SPACES: Oakland
(2021)
An immersive experience created by Oakland residents and artists that gives a glimpse into one of the most vibrant cities in the US.
An immersive experience created by Oakland residents and artists that gives a glimpse into one of the most vibrant cities in the US.
SPACES is an immersive experience that merges contemporary performance with the ancient art of storytelling in a place-specific participatory work. Each SPACES piece is built around the site of its performance, and created and performed with the local community that gives this place its life and identity.
Presented in Oakland’s historic downtown, SPACES takes over the beautiful Oakland City Hall and the Frank H. Ogawa Plaza during a sold-out run. Participants are invited to inhabit in a new way these symbols of government that have shaped today’s urban space and life. Drawing from California’s history and Oakland’s multiculturalism, Oaklanders share personal stories that reflect the rich social and cultural fabric of an increasingly gentrified and culturally diverse city.
Presented at the Oakland City Hall & Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on July 9, 10 & 11 and 16, 17 & 18, 2021
Artistic Director: Simón Adinia Hanukai
Choreographers: Sarah Crowell with Lauren Cox
Vertical Dance Choreographer: Melecio Estrella
Dancers: Sarah Crowell, Rose Huey, Macio Payomo, and Rashidi Omari
Vertical Dancers: Rose Huey, Sarah Keeney, and Maddy Lawder
Music Curation: YR Media Team featuring Rami Kingsley-Doyle, Noel Anaya, Xingzhou Chen, Will Flattery-Vickness and Ben Frost
DJ: Dion Decibels
Live Vocals and Percussion: Christelle Durandy & Mena Ramos
Stage and Production Management: Phred Sugarman
Costume Design: Serena Monts
Lighting Design: Phred Sugarman
Production, technical, and marketing support provided by The Downtown Oakland Association/Oakland Central
Press Relations: Mary Carbonara
Storytellers: Miguel Binion, Dwayne Clay III, Mickey "Pop's" Fort, Rafael Jesús González, Rhummanee Hang, Debra Israel, Luz Alvarez Martinez, Damien McDuffie, Fredrika Newton, Christine No, Richie Nuñez, Dylan Nussbaum, Liz Ogbu, Leland B. Thompson, Patanisha Williams, Leva Zand. Oakland has so many more stories than we could ever share, but each performance featured 6-8 of our incredible storytellers.
The ADP.FM team, part of YR Media, curated the soundscape for SPACES: Oakland, spanning four eras of Oakland’s music. Enjoy them on adp.fm or on Spotify.
Produced by Kaimera
The concept for SPACES was created by Jonathan Camuzeaux, Lauren Cox and Simón Adinia Hanukai.
SPACES: Oakland was developed in parallel with SPACES: Saint Denis as part of the Oakland/Saint-Denis cooperation project of Villa San Francisco in coproduction with the French American Cultural Society, the Institut Français, California Humanities, and in collaboration with Légendes Urbaines, which brought together urban and cultural actors, institutions and academics in the San Francisco Bay Area and Grand Paris.
In partnership with City of Oakland Cultural Affairs, Destiny Arts Center, BANDALOOP, Downtown Oakland Association, and YR Media.
This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (visit calhum.org) and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Additional support was provided by the French Embassy in the U.S., The Clorox Company Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Decathlon Emeryville, and the MAP Fund.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of California Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.