Art
Artists Partner with State for “Your Actions Save Lives” Campaign
“These accomplished artists are tapping into their culture and creativity to share empowering messages with communities that have been hard hit by COVID-19,” said Chet P. Hewitt, president and CEO of the Sierra Health Foundation.
More than 20 California artists partnered with the state for the “Your Actions Save Lives” campaign. The effort was created to uplift and celebrate the resilience of communities and encourage safe practices that stop the spread of COVID-19 as Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to reopen the state on June 15.
The 14 original art projects included in the campaign range from murals, interactive exhibits, and live performances from artists based in communities highly impacted by the COVID-19, including Oakland, Sacramento, Stockton and San Diego.
“The arts have an opportunity to be uplifting and healing to your emotions,” said Jessica Wimbley, an African American digital artist who collaborated with the state for an advertisement on an Oak Park billboard in Sacramento and a digital art display at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air to work on this campaign. There’s been so much negativity and divisiveness that’s happening in the world that is heavy on the spirit,” said Wimbley.
“It’s been transformative to work on this project,” she added.
The state partnered with the Center at Sierra Health Foundation in Sacramento for the project which relies on the power of art to communicate the importance of health awareness in addition to getting vaccinated.
“These accomplished artists are tapping into their culture and creativity to share empowering messages with communities that have been hard hit by COVID-19,” said Chet P. Hewitt, president and CEO of the Sierra Health Foundation.
“Art has incredible power, and we believe these works will spark important conversations, connections, and inspiration throughout the state,” he said.
Four female artists, including Wimbley, have used the project to tap into their respective cultures to create powerful visual artworks that empower and inform their diverse communities.
The interactive installation, ‘Benevolent Animals, Dangerous Animals,’ by Masako Miki located in Oakland’s Chinatown was inspired by Japanese folklore.
Sunroop Kaur, a classical artist, whose Spring mural is located in Stockton was inspired by her Punjabi-Sikh heritage. In San Diego, the mural ‘Stop the Spread’ by Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio honors her Mexican heritage.
In addition to the art campaign, Newsom recently announced a $116.5 million incentive program that will reward people in California for getting vaccinated. The state allotted $100 million in grocery gift cards worth $50 each for the next two million people who get vaccinated.
The remaining $16.5 million will be awarded as cash prizes to people who have been vaccinated across the state. More than 17 million people in California are fully vaccinated which is about 44% of the state’s population.
The incentive program aims to encourage everyone in California to get vaccinated with a goal to reopen the state by mid-June this year.
State officials say they are determined to fully reopen California schools and businesses in efforts to help the economy recover.
Black and Brown families continue to experience the brunt of the economic blow caused by COVID-19 despite the state’s efforts for community outreach to minimize hardship in their respective communities.
The artists featured in the state’s “Your Actions Save Lives” campaign hope to communicate messages of unity and solidarity through art influenced by their different cultures.
Four local artists celebrate their heritages and draw inspiration from their multicultural communities.
Masako Miki — Oakland
The interactive art installation ‘Benevolent Animals, Dangerous Animals’ by Miki was inspired by the idea of a treasure hunt throughout Chinatown in Oakland. The pandemic forced people to stay indoors, but the public art installation encourages people to explore different shops and restaurants while admiring the art.
The artwork was inspired by shapeshifting animals in Japanese mythology.
“I wanted to make this positive and uplifting because when things are dark and difficult, we need to have more positive images,” said Miki.
The current reality of the pandemic is, “so dark and difficult that we need to have imagery that gives us the ability to envision something positive,” she said.
In Japanese culture the tiger is a majestic animal that is fearless, she says. The cultural message in the artwork echoes notions of toughness.
“Resiliency is our strength,” and the benevolent animals featured in the art are meant to encourage people to, “respect each other and have empathy to get through this difficult time together,” said Miki.
Recent incidents of violence against Asians have fueled racial tension in America, in addition to the violence toward African Americans nationwide. Miki aspires to use her artwork to dispel stigmas related to COVID-19 about the Asian community.
“We have to have this dialogue so that I can introduce my culture in such a way that it becomes familiar and it’s not something that they’re afraid of because they don’t know about it,” said Miki.
Artistic performances and visual displays created by all the artists in the “Your Actions Save Lives” campaign have been exhibited since April and will continue until June this year.
Sunroop Kaur — Stockton
Kaur, an artist of South Asian descent, aims to decolonize classical art by using people of color as the center of attention in her paintings.
The large population of Punjabi Sikh immigrants in Stockton is a major influence in Kaur’s artwork. Kaur is intentional about using people of color as the focal point in her ‘Spring’ mural located at JMP Restaurant Supply.
