The Great Wall of Oakland

The Great Wall of Oakland
Friday, November 7, 2008
6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
FREE
Scheduled Theme: Democracy

The best thing about the recent Information Swap Meet for the tenants of 2201 Broadway was meeting so many nice people who work "upstairs" in the Breuner Building. (We genealogy-types tend to head straight down to the "lower level" at 2201 Broadway and never really interact with our neighbors in the building.)

I've communicated with Carly Perez-Munoz, Breuner Building Operations Manager and with Chris Curtis, Metrovation’s Project Manager, but only via email, so it was a pleasure to talk with them in person.

Carly and Chris told me about the special role that the Breuner Building plays the first Friday of every month when one wall of the building at 2201 Broadway becomes "The Great Wall of Oakland" - a 100 by 100-foot outdoor screen for experimental media art. It's all part of the Art Murmur, a group of galleries in Uptown Oakland that have openings every first Friday of the month.

Chris explained, “Our idea in creating the Great Wall is to use the huge wall of our building at 2201 Broadway to provide a unique public venue for Oakland artists to display their visual artistry. We think the Great Wall of Oakland is an excellent addition to the Arts and Entertainment character of the Uptown District.

The Oakland Great Wall and Art Murmur gallery walk is now in its second year. The Great Wall overlooks Grand Avenue just west of Broadway, above a parking lot behind Luka’s Taproom & Lounge.

Graphic from the Oakland Cultural Arts Web site.