By Kathy Chouteau
Three new exhibitions are showing at the Richmond Art Center (RAC) July 9—September 6, with themes reflecting on the past and present by exploring personal and shared histories and the current power of creative expression in Richmond, according to the RAC.
“Made in Richmond,” “Mobilize, Organize, Occupy,” and “Reassembled Memories” will celebrate their collective “Opening Reception” Saturday, July 12 from 1-3 p.m. at the RAC.
Organized by Visual Artists of Richmond, the Made in Richmond exhibition will offer a preview of the work of more than 70 local artists taking part in the third annual Richmond Open Studios weekend September 6-7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The RAC called the sneak peek “both a guide to planning your studio visits and a snapshot of Richmond’s creative scene, reflecting the breadth of energy and artistic talent that define the city’s arts community.” In addition to the RAC and solo artist studios, the Point Richmond Gallery, NIAD Art Center and Richmond Museum of History & Culture will take part in the Richmond Open Studios event.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the young Black photographer, Kenneth P. Green, Sr., captured three pivotal moments in Bay Area activism: A Black Panther rally in Richmond, the March Against Repression in Oakland, and the Occupation of Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay. The RAC’s Mobilize, Organize, Occupy photographic exhibition of Green’s work “reveals the interconnectedness of these movements and the spirit of solidarity and resistance that defined them,” according to the RAC.
Artist Jean Kashima looks back on her family’s forced removal and incarceration during WWII in her exhibition Reassembled Memories. Prior to her family’s removal from their Berkeley home, Kashima’s grandfather, Seizo Oishi, operated a Richmond carnation nursery. “Using collage and family photos, Kashima’s work quietly preserves and remembers stories shaped by displacement, loss and resilience,” said the RAC.
Find all three exhibitions this July at the RAC at 2540 Barrett Avenue in Richmond. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. RSVPs are not needed for the free event.
