If you are planning a visit or a move to Oakland and love to discover the cultural heart of a city, you will want to get familiar with all of the best cultural and arts attractions in the city. Getting an idea of the city’s major cultural hotspots will really give you insight into the city itself.
Oakland, California has so many great spots to check out, especially given its location so close to San Francisco and on San Francisco Bay. If you are looking for the cultural hotbeds in the city of Oakland, be sure to check out these spots:
Oakland Museum of California
If you really want to get to know the city of Oakland and its history and culture, be sure to pay a visit to the Oakland Museum of California. The museum has both an amazing permanent collection and rotating exhibits. There are areas of the museum dedicated to the natural sciences and California arts and history, giving visitors a great picture of the culture of the state and the area.
The city is known for its social justice movement and has a history of activism, which the museum highlights. Special exhibits focus on anti-racism and many more activist causes. If you want to plan a whole day at this great cultural hotspot, the museum also features gardens and a cafe.
African American Museum and Library at Oakland
The African American Museum and Library at Oakland offer resources to learn about the history and culture of African American in the Bay area and Oakland, specifically. Some of the things that the collections focus on include prominent families, the history of churches in the area, and political organization.
The library is a reference library designed to aid students and researchers. The library contains a large collection of books by African American authors and on African American history and culture. If you are interested in African American history and culture in the Bay area, the African American Museum and Library at Oakland is a must-see spot.
Art Murmur and Other Festivals
While Art Murmur and other cultural festivals are not necessarily a specific spot in the city, they are nonetheless essential to the culture of the city. Oakland’s Art Murmur is a monthly gallery walk that takes place on the first Friday of every month. The gallery walk takes place in West Oakland and Jack London Square and features over 30 galleries. Art Murmur also features live entertainment, food trucks, and vendors selling art.
Other cultural festivals that take place in Oakland throughout the year include Art + Soul Oakland, the Temescal Street Fair, Chinatown StreetFest, and Oakland Pride Parade and Festival.
If you feel like you don’t want to miss any of these amazing museums, fairs, or festivals, you may want to make the city of Oakland your home, and luckily, there are plenty of Oakland houses for sale. Living in this cultural city will give you year-round access to all the cultural hotbeds in Oakland.