Arts SCENE Click HERE for a sample of Oakland Artist Florence Wangs art THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA Oakland has a treasure-house of art, history and culture right in its midst. The Oakland Museum of California, located at 1000 Oak Street (corner of Oak and 10th Street) offers permanent exhibits of California's natural wonders, events, eras and people in its spacious, multi-tiered building. Along with the art gallery, the museum's Cowell Hall of California History details the traces of California Indians, along with memorabilia from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Natural Sciences gallery allows visitors to take a virtual walk across California and its nine different regions, accompanied by a library of natural sounds. The Gold Rush! California's Untold Stories exhibit, which began last January, immerses visitors into the sights and sounds of a remarkable era. It is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever presented on the historical event. Along with 150 stunning cased images from the 18th century, there are paintings by local artists, more than 1,500 artifacts, a reconstructed archaeological dig and even Sutter's original gold nugget. Visitors will get a glimpse of life in the mining camps from a new, multi-ethnic perspective, accompanied by an audio-guide in English, Cantonese and Spanish. On weekends, they can even pan for gold in the Museum's Gardens. Museum hours during Gold Rush! California's
Untold Stories RELATED STORIES A Review of Gold Rush! by David Littlejohn The Gold Rush! from a Chinese Perspective by Nina Wu The PRO Arts Gallery, located at 461 Ninth Street in a newly restored Victorian storefront in old Oakland, is an artist-based, non-profit organization seeking to reflect, challenge and nurture the culturally rich and diverse communities of the East Bay and beyond with a dialog expressed through visual arts. It was founded in 1974 as the Alameda County Neighhborhood Arts Program and has since evolved. They host six exhibitions per year, free and open to the public.Currently on display in the 3,000-square-foot gallery is Defiance: OUR SELVES, Black and Native American Photography, featuring the works of Hulleah J. Tsinhahjinnie, Zig Jackson, Lewis Watts, S‡longo Lee and RenŽ Pe–a.The exhibit showcases Black and Native Americans defining their own SELF-nesses through links to the experiences of oppression. Along with the exhibits, Pro Arts also hosts a wide range of activities, including artists workshops, art classes for children, the Koncepts Cultural Gallery's Wordsong's jazz and poetry readings and the monthly Ohana Open Mic: Asian Voices of Discontent. They also provide information on exhibition and job opportunities, grants and studio space. Their project, East Bay Open Studios, displays artwork in a year-round website at http://www.lanminds.com/proarts97. The members of Pro Arts include visual artists, supporters, collectors, designers, organizations and the business community from across the Bay Area. Hours: Wed. and Thurs., Noon to 6 p.m.,
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