August 11th 2023.
Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland’s first poet laureate, once said “To erase what came before is not being with nature. The archeology of natural change is kind because it encompasses everything that came before.” Oakland’s Black arts community is now experiencing a new season of change and opportunity with the opening of The Bam House, a vibrant cultural center and theater.
Located at 1540 Broadway, the BAM logo on the black, red, and green storefront canvas is a beacon of hope for wanderers and community members alike. This space has been made possible by the Black Arts Movement Business District Community Development Corporation (BAMBD CDC), which was founded by Nzinga in 2016 to prevent displacement of artists of color in West Oakland.
Nzinga, an actress, producing director, playwright, poet, dramaturg, performance consultant, educator, and community advocate, is the mastermind behind this homecoming. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, she stated “I make things rather than admit to being broken or imperiled or grieving.” Her theater troupe Lower Bottom Playaz, the first theater troupe in the world to complete the August Wilson Century Cycle chronologically, has been advocating for the community through art since 1999.
The Bam House’s official and public relaunching takes place during the 2023 BAMBDFEST, a month-long arts and cultural festival offering Monday night readings of new works by Black artists, cultural exchanges, conversations with Black artists across the diaspora, and August Wilson’s Radio Golf. Nzinga secured a renewable three-year lease thanks to funding from Tao Rising and Vanguard Charitable for programming, the Hewlett Foundation for general operating support, and the Mellon Foundation for staffing. She now has a full-time crew of 10.
The Bam House is more than just a new home for Black art, it is a place to sustain Oakland’s oldest Black theater company, and a place to continue advocating for Oakland’s artists and culture makers. As Nzinga said in a press release “This is about more than just having a new home for Black art. Oakland elected and appointed officials pay good lip service to the importance of art in the cultural fabric of Oakland. They have consistently failed to make a substantive investment in ensuring that art—particularly Black art—has sufficient places to thrive, cultural kitchens if you will.”
The Bam House is a crucial move to preserve art-making space in the Black Arts district and to create a safe and vibrant space for Oakland's Black artists to thrive and to create. As Dr. Nzinga said, “The archeology of natural change is kind because it encompasses everything that came before.”
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