Alternate Histories

You’re likely aware that the Bay Area is experiencing an extreme affordability crisis. Within the arts community, that has meant that many crucial alternative-art spaces that once thrived in Oakland are now at risk. On Saturday, May 21, Pro Arts Gallery (150 Frank H Ogawa Plaza, Oakland) will be hosting a panel called Alternative Histories, in which longtime participants of the alternative Bay Area art scene will discuss both the past and future of these important spaces. The panel will feature Anyka Barber, Oakland native, director of Betti Ono gallery, and founder of the Oakland Creative Neighborhoods Coalition; Nicholas Wylie, artist, organizer and Development Director at Southern Exposure gallery in San Francisco; Renny Pritkin, chief curator at The Contemporary Jewish Museum; and Sarah Lockhart, who founded the arts nonprofit 21 Grand (2000–2010), which was one of the first members of Oakland Art Murmur.