Immersive Room
Grandma's House
Plastic on the couch, lace on the dresser, a comb warming on the stove. A recreation of the rooms that raised us — furnished with objects donated by Oakland families.
Coming Soon · Jack London Square
OAKLAND,
WE'RE HOME.
Black girlhood, memory, and joy taking up space in Jack London Square — made with Oakland artists, elders, and families. Opening Fall 2026, and you'll want to be in the room.
Jack London Square, Oakland CA Opening Fall 2026
The Statement
THIS ONE IS BEING MADE WITH OAKLAND.
The Museum for Black Girls did not begin as a building. It began as a question asked out loud in a room full of Black women, and the answer took the shape of a place.
Oakland is not an expansion, a franchise, or a copy of anything we have built before. Oakland is its own chapter — written with the artists, elders, organizers, small business owners, and girls who are already here.
So before we install a single wall, we are listening. What lives here. Who built it. What deserves to be held on a wall and lit properly.
Founding Oakland List
Be on the wall before there is a wall.
Tickets are not on sale yet. The Founding Oakland List gets first access — before anyone else, before any ad.
- First access to opening weekend
- Founders' Night invitation
- Artist call and job postings before they go public
- A say in what gets built
What's Coming
Rooms we're building for this city.
Early sketches, not final labels. Everything here is still being shaped by Oakland artists and families.
Immersive Room
The Black Joy Room
Double dutch, block parties, the sound of a screen door. A full-sensory room built around the ordinary joy that never made the history books.
Rotating Gallery
Her Story: Oakland
Portraits and oral histories of the Black women who shaped this city — the Panthers' breakfast cooks, the choir directors, the shop owners, the ones nobody wrote down.
Retail & Residency
The Corner
A permanent shelf for Bay Area Black-owned makers, plus a rotating residency window where one artist takes over the storefront each season.
Gathering Space
The Parlor
Hair, healing, and hard conversations. A programmable space for salon nights, book clubs, grief circles, and the kind of talk that only happens in a chair.
Education
The Youth Studio
Free, ongoing programming for Oakland girls — photography, curation, storytelling, and paid teen apprenticeships on the museum floor.
Opening weekend
FALL 2026
Exact dates drop first to the Founding Oakland List.
Night One
Founders' Night
Invitation-only preview for the Founding Oakland List, exhibiting artists, and community partners.
Day Two
Doors Open
First public day. Extended evening hours, live DJ, and the Her Story: Oakland unveiling.
Day Three
Block Celebration
All-day open house at Jack London Square — vendors, performances, youth showcase, and family hours.
Tickets not on sale yet
Be first in line when tickets drop.
Opening weekend lands in Fall 2026 and capacity is limited. Leave your name and we'll send the ticket link the minute it's live — before it goes public anywhere else.
Meet Our Oakland
The people are the exhibition.
Oakland Curatorial Lead
Open Role
We are hiring locally. This chapter will be led by someone from here, not flown in. Tell us who that should be — or tell us it should be you.
Community Council
Forming Now
A standing council of Oakland artists, educators, elders, and youth who shape programming and hold us accountable to it.
Founding Artists
Open Call Live
The first cohort of Oakland artists whose work will live on these walls at opening. Submissions are open now.
Community Story
WHAT DID THE BLACK WOMEN WHO RAISED YOU TEACH YOU?
Answers will live in the museum — on walls, in audio, in the archive. This is how the Oakland chapter gets written.
Come Build With Us
Find your way in.
Artists & Makers
Wall work, installation, performance, sound, retail collaborations.
Open callCommunity Partners & Volunteers
Nonprofits, collectives, and neighborhood orgs building programming with us — plus volunteers for opening weekend, gallery hosting, install days, and community events.
Partner or volunteerSchools & Educators
Field trips, curriculum tie-ins, and the Youth Studio apprenticeship pipeline.
Start a conversationSponsors & Funders
Underwrite a room, a residency, or free admission days for Oakland families. Let's talk through scope, benefits, and timing directly with our team.
Contact our teamDonors & Members
Give directly to the Oakland build — one-time gifts, monthly giving, and founding membership.
Give to OaklandVendors & