Race

Racial justice has been a guiding political movement at Berkeley and in the United States and beyond, one newly urgent in the era of #blacklivesmatter.  Here we consider the aesthetic, activist, and intellectual mobilizations around the concept of race, as well as allied movements and conversations in law and political thoery; ethnic studies; colonialism, decolonization, and neocolonialism, and more.

Audience listening to a talk at the BAMPFA Osher Theater

Fall 2021 Schedule Archive: Arts + Design Thursdays

Berkeley Arts + Design

Fall 2021 Schedule
Arts+Design Thursdays: Creativity in Practice

Mystic smiles at the camera as she sits on the front steps of her home.

In Hip-Hop and Academia, Mystic Defines Her Own Success Story

Nastia Voynovskaya

Mystic sits in her backyard on the kind of warm, autumn afternoon that makes people remark at how good it is to live in Oakland, California. Dappled light shines through a lush canopy of persimmon, fig and guava trees. Her pet lovebird chirps in the distance, and she’s snacking on almonds between Zoom calls with young musicians she mentors.

Homemade Pottery resting on a wooden shelf.

Buy local — and give back — with UC Berkeley’s 2021 holiday gift guide

Anne Brice, Berkeley News

Whether you’re searching for a unique gift by a local artist or you want to support those in need this holiday season, UC Berkeley has what you’re looking for — and everything in between. Stop by the Berkeley Art Studio’s pop-up shop for handcrafted ceramics or visit the campus’s thrift store ReUSE for gifts on a budget.

UC Berkeley public policy professor discusses racial discrimination in the education system at Ford School event

Rucker C. Johnson, professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, spoke virtually on Tuesday as part of the Racial Foundations of Public Policy series hosted by the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

BAMPFA exterior

UC Berkeley MFA graduates discuss their work at BAMPFA’s 51st MFA exhibition

Daniella Lake, The Daily Cal

On June 23, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive held an artists’ talk with UC Berkeley Master of Fine Arts (MFA) students in conjunction with an exhibition of their work. With the tradition of celebrating the graduate students’ ingenuity and creativity starting in 1970, the exhibition is the 51st of its kind. 

Fred DeWitt examines his growing cotton plant.

Fred DeWitt on Creating a Safe Space Through Art

Paulina Gutierrez, Berkeley Graduate Division

Talking about current socio-political issues is one of the tallest tasks an artist can tackle, from deciding whether and how to portray acts of violence or using images of family members and loved ones in works of art. 

Three paneled illustration with a black person in chains on the left and the emancipation proclamation on the right.

5 UC Berkeley experts pick Library materials to help us reflect on Juneteenth

A. Hamilton, UC Berkeley Library

In 1852, Frederick Douglass asked us to define what freedom is to a Black American.

A profile view of Cai Carranza's face, as a lone light shines overhead amidst a black background.

I’m a Berkeleyan: Student Cai Carranza on queer representation — ‘We’re not singularities, we’re entire human beings’

Ivan Natividad, Berkeley News

Growing up in Norfolk, Nebraska, there weren’t a lot of people of color. Often the main interactions people had with communities of color were through stereotypes they saw in media and entertainment.

UC Berkeley student Heidi Dong sitting next to the art installation she co-created at the Albany Bulb.

Cal students build artistic ‘monument to extraction’ at Albany Bulb

Dhyana Levey, Berkeleyside

Much of the Bay Area’s history exists out of sight. Or at least out of notice.  

Outside of the Graduate School of Journalism's building.

Berkeley Journalism lecturer, students and alumni honored in 2021 Pulitzer Prizes

UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

The work of a Berkeley Journalism lecturer, five students and two alumni was honored in the 2021 Pulitzer Prizes, in the Breaking News, National News and Public Service categories, Columbia University announced.