Art

‘Black Woman is God’ is Back for the Fourth Year

The Black Woman is God (TBWIG) opened its yearly art exhibit with a reception in downtown San Francisco on June 29. The event featured food, music, and community, and plenty of space to admire the art on display. This year’s theme is Motherhood and the pieces exploring the ways Black mothers show up, as well as the ways they don’t, but honoring it all.

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Oakland Post

Violinist Tarika Lewis, left, and Harpist Destiny Muhammad, both of Oakland performed at the Fourth Annual The Black Woman Is God opening reception on June 29. Photo by Zoe Jung.

By Daisha Williams

The Black Woman is God (TBWIG) opened its yearly art exhibit with a reception in downtown San Francisco on June 29.

The event featured food, music, and community, and plenty of space to admire the art on display. This year’s theme is Motherhood and the pieces exploring the ways Black mothers show up, as well as the ways they don’t, but honoring it all.

In line with the theme, mothers were encouraged to bring their children to the event, emphasizing that this space was for everyone. One of the artists, Marissa Atterberry, said, “It felt amazing to create with motherhood in mind and create something that was inclusive of myself as a whole person and inclusive of my children and then to step into a space that was inclusive of children. But for Karen Seneferu [the founder] to say ‘bring the children, honor the children,’ it felt really good.”

Seneferu, the founder of TBWIG had also ensured that the event was spiritual in nature, with attendees performing a ritual and stating intentions upon entering, and opened with a prayer and a blessing, setting up positive energy that lasted the whole evening.

Entry to The Black Woman Is God exhibit in downtown San Francisco on June 29. Photo by Daisha Williams.

TBWIG celebrates Black women and their art through this annual exhibit. The intent of these events is to show that they are moving past embattled ideologies and reclaiming the legacy of Black women artists.

Black women have contributed so much to society, yet they are often not celebrated openly, which is why events like this, seeing them as art and artists, celebrating their beauty, grace, and influence, is so important.

The venue at 231 Grant St. was smaller than in previous years — this is the event’s second year since the pandemic — which made the environment cozy and welcoming, like a family atmosphere.

This doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a good turnout though, as the room filled up within an hour after opening. Zoe Jung talked about the strong sense of community he felt as an attendee. “There was a sense of camaraderie between the musicians and the artists and even the people walking through.”

Seneferu is an artist herself. She says she hopes that she can transform the meaning of space for Black women by creating one that belongs to them.

She intentionally puts artists of different experience levels in the exhibit to show the historical legacy of Black women artists. “I just felt so deeply honored and humbled, and I have a lot of family photos in the altar that I created, and I just loved seeing people go up and see my family and hopefully see some of their own family in my family.”

The reception was a lively space. From the minute of opening, people mingled while still taking the time and space to appreciate the art.

The art, the people and the music together made for a beautiful experience.

Harpist Destiny Muhammad and violinist Tarika Lewis played duets shifting the focus and spotlight away from the walls.

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Activism

Griot Theater Company Presents August Wilson’s Work at Annual Oratorical Featuring Black Authors

The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.

Published

2 months ago

February 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Late playwright August Wilson. Wikipedia photo.

By Godfrey Lee

Griot Theater Company will present their Fifth Annual Oratorical with August Wilson’s “Half a Century,” at the Belrose on 1415 Fifth Ave., in San Rafael near the San Rafael Public Library.

The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20^th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.

Previous performance highlighting essential Black American authors included Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry with Langston Hughes.

The play will be performed at 3:00. p.m. on Feb. 20, 21, 22, 27, and 28 at 7:00 p.m., and on Feb. 23 at 3:00 p.m.

For more information, go to griottheatercompany.squarespace.com/productions-v2

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Activism

MLK Day of Service Volunteers Make Blankets and Art for Locals in Need

“Everyone has an opportunity to participate,” said Glenda Roberts, kinship support care program manager at CCYSB. “Our nonprofit organization and participants recognize how important it is to give back to the community and this is serving. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, ‘Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.’”

