi of creative collaboration amplifying West Oakland's agency and self-determination in its development.