OMCA’s Special Exhibition “Black Spaces: Reclaim and Remain” (Opens July 18, 2025)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain navigates the braided histories of displacement, resistance, and resilience within Black American communities in Oakland and the East Bay. Through new commissions in art, architecture, and archival research, the exhibition traces how these communities have creatively resisted dispossession and reimagined spaces of home and belonging.

Drawing inspiration from the legacies of West Oakland and Russell City, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain pulls both from the OMCA permanent collection and newly commissioned installations by artist Adrian Burrell; architect June Grant with blinkLAB architecture; as well as the Archive of Urban Futures and Moms 4 Housing. These installations reflect the ongoing struggle and success in reclaiming and reshaping self-determined spaces in the face of systemic violence, erasure, and urban renewal. 

Black Spaces: Reclaim and Remain
On view in the Great Hall from July 18, 2025 through March 1, 2026
OMCA, 1000 Oak St., Oakland
Hours | Tickets | Getting There

HOURS
– Wednesday-Sunday: 11am to 5pm
– Open late Fri (April–October) – 5pm to 9pm
– Monday-Tuesday: Closed

Please note:

• Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid is back every Friday, 5–9 pm, April–October.
• Thursday After Hours is on its seasonal break and will resume in January 2026.

Developed in collaboration with East Bay residents affected by displacement, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain invites reflection on the intersection of activism, memory, and the materiality of home. It is a meditation on how Black American communities, despite ongoing systemic oppression, conjure wells of creativity and resistance that carve out places to hold their histories and futures.

Major support for Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain is provided by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board.

• Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain – 11am to 5pm – Please check website as hours may change seasonally
• $25 (Adult) Special Exhibition ticket – Free for Museum members
• Visitors are encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance to secure your preferred entry time and reduce your wait.
• Tickets are available at the admissions desk on a first-come, first-served basis.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) tells the many stories that comprise California, creating the space and context for greater connection, trust, and understanding between people. Through its inclusive exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and cultural events, OMCA brings Californians together and inspires greater understanding about what our state’s art, history, and natural surroundings teach us about ourselves and each other. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA brings together its multidisciplinary collections of art, history, and natural science with first-person accounts and often untold narratives of California, all within its 110,000 square feet of gallery space and seven-acre campus. The Museum is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage for visitors from the region, the state, and around the world.

VISITOR INFORMATION

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. Museum admission is $19 general admission; $16 for seniors; and $12 for youth ages 12 to 17 as well as for students and educators with valid ID, and free for Members and children 12 and under. There is a $6 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions in the Great Hall. OMCA offers onsite underground parking and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. An accessibility ramp is located at the 1000 Oak Street main entrance to the Museum. museumca.org

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by OMCA (@oaklandmuseumca)

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.