On July 18, The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) will open Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain, a powerful new History exhibition that spotlights how Black communities in the Bay Area.
The communities have pushed back against erasure to create spaces of care, culture, and belonging. Rooted in the histories of West Oakland and Russell City, the exhibition highlights local stories of resistance and renewal, while resonating with broader national themes of Black migration, displacement, and reclamation.
Through historical artifacts, photographs, personal mementos, and newly commissioned works, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain offers a deeply human portrait of what it means to reclaim space in the face of systemic injustice. The exhibition opens with three thematic zones—Homeplace, Social Fabric, and Dispossession and Repair—that guide visitors through the rise of West Oakland and Russell City’s Black communities and their subsequent displacement by urban development in the 1960s. These sections provide context for three new installations in which an artist (Adrian Burrell), an architect (June Grant with blinkLAB architecture), and an archive (Archive of Urban Futures and Moms 4 Housing) envision futures where Black presence is not only preserved but empowered. From Burrell’s towering multimedia bottle tree installation to a life-size model of 2928 Magnolia Street—the once-vacant West Oakland home occupied and revitalized by Moms 4 Housing—these installations blend personal history with political vision.
“This exhibition honors how Black communities carve out space and potential for the future, even in the shadow of systemic oppression,” said Dania Talley, OMCA Associate Curator of History. “It’s about memory, but also momentum.”
“We are grateful to the many community members, artists, and scholars who shared their stories and gave shape to this exhibition,” said Lori Fogarty, OMCA Executive Director and CEO. “This exhibition comes at a crucial time, as the need to uplift Black voices, preserve community histories, and confront systemic injustices is as urgent as ever.”