A Bay Area Storytelling Project
The Culture Keepers brings together visionary artists with trusted storytellers to document how cultural work shapes a sense of belonging, offers respite across communities, inspires and shapes our world, and builds shared power in the region. By offering a unique look into the practices, lives, and communities of Bay Area artists and creatives, The Culture Keepers invites each of us to ask: how are we tending to the culture that makes the Bay Area a place we love?
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Culture Keeper
Timothy B
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Culture Keeper
Bria Woodland
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Culture Keeper
Jackie Keliiaa
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Culture Keeper
Paola de la Calle
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Culture Keeper
Kumu Hula Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu
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Culture Keeper
Alex Locust, aka “Glamputee”
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Culture Keeper
Violeta Luna
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Culture Keeper
Erik Wright
Resident Storytellers
We invite leading storytellers, journalists, writers, and filmmakers who are trusted and beloved in their communities to produce stories in various mediums – film, audio, photos, audio interviews, and written word. Our resident storytellers operate with respect, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility for how stories travel.
Featured Stories
Through film, audio interviews, photography, and the written word, The Culture Keepers spotlights the artists and culture makers offering us sustenance and healing in a time of global upheaval. Meet the Culture Keepers.
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The Power of a Change In Perspective
More: The Power of a Change In PerspectiveDon’t underestimate the power of a change in perspective. Simply rephrasing the question “why did this happen to me?” to “why did this happen for me?” created a whole new worldview for Adimu “WolfHawkJaguar” Madyun, an…
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Erik Wright, a 32 year-old creative from North Oakland, is a Dark Magician
More: Erik Wright, a 32 year-old creative from North Oakland, is a Dark MagicianWright, who is also a singer, dancer, filmmaker and manager for the Chiller Gang collective, says the title of Dark Magician isn’t necessarily about what he does, but more about what he’s experienced in life. “I’ve…
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POUND THE GROUND
More: POUND THE GROUNDA CHANT’S ENCOUNTER WITH EAST OAKLAND’S CONTROVERSIAL KUMU I’m hoofing it to catch a 57 bus that cuts across the entire city to Kumu Hula Mark’s Halau, the Academy of Hawaiian Arts (AHA), which is…
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Mending While Expanding: The Care Practice of Tosha Stimage
More: Mending While Expanding: The Care Practice of Tosha StimageEditor’s Note When we asked Tosha Stimage who she wanted to have write a piece on her, she emphatically chose bloodstone to write this piece–as an offering. So, he did with the reverence and care…
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Ray Ryda’s Hood Ministry, An Origin Story
More: Ray Ryda’s Hood Ministry, An Origin StoryRay Ryda walks into Oakland’s Souley Vegan restaurant–six foot two and lanky, a plush forest green jacket, bright jewelry, and glasses adorned in gold. He carries with him and a presence that’s felt. He gives…
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The Visual Vanguard: Emory Douglas, the Black Panther Party, and the Black Arts Movement in San Francisco
More: The Visual Vanguard: Emory Douglas, the Black Panther Party, and the Black Arts Movement in San FranciscoEmory Douglas is widely considered the most prolific and persistent graphic agitator in American Black Power movements. His work profoundly defined the aesthetics of protest during the Civil Rights era. Douglas’ core philosophy, encapsulated in…