“This mural is a visual celebration of my community and its resilience to not only survive in a foreign land but to thrive,” said Kaur.
The mural draws from the idea of, “decentering whiteness within my work by using people of color is my main fitters,” she said.
“The appropriation of Western classical art canons as a way to decolonize my own body and my culture,” she said.
The artwork includes two people socially distancing and wearing masks depicted through the Italian Baroque portraiture, a 17th-century art style associated with grandeur, movement, and drama.
The body language from the figures symbolizes, “the universal longing and yearning we feel for one another, but also acknowledging the fact that to keep our loved ones safe,” said Kaur.
The mural also includes pastel-colored floral patterns in reference to Spring which represents the reemergence of life following the pandemic. The mural includes royal blue arches as well as pink and malachite with historical pastel pigments that are part of Persian culture.
Jessica Wimbley — Sacramento
Wimbley, a renowned African American artist, uses her digital art to empower Black people to have agency in their own lives.
The Oak Park Billboard, which is part of a state-sponsored advertising campaign, features Wimbley’s husband as the model. The representation of dark-skinned Black men is important when there have been many incidents of people dying in the media.
The billboard reinforces, “This notion of a Black man living,” said Wimbley.
“It’s really important to bring humanization to the representation of Black people in media. And focus on producing an agency, and empowerment,” she said.
Wimbley’s Masking Series was inspired by the tradition of masquerade which is celebrated in many cultures across Africa. The art series features a still photo of a face with a mask modeled by her husband and a multimedia image with a mask reflecting different visuals.
“The storytelling communicates the important occurrences within the community, I was reflecting on wearing a mask within the masquerade culture and the transformative nature of both putting on a mask and wearing one,” said Wimbley.
Wimbley also wanted to humanize Black and Brown people who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The added stress of police brutality resulting in the death of African Americans nationwide also inspired Wimbley to show that Black people have agency in their own lives.
Through her art, Wimbley said that she wants Black people, “to be in a place of empowerment, versus, a space of trauma.”
“We are a part of an interconnected story and part of each other’s stories. We have agency in how we move forward, and we can write, claim, and develop what that next phase looks like,” said Wimbley.
The symbolism of the images presented on the Oak Park billboard and the digital display at Arden Fair Mall highlight different codes that have inspired social justice movements throughout the nation. On the billboard, the model is wearing a mask with coded patterns promoting vaccinations and several rings, one with Harriet Tubman.
Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio
In her ‘Stop the Spread’ mural located at Bread & Salt Gallery in Chicano Park,
Mexican-American visual artist Ortiz-Rubio used the image of a Latina woman to raise awareness on COVID-19 safety precautions in her community.
According to national data, Latinos make up about 30 % of San Diego’s population. They were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 because a disproportionate number are essential workers or undocumented people.
“This is truly a message for anyone in the world because a pandemic has affected us all. But it hasn’t affected us equally,” said Ortiz-Rubio.
“In the United States, minorities have been affected because of their race and economic status,” she said.
Muralism was a social movement which helped foster systematic change in Mexico. Ortiz-Rubio said that the Black Lives Movement also inspired her to challenge racism and inequality through her artwork.
“It speaks to everyone, and the fact that it is a Latin American woman speaking to anyone, is also important because usually generalized images are of a White person,” she said.
Being a woman is an integral part of Ortiz-Rubio’s experience creating the mural. She recalled young girls and their mothers witnessing her paint the mural from their backyards which reaffirmed her desire to use a Latina as the centerpiece of her mural.
“It’s very empowering to be celebrated,” said Ortiz-Rubio.
“This will be a message that will take that stigma away,” she said.
The visual artist said that she wants Latin Americans to be represented and celebrated in her art especially when they are the target audience.
California Black Media’s coverage of COVID-19 is supported by the California Health Care Foundation.
Art
Misty Copeland Shapes Ballet’s Tomorrow
THE POSITIVE COMMUNITY — Misty Copeland will curate the 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival, a two-week event in New York City from August 4-16. This role allows her to influence the future of ballet by showcasing a wide range of dancers, choreographers, and companies. The festival will present both established and contemporary works, blending classical traditions with new artistic expressions.
This summer, Misty Copeland will step into a different kind of spotlight. Instead of taking center stage as a dancer, she will help determine what audiences see onstage as curator of the 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival. Taking place August 4 through August 16 at The Joyce Theater in New York City, the two-week celebration will bring together dancers, choreographers and companies representing a broad spectrum of ballet. The festival gives Copeland an opportunity to share not only her appreciation for ballet’s traditions, but also her vision for its future.