Published

3 months ago

January 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of the nonprofit.

By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Standard

The Contra Costa Youth Service Bureau (CCYSB) and Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church (BMBC) are collaborating with a team of volunteers for a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Monday, Jan. 20 that will wrap the community’s most vulnerable people in warm blankets and provide them with an uplifting gift of art.

Volunteers will kick off their activities at BMBC at 11 a.m., making blankets for the unhoused people served by the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) and art for those in convalescence in Richmond.

Others will get to work preparing a lunch of chili, salad, a veggie tray, and water for participants, offered courtesy of CCYSB, while supplies last.

“People of all ages are welcome to participate in the MLK Day of Service,” said Roberts. Volunteers can RSVP via phone to Glenda Roberts at 510-215-4670, ext. 125.

CCYSB Boardmember Jackie Marston and her friends donated the materials and supplies to make the blankets and art projects. The nonprofit is also providing the day’s complimentary lunch, as well as employees to volunteer, under the direction of CCYSB Executive Director Marena Brown.

BMBC, led by Rev. Dr. Carole McKindley-Alvarez, is providing the facility for the event and volunteers from the church, which is located at 684 Juliga Woods St. in Richmond.

Located in Richmond, CCYSB is a nonprofit youth advocacy organization that serves eligible children, youth, and low-income families with a variety of wraparound services so they can thrive. Programs include academic achievement, youth mentorship, truancy prevention and direct response.

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Art

Vandalism at Richmond Ferry Terminal Saddens Residents

Residents have been lamenting the destruction online. Ellen Seskin posted photos of the vandalism to the Facebook group, Everybody’s Richmond, on Jan. 12, saying she encountered it while out on a walk. “It was on the sidewalk, the street, the doors to the ferry, even in the art installation and the ‘stone’ benches,” she said. “I reported it but knowing how slow they are about getting things done — I just know that the longer you leave graffiti, the more likely they are to spray it again.”

Published

3 months ago

January 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Graffiti mars the walkway at the Richmond Ferry Terminal. Photo by Kathy Chouteau, The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” stated the post on NextDoor.

The post referenced images of graffiti at the Richmond Ferry Terminal. Not just on the terminal, but also on public artwork, on trail signs, on public benches and the boardwalk.

On Wednesday, the Standard stopped by to see it for ourselves. The good news was that it appears the graffiti on the terminal and on the artwork, called Changing Tide, have been cleaned for the most part. But graffiti remained abundant in the area around the relatively new ferry terminal, which opened to the public just six years ago.

Graffiti artists tagged benches and the boardwalk. Cars that had done doughnuts in the street marked the cul-de-sac just outside the historic Craneway Pavilion.

A ferry worker told us the graffiti had been there since before he started working for the ferry service about a week ago.

A member of the Army Corps of Engineers who did not want to be named in this report called the scene “sad,” as “they’d done such a nice job fixing it up.”

“It’s sad that all this money has been spent and hoodlums just don’t care and are destroying stuff,” he said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how soon the graffiti would be removed. The Standard reported the graffiti to the city’s graffiti abatement hotline. We were prompted to leave a message reporting the address and location of the graffiti.

“It was on the sidewalk, the street, the doors to the ferry, even in the art installation and the ‘stone’ benches,” she said. “I reported it but knowing how slow they are about getting things done — I just know that the longer you leave graffiti, the more likely they are to spray it again.”

In the comment section responding to Seskin’s post, local attorney Daniel Butt questioned why there aren’t cameras in the area.

On Nextdoor, one resident suggested searching to see if the tags match any accounts on Instagram, hoping to identify the perpetrator.

On its website, the City of Richmond says residents should graffiti immediately call Public Works graffiti removal and/or Code Enforcement at 510-965-4905.

Kathy Chouteau contributed to this report.