Oakland Museum of California
Something's been brewing over at the Oakland Museum. Something big, young and definitely cooler than their significant but admittedly geriatric permanent collection. Earlier this year the museum began a multimillion dollar, multiyear renovation to expand the galleries and bring in a younger audience, and while the dust is just starting to get kicked up on the building upgrades, the museum's attendance has already undergone quite a facelift. Recent art parties and movie screenings have been luring the 20-30 crowd and the events surrounding the current Cool Remixed exhibit suggest that the staff is serious about changing the museum's demographics and competing on a level with the big boys across the bay. For Cool Remixed, the companion to the Birth of the Cool exhibit focusing on Cali culture, teams of teens from the area's youth programs took over the Great Hall and covered it in graffiti, video and skateboard installations along with crafts and fashions; there's a pretty broad section of art, fashion and music on display. They even brought in a Scraper Bike-Oakland's next big culture export. If they keep up like this, I might not even need to cross the bay to get my museum fix anymore. SFMOMA who?
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