Check out: our interactive map, a more in-depth description, and how you can join our project
Interactive Map
WE ARE CONTINUING OUR PROJECT, REDLINE REDEFINED!
Are you an artist interested in exploring a redlined neighborhood? Do you have a project idea? Fill out our call and we will be in touch.
Commissions will be $1,500-$2,500 depending on scope of project.
What is Redlining?
Definition:
systematic practice of denying people (usually low-income/BIPOC) financial and other services based on where they lived
What is East Bay: Redline Redefined about?
In the 1930s, the federal government carved The East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley and surrounding towns) into a series of puzzle pieces--imaginary lines were drawn down streets, dividing neighborhoods, families, and entire populations of Oakland residents. This practice, known as “redlining,” discouraged investments in certain neighborhoods, making it exceedingly difficult for much of The East Bay’s low-income and people of color to receive basic necessities. The boundaries of these redlined districts show a striking social chasm -- in which one’s ability to receive healthcare, schooling, or even access to basic necessities could be determined by the street you lived on. Nearly a century later, the exact same puzzle pieces spell out a story of a new East Bay: one in which renewed demand for city center properties has led to the continued exclusion of victims of the redlining era. East Bay: Redline Redefined will explore the balance between the past and present -- presented as a series of audio narratives, film, poetry, and more composed as neighborhood-specific walks, audience members will traverse history though the words, music, and field recordings of local residents, tying the legacy of redlining to the challenges faced by modern day East Bay residents.
East Bay: Redline Redefined is the first in the Redline Redefined series. This project will start in the East Bay and make its way to other formerly redlined cities in the Bay Area. East Bay: Redline Redefined is an audio and visual piece designed to be physically experienced walking through Oakland and Berkeley’s Historical streets. Via either mobile web or a pre-downloaded file, participants will hear the world with a brand new set of ears. Audience members will walk the map drawn by city planners in the 1930s, stopping at corners to listen to stories, music, poetry, and vivid sound design, all created by an experienced and diverse roster of professional East Bay artists. Each movement of the piece takes its audience to a different neighborhood, highlighting a variety of voices, family structures, and different aspects of redlining’s significant presence. For those who cannot physically attend a performance, a fully-functional virtual walking tour will be accessible online, as well as additional resources, transcripts, and translations.
East Bay: Redline Redefined encourages its audience to take a second look at who is included and excluded from conversations about development in modern-day East Bay. We believe that the most effective way for audiences to understand who benefits and loses from urban restructuring is by listening to neighborhoods through new ears. This is neither a symphony nor history tour--it’s a unique artwork that will prompt its audience to consider the foundation on which the East Bay cities are built.
Commissioned Artists:
Proud to have Commons Archive, Golden Gate Branch Library, and City of Oakland as our partners for this project.
This project was made possible thanks to the generous support of California Arts Council, The Bill Graham Foundation and The Puffin Foundation.
For accessibility requests, please email us via People@Thingamajigs.org or call us via 510.545.6689.