Our Vision
The vision for Oakstop Alliance stems from our years of community-focused arts programming and our recognizing that artists, community thought leaders, creative curators and small business owners often overcompensate to fill educational, economic and cultural voids in community of color. Ironically these practitioners tend to be severely under-resourced, lacking the mentorship, technical assistance and capital funding necessary to deliver essential programs and experiences to their communities in a sustainable and healthy manner.our Mission
Recognizing that arts programming led by local creatives has a profound community benefit, Oakstop Alliance works directly with cultural practitioners to:Empower creatives to curate experiences
- Enabling curation of culturally relevant & robust events
- Significantly reducing program overhead for artists
- Leverage a portfolio of black-operated creative venues (featuring a full recording studio, 10+ gallery spaces & 2 event halls) to host progressive artists
Provide business mentorship to creatives
- Promoting economic viability for entrepreneurs who pursue careers in the arts & humanities fields
- Investing in arts projects and endeavors that present a clear community benefit to low-middle income communities
- Developing partnerships with progressive corporate & financial entities to enhance core financial skills & competencies for creative entrepreneurs.
Our People
Our programs are effective in supporting underfunded artists and entrepreneurs because our peer to peer services are relevant and our team is composed of artists and creative entrepreneurs. Much of what we provide is support, networking, research, technical assistance, and funding preparation to artists and entrepreneurs who need some development in order to qualify for the next phase of programming, funding, incubation, or educational programming.Board
our HIstory
Oakstop Alliance was established in 2020 to curate experiences for communities of color in the East Bay. Our evolution to serving black artists, small businesses and entrepreneurs was informed by theCOVID-19 and the state-sanctioned murder of George Floyd.Learn more about our journey below!
Get Involved
Your support means the world to us and to our partners.First and foremost, click on our program pages and learn about each and every artist we support. We promise you’ll love one (all) of them!
Check out opportunities to come hold space with us… we have a robust events calendar.
And of course, if you can support our efforts with a one-time or recurring donation, you will be investing in the black small business/arts community of Oakland and have our forever gratitude!
Make a donation
Private or OrganizationalBecome a Partner
Our growing resource networkHire a Black Artist
Let us connect youPatronize a black-owned business
Let us connect youThis year Oakstop Alliance and Damon have helped grow our company’s brand awareness significantly by providing us opportunities and spaces that we would have otherwise not have had access to. In particular, the space Oakstop Alliance gave us access to allowed our Networking Brunch to grow in size and host professional panels that in turn gave the community access to more equitable knowledge.
In the future, we look forward to continuing to work with Oakstop Alliance because we see the impact their work has had for us and in turn the art community in Oakland!
Shawn Fendt
Oakstop Alliance is a major resource for Black businesses. Their services and their mission provides real, tangible and necessary support to the community. On top of that, their Oakland venues are incredibly beautiful.
Tayleur Crenshaw
