Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Ariella Aronstam-Powers Humanities and Social Science

Artistic Protest: Oakland's Legacy of Radical Art Practice

The interplay of art and politics historically holds a distinct role in the City of Oakland, California. Since the 1960s, social activism has shaped and informed political art practices. Further, aesthetics and intertextuality continue to engage the issues of race, police brutality and economic marginalization as motifs and discourses for Oakland artists. Through primary and secondary archival sources, interviews, and participant observation, my project investigates how political art practices in Oakland operate as a context and product for social justice and community empowerment. I am looking at the work of two Oakland artists: Emory Douglas, the Black Panthers Minister of Culture, and Jon-Paul Bail, a local political screen printer. I examine theses two artists motifs as case studies of the larger portrait of Oaklands legacy of art and activism.

Message To Sponsor

As a recipient of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, I am honored for the opportunity to pursue and develop my research inquiry. The SURF Program provides the training and time to dedicate my summer to the exploration of art in my community, aiding to my passion as a scholarly activist, and allowing me to build my knowledge and skills for my future career in academia.
Profile image of Ariella Aronstam-Powers
Major: Interdisciplinary Studies Field
Mentor: Julia Bryan-Wilson, History of Art
Sponsor: Wishek Fund
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