Copeland understands better than most how powerful a ballet stage can be. Her historic career with American Ballet Theatre changed the conversation about representation in one of the world’s most traditional performing arts. When she became the company’s first Black woman to reach the rank of principal dancer, her achievement carried significance far beyond a personal milestone. It gave young dancers of color a new image of what was possible and challenged the industry to reconsider who belonged at the center of ballet.
That history informs the perspective she brings to the festival. Copeland has spent much of her career moving between performance, mentorship, advocacy and storytelling. Her curatorial role allows her to bring those interests together by creating a program that does not treat ballet as a museum piece. Instead, the festival presents dance as an evolving language capable of carrying classical traditions into new cultural and artistic territory.
Audiences will encounter a mixture of established works and contemporary creations during the festival. Classical ballet vocabulary will share space with choreography that pushes dancers toward different physical, emotional and theatrical possibilities. The result is intended to give audiences a broader understanding of the art form while demonstrating that tradition and innovation do not have to be competing forces.
The lineup also provides an opportunity to see dancers from different artistic environments. Performers connected to organizations including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Houston Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Complexions Contemporary Ballet are among those represented in the festival. Each company carries its own history and artistic identity, making their participation part of a larger conversation about the many ways ballet can be performed and interpreted.
The presence of Dance Theatre of Harlem is particularly meaningful within the larger story of Copeland’s career and the evolution of Black representation in ballet. Founded during a period when opportunities for Black dancers were severely limited, the company helped demonstrate that excellence and classical training could flourish in a Black cultural environment. Its legacy continues to influence dancers and audiences, making its connection to a festival curated by Copeland especially resonant.
The program also reaches beyond a single definition of contemporary ballet. Choreographers with different backgrounds and artistic philosophies contribute to an evening that can move from recognizable classical structures to works shaped by modern dance, theater, popular culture and new approaches to movement. That diversity reflects a generation of artists who increasingly see ballet not as a rigid vocabulary but as a foundation from which they can explore.
For New York audiences, the festival offers something that is increasingly valuable: the opportunity to experience outstanding dancers in an intimate setting. The Joyce is known for presenting dance in a theater where audiences can see movement and artistry up close. That environment can make a familiar ballet work feel newly personal while allowing experimental pieces to communicate with unusual immediacy.
Copeland’s role as curator also sends a message about the importance of artistic leadership. The people who select performers and choreography help determine which stories receive attention and which artists receive opportunities. By bringing a range of voices into the festival, Copeland is using that responsibility to broaden the conversation around ballet. Her choices can introduce audiences to artists they may not otherwise encounter while encouraging longtime ballet followers to look at the form from a different perspective.
The 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival ultimately arrives at an important moment for the art form. Ballet is carrying centuries of tradition into an era defined by changing audiences, broader representation and increasingly adventurous choreography. Copeland’s festival reflects that transition. For two weeks in August, The Joyce will become a meeting place for the familiar and the unexpected—a celebration of where ballet came from and a preview of where it may be going. And with Misty Copeland helping shape the conversation, the future of ballet promises to be as expansive as the dancers who are defining it.
Based on reporting by The Positive Community.
Art
BOOK REVIEW: Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl: Essays
Growing up in North Carolina, she Black Girled her hair her entire life. Her grandma made her sit for box braids when she was small, telling Brown that she was “tenderheaded.” Later, Brown had relaxed hair until she “went broke” and couldn’t afford the process anymore. That was when she got acquainted with her natural hair – although she returned to box braids at least once, and loved them all over again.
Author: Amena Brown, Copyright: c.2026, Publisher: Tiny Rep Books, SRP: $30.00, Page Count: 320 pages
Some things can really make you cross.
People telling you your business, for instance. People asking questions they have no reason to know the answers to. Folks who criticize your hair or clothes or life. These things would set anyone off; they’d be the last straw for anybody. As in the new book, “Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl” by Amena Brown, some folks just cross the line.
In a way, it’s a matter of grammar.
Depending on how you say it, “Black Girl is a noun and a verb,” says Brown. A Black Girl can be a Black Girl… and she can Black Girl. Brown herself has done it “in six countries.”
Growing up in North Carolina, she Black Girled her hair her entire life. Her grandma made her sit for box braids when she was small, telling Brown that she was “tenderheaded.” Later, Brown had relaxed hair until she “went broke” and couldn’t afford the process anymore. That was when she got acquainted with her natural hair – although she returned to box braids at least once, and loved them all over again.
