Opening of the Exhibition at Oakstop, Oakland 

Whether referred to as banlieues, peripheries, or suburbs, this exhibition highlights the symbolic shift from center to periphery. Oakland, California, and Saint-Denis, France are showcasing their influence today through artistic movements, social struggles, and urban innovations. They are actively inventing solutions to address equity challenges and manage the rapid urban development of metropolitan areas. 

“Bringing together a hybrid corpus of images, archives, models, paintings, artistic installations, objects, and videos, this exhibition explores cultural and inhabitant practices in urban planning. They are composed of places, people, and stories, drawings – far from clichés – portraits of composite urban areas on the peripheries. There is an urgency, today, to recognize and understand the day-to-day experiences of those who live, work and create in our cities.”  

The exhibition was co-produced by Villa Albertine in San Francisco and California Humanities, in partnership with Pavillon de l’Arsenal, SPUR San Francisco, Oakstop, and Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Paris Nord, with support from the foundation 836M, l’Institut Français, Fondation Art Explora, in collaboration with the cities of Oakland and Saint-Denis, Périféeries, and with the participation of ARTE.