Art by Paul Morgan

A few months ago Oakland music and arts space 21 Grand had faced some challenges, but this weekend they bounce back with some programming to help fund the space — including a poster art show from 6-9pm in conjunction with Oakland’s First Friday Art Murmur.

About the event:

When 21 Grand started in July 2000 its primary purpose was to create an interdisciplinary arts space in Oakland. This came out of a recognition of the blurred borders between different creative pursuits that came to the forefront of public attention during the heyday of postmodernism. Though prevalent opinions on performance art may have changed, that exchange between different disciplines has remained. It is not something exclusive to the Bay Area, but it is something very deeply intrinsic to the nature of our culture here.

One basic example of these blurred borders worth acknowledging is the visual art created to promote live events: flyers & posters. It may be something we take for granted as cultural ephemera, but it is the visual illustration of a sensibility that is not visual art. And they often serve as the primary documents of an event’s existence.

Over 10 years of hosting visual art exhibitions and an outrageous number of live events has led to the fact that flyers & posters for these events have become an integral part of 21 Grand’s identity. So, in recognition of this and
for our final First Friday Oakland Art Murmur 21 Grand will host a survey of the visual propaganda behind a decade of live shows.

Then on Sunday, stop by the venue between 11am and 5pm for a record swap benefit. The marketplace will consist of LPs, tapes, videos and electronic equipment from the following Bay Area music collectors:

George Chen
Greg Scharpen
Jim Kaiser
Gregory Hagan
Moe Staiano
Paul Costuros (Soul Night, Death Sentence:Panda)
Matt Davignon
Ken Sanderson (Prank Records)
Dean Santomieri
Gerald Santana
Dan Plonsey