APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
___________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. ______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHARLENE WANG
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR TO: (1)
ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR THE SPONSORSHIP AND
MAINTENANCE OF THE “GRAND PERFORMANCE MURAL ”
RESTORATION PROJECT LOCATED AT THE GRAND AVENUE
UNDERPASS OF INTERSTATE 580 IN OAKLAND; AND (2) ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH SOA VILLAGE HOUSING INC. (EVOAK!) FOR
THE RESTORATION OF THE MURAL AND ONGOING MAINTENANCE ,
IN COORDINATION WITH ARTISTS DANIEL GALVEZ AND KEITH
SKLAR
WHEREAS, the Grand Performance Mural, a 140 -foot, 3,000 -square-foot landmark public artwork located beneath the Interstate 580 overpass at Grand Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, was created in 1984 by muralists Daniel Galvez and Keith Sklar in collaboration with community volunteers, with original funding provided by the California Arts Council, the Mayor’s Office of Community Development, the East Bay Community Foundation, and the Zellerbach Family Fund; and
WHEREAS, the Grand Performance Mural was designated an Oakland City Landmark in 1985 in recognition of its cultural, historical, and artistic significance to the City of Oakland and the broader Bay Area; and
WHEREAS, the mural was designated an Endangered Latinx Landmark in 2025, reflecting the urgency of its deteriorating condition and the national significance of its preservation; and
WHEREAS, the mural celebrates the multicultural performing arts heritage of Oakland and the Bay Area, featuring monumental portraits of historic figures including Calvin Simmons, the first African American conductor of a major U.S. orchestra; author Jack London; architect Julia
Morgan, the first woman licensed to practice architecture in California; composers Mary Watkins and John Santos; musicians Tati and Bobi Cespedes; muralist Ray Patlan; folksinger Malvina Reynolds; screen printer Rene Castro; the San Francisco Mime Troupe; the dance and cultural organization Fua Dia Kongo; and poet and author Judy Grahn; and WHEREAS, among the figures depicted in the mural are members of Oakland’s LGBTQ community, including poet, author, and lesbian activist Judy Grahn, who co-founded the Women’s Press Collective in Oakland in 1969, and composer, pianist, arranger and pioneering figure in the women’s music movement Mary Watkins, recognizing the significant contributions of LGBTQ artists and cultural figures to the life of this city; and WHEREAS, the mural has stood for over forty years without graffiti defacement —a remarkable testament to the deep reverence the community holds for this work—yet has received no formal conservation or maintenance funding in its entire history, resulting in signific ant deterioration requiring full restoration before the artwork is lost permanently; and WHEREAS, the mural occupies one of the most highly visible and heavily trafficked locations in the City of Oakland, viewed daily by thousands of commuters, shoppers, students, and visitors to Lake Merritt, the Grand Lake Theater, the weekly Splashpad Park Farmers Market, the adjacent American Indian elementary school, and the surrounding Grand Lake merchant and business district; and
WHEREAS, the Grand Performance Mural is adjacent to Oakland ’s LGBTQ Cultural District, and the LGBTQ Community Center which anchors that district, and serves as a cultural landmark for the LGBTQ community and its allies throughout the region; and WHEREAS, the Cultural Affairs Division Public Art Program in Economic & Workforce Development strongly supports the restoration of this mural, which is one of Oakland’s most historically significant works of public art, celebrating and memorializing so many icons f rom Oakland’s creative community, which has greeted residents and visitors at the Grand Lake Gateway for over forty years, and has briefed the Public Art Advisory Committee on this project which is also supportive of the mural restoration; and
WHEREAS, the nonprofit organization SOA Village Housing Inc. (doing business as EVOAK!), in partnership with restoration artists Daniel Galvez and Keith Sklar and mural teams Hungry Ghost Productions and Twin Walls Mural Company, has organized a comprehensive community-supported restoration effort, raising over $50,000 through a GoFundMe campaign and a community art auction that drew contributions from over 70 Bay Area artists, and has additionally secured an Abbey Mural Prize for $30,000 from the National Academy of Design and $5,000 from the Zellerbach Family Fund, bringing the total restoration fund to $92,000, leaving the project fully funded and ready to begin; and
WHEREAS, the restoration will include pressure washing, surface preparation, full repainting using Nova Color acrylics, and protective coating with Golden MSA varnish and sealer, with work expected to begin October 1, 2026, and be completed within two months; and WHEREAS, the City of Oakland is actively working with the original artists, Daniel Galvez and Keith Sklar, the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans), and the nonprofit EVOAK! (fiscal agent for the project) to facilitate restoration of this important project; and WHEREAS, the approved CalTrans encroachment permit 04 -26-N-MC-0108, including a rider 04 -26-N-RW-1511, issued to and applied for by the City of Oakland , through the Department of Transportation, has already been issued in support of this effort; and WHEREAS, Caltrans requires that the City of Oakland sponsor and assume maintenance responsibility for all artwork authorized for placement on Caltrans property within Oakland city limits, through a Transportation Art Maintenance Agreement and as authorized by Resolution; and WHEREAS, it is the City ’s practice that community -initiated artwork projects may be accepted only on the terms that the artwork sponsor or donor make provision for ongoing maintenance of the artwork; and
WHEREAS, SOA Village Housing Inc. (EVOAK!) has agreed to assume all maintenance responsibilities for the Grand Performance Mural as stipulated by Caltrans and the City of Oakland, including routine inspection, cleaning, repair, and graffiti removal , and comply with all City and State permit requirements for the restoration project; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED: That the City Administrator is hereby authorized to enter into an Agreement with Caltrans for the sponsorship and maintenance of the Grand Performance Mural, located at the Grand Avenue underpass of Interstate 580, Oakland; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Administrator or designee is hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with SOA Village Housing Inc. (EVOAK!) to execute the restoration of the Grand Performance Mural and to require EVOAK! to assume all maintenance responsibilities specific to the artwork; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Administrator is authorized to conduct all negotiations and execute all documents, including but not limited to applications, permits, agreements, amendments, and modifications necessary to carry out the purposes of this Resolution.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - BROWN, FIFE, GALLO, HOUSTON, RAMACHANDRAN, UNGER, WANG, AND
PRESIDENT JENKINS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
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