[sudo-discuss] happy the omni's trying to buy the building - thanks for sticking together

[Romy Ilano]

I know it's difficult, but thanks for sticking together. Jenny and other
SudoRoom members have been doing a lot of sh!twork like writing grants,
cleaning and getting stuff done -- it's hard work!

I haven't been able to be part of any financial committees, but I know it's
important even if it's not always fun.
I'm passing along a notice from RPS Collective. After 10 years they are
being forced to leave their space on Telegraph and 23rd

It's very cool that the Omni is trying to buy the building. I can only see
the rent going up steeply in Oakland in the near foreseeable future. Not
only due to gentrification but also to many other macroeconomic factors.

If anyone has time to help reps collective with their move you can email
community at rpscollective.org

After more than a decade in the same location, we are being forced out of
our space on Telegraph and 23rd to make way for a new vision of the
transforming neighborhood. The Collective's long time landlord plans to
charge market value for the space, well beyond what we can afford as an
all-volunteer run nonprofit. Eleven years ago we could afford market value
for the space, but thanks to our success in building a vibrant community in
downtown, market rate is now far out of reach. The increase will more than
triple our current rate.

Eleven years ago, downtown Oakland was home to mom and pop shops,
socio-economically diverse, occasionally dangerous; a sometimes eccentric,
sometimes wonderful, and always dynamic community. A group of artists,
crafters, organizers and makers found a vacant little storefront among a
sea of vacancies. With a little volunteer elbow-grease and fundraising
effort, the Rock Paper Scissors Collective (RPSC) was born — a destination
where the community could come together, organize, share skills, knowledge
and create. ALL were welcome in the space.

In the following years, a group of underground and outsider galleries,
including Rock Paper Scissors, created the First Friday Oakland Art Murmur.
Artists could showcase their work to an organized audience and share
promotional materials, local crafters could sell their work, experimental
performers could establish and gain recognition for work with little
bureaucracy. Payment was on a sliding scale so no one was left behind
because they were unable to pay. These types of intentional and inclusive
actions drew international attention as First Friday grew to be one of the
best-attended arts events in the country, drawing upwards of 20,000
visitors to the area every month who spend tens of thousands of dollars on
art, music, and food supporting Oakland businesses and artists.

Oakland became a city known to foster creativity thanks to the work of so
many collaborating individuals and groups. The Downtown, Uptown, and KONO
districts became more attractive for tourists, restaurants, and independent
shops. While the original spaces that created the artistic explosion in
Oakland have closed down, Rock Paper Scissors Collective continues to
foster the spirit of building community through the celebration of art,
skillshare and performance.

Building an exciting, creative, and challenging neighborhood has been a
long term project. Telegraph Avenue is rapidly transforming, and enjoys its
current attractiveness due in large part to the events started by Rock
Paper Scissors Collective. We are the only founding gallery that remains in
business despite First Friday’s massive success, and we receive no money
from the event beyond what sales we make. First Friday is a locus of Do It
Yourself (DIY) and Do It Together (DIT) art, but we are one of the few
galleries in the area that fully embraces emerging and outsider artists. We
provide a space for everyone to feel comfortable and invited.

This space has become attractive to wealthier tenants BECAUSE of the years
of hard work we have put in building a community of engaged artists,
musicians, and performers, and as a reward we are being kicked out to make
way for a wealthier class of renters. Will they share RPSC's dedication to
making art accessible for everyone? Will they be as community focused? Will
they stand in solidarity with the people of Oakland, as we have?

We have been a reliable, consistent tenant for over ten tumultuous years,
as businesses opened and closed, as the country went through war and
recession, as Oakland and the Bay Area went from boom to bust and back
again. We have hosted thousands of shows, concerts, and classes, on
everything from Street Art to programming, from activism to zines,
featuring artists and musicians from around the East Bay. We are being
priced out of our space not because of anything we have done, but simply
due to the cold calculus of gentrification. There is more money to be made
in this space from something other than community-driven art, and that is
enough and more than enough to push us out the door.

Rock Paper Scissors Collective will continue, despite this. We remain
committed to fostering an inclusive artistic community accessible to
everyone regardless of their income level, perceived ability, or
socio-economic status. We will find a new space here in Oakland, and
continue to build and support a diverse community of artists, crafters,
performers and makers. We will continue to provide space, materials and
time to all residents of Oakland, and to forge connections and solidarity
between movements, people, and organizations. The only way to push back
against the rising tide of inequality and injustice is TOGETHER.

Please contact us with any suggestions or ideas about our current
circumstances. Only with the help and support of the community can we
continue to ensure a safe and open space for everyone.

—Rock Paper Scissors Collective


=============================

Romy Ilano
romy at snowyla.com
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