As the child of a strict Pentecostal mother, Brown was a “late bloomer.” She didn’t drink alcohol until she was in her twenties. She was chaste while dating and a better church girl than a party girl. After she left the church, she began experimenting with wine first, then cocktails. She learned to cook, reasoning that the path to finding love started in a kitchen, one that happened to be her grandmother’s. And yes, love did eventually come in the form of a red-headed White man who was her friend before he became her boyfriend — and before he became her mother-sanctioned, grandma-approved husband.
Overall, says Brown, there is no single right method for doing this.
“There are so many ways to Black Girl, which means the way you Black Girl is beautiful, and the way I Black Girl is beautiful too.”
Looking for a collection of addictive, can’t-read-just-one essays that’ll make you laugh but that also feel like author Amena Brown is peeking at your life? Want a book that speaks to every corner of your existence?
Yeah, then you want “Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl.”
You know how it is when you spot something so profound, so right, that you just have to call your friends and read it out loud to them? That’s what you’ll find here: truth told with humor that’s also oozing with warmth. Add honesty that’s smart and bold and practically begging for a “Heck, YES!” and you’ve got your new favorite book.
The essays here are short enough to read in a few minutes, but compelling enough to make you want more, so give yourself room.
This is a book for twenty- and thirty-somethings, but also for their mothers and grandmas who can handle respectful irreverence and surefooted playfulness. Can men enjoy “Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl”? Sure, but it’s more for women, cross your heart.
Art
Eric Murphy’s ‘City of Stars’ Honors Culture and Community
Murphy’s artistic journey is grounded in a lifelong passion for storytelling through visuals. Beginning as a child sketching celebrities, he later expanded into collage, blending illustration with found imagery and photography.
Eric Murphy’s latest exhibition, “Oakland City of Stars: From the Archives,” on view through Aug. 31, offers more than a visual tribute to Oakland; it presents history and a global connection rooted in the city’s cultural legacy.
Curated by Veda Silva at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO), the mixed-media solo show builds on Murphy’s evolving “Oakland All-Stars” series, highlighting figures rooted in community history.
Murphy’s artistic journey is grounded in a lifelong passion for storytelling through visuals. Beginning as a child sketching celebrities, he later expanded into collage, blending illustration with found imagery and photography.
His formal training at Laney College sharpened his photography skills, while his early career as a fashion photographer exposed him to broader creative networks. At the same time, his decade-long work with Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland expanded his artistic journey.
These experiences converge in “City of Stars,” where Murphy combines photography, digital collage, and graphic design into distinctive portraits. Each subject is embedded within a stylized map of Oakland, marked by district lines, and layered with visual references tied to their personal and cultural narratives.
Presented in a ‘playing card’ format, the works replace traditional suits with the City of Oakland logo, while multilingual elements and hand-painted details deepen the storytelling. The result is a series that feels both archival and contemporary, an artistic documentation of Oakland’s influence across generations.
The exhibit’s opening reception was also Murphy’s birthday celebration. “I’m celebrating my birthday, Oakland history, cultural ties, and art.”
About 50 guests attended the exhibit, including Joyce Gordon of Joyce Gordon Gallery, entertainer Zina Escovedo, and activists Alan Banks and Inez Banks. “We loaned one of our pieces to the exhibit,” said Alan Banks proudly.
Murphy credits much of his inspiration to his deep interest in Oakland history and its global intersections. Murphy also created a line of Oakland International language shirts. The concept originated in 2012 during a cultural exchange exhibition he managed between Oakland and its sister city, Fukuoka, Japan, celebrating their 50th anniversary.
Working with artists such as Emmy Award-winner James Gayles and photographer Hiroko To, Murphy began exploring language as a bridge between cultures. After studying Japanese at Laney College, he became fascinated with how “Oakland” could be expressed across languages.
That curiosity evolved into a design series beginning in 2019 with “Oakland” translated into Japanese as “Okurando.” From there, Murphy collaborated with community members and translators to create versions in multiple languages. By incorporating archival materials, cultural symbols, and historical references, Murphy transformed each shirt into a narrative artifact rather than a simple translation.
“Each design allowed me to show how rich our history is and how connected Oakland is to the world,” said Murphy.
This same philosophy drives the “Oakland All-Stars” series. Inspired by a moment of pride watching actor Shemar Moore acknowledge his Oakland roots on national television, Murphy began researching other successful people connected to the city. The series now includes former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, actress Zendaya, and the late comedian Paul Mooney, among others linked to Oakland.
“I am proud to feature Oakland in my artwork,” said Murphy. “Oakland is a special place, and art is a great way of showing the world what we are about.”
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