From Unsightly To Elegant Art

One year ago on March 1, 2020 I went with my husband to join a group from Youth spirit Artworks to visit a site in Oakland that was a possibility for them to build a village of tiny houses for homeless youth, It was an large Ugly unsightly concrete slab tucked between the Oakland Coliseum the Airport and I80. Here’s a panorama of it I took that day.

The Ugliness did not stop the group from dancing around in pure joy of the possibilities of where houses, and planter boxes, and yurt for a kitchen would go. Note the tall building on the left. I returned yesterday during a work party. Here is the gate to the Tiny House Youth Empowerment Village taken yesterday with that same building in the background. 11 youth so far have moved in.

What a difference a year makes. Church groups, school groups from all over the East Bay worked to paint meaningful and beautiful messages on fence boards to surround the site. The first thing you see when you enter is a Mural of Amanda Gorman recently painted. Here it is with the proud smiling director of the Youth Spirit Art Works project Director Silly Hindman.

Go Here to learn more about the project.

Each tiny house is for homeless and needy youth because Housing Is A Human Right. Even creatures deserve a home.

It Takes A Village to Create a Village Our Church The Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley  and other organizations sponsored and provided the bedding mattress and decoration for houses. This is the one we supported.

I wanted to compare last year to this so I captured a few people who weren’t too busy to recreate a photo from last year. The sign from the Oakland Coliseum is hidden by the brand new village.

So much art all in one place i felt like I was in a museum here is a collect of a few images from yesterday’s visit. The Last image is Sally waving goodbye as we leave. Thanks for visiting . Click to see full size,

For Debbie’s One Word Challenge

Ugly