Living Concrete

Living Concrete is a graffiti mural on OMCA's Oak Street Plaza. At a live event on January 21, 2012, Oakland graffiti artists Ras Terms, Safety First, Resta, and Tecka transformed what had been a five-hundred-square-foot blackboard (more info here) into a collaborative mural.

Preliminary sketch for the mural 

The artists painted all day on June 21, accompanied by live DJ music by MistaB of 4OneFunk, DnZ and Brigidope of the Amazing Zoo Crew, and DJ Quest of Bullet Proof Scratch. Oakland's favorite mac and cheese joint, Homeroom, was dishing up pasta.

The mural design draws on Oakland's diversity and history, and includes several Oakland landmarks such as Tribune Tower and the Fox Theater. The design also incorporates imagery—a raised fist, Angela Davis, a proud Native woman—from several iconic posters in OMCA's political poster collection. The artists used a traditional graffiti style and a combination of brush and aerosol paint.

During the event, the artists broadened the collaboration by inviting several other graffiti artists to contribute. The final mural includes the work of Dan Fontes, GATS, Dead Eyes, Ash Rose, and Keena. Resta and Tecka worked under the mentorship of Ras Terms and Safety First.

Below are photos of the event.

Living Concrete incorporates imagery from these four political posters. The posters are from OMCA's All Of Us Or None collection.

Poster from OMCA's All Of Us Or None collection

Living Concrete was guest-curated by Kristi Holohan of Rock Paper Scissors Collective and produced by the Oakland Standard.

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