Activism
Oakland Mandala: A New Event and Point of Beauty
Led by Oakland resident Mandisa Snodey, a group of artists conceived and painted the mandala on Linden street near McClymonds High School as part of a Black Friday event the day after Thanksgiving to support Black-owned businesses.
By Post Staff
The first annual Oakland Mandala, sponsored by Miges Odanes Village Center, Credo Studio, and the Mandala Medicine Movement is on view now until the winter rains wash it away.
Led by Oakland resident Mandisa Snodey, a group of artists conceived and painted the mandala on Linden street near McClymonds High School as part of a Black Friday event the day after Thanksgiving to support Black-owned businesses.
“This is a lineage-based community art project, using temporary paint, aimed at community building, neighborhood beautification, and celebration of the arts and all people’s creativity,” Snodey said. “The theme of this year’s mandala was ‘Unified Humanity.’
“We gathered at 7 a.m. on Friday for the Black Friday Block Party and finished painting close to sunset. Our youngest painter was 2 years old and our eldest close to 70 years young: we had families, community members, professional artists, and people who have never painted before all working together.”
Snodey urges residents to come visit and take a picture with the mandala. It’s located between 28th and 30th on Linden Street in West Oakland. If you post on social media, please use the hashtags “#oaklandmandala” and “#mandalamedicinemovement.”
Snodey extends special thanks to the Bay Area Mural Program (BAMP), Few and Far Women, “and other Bay Area Artists who participated and made this first annual mandala a beautiful success.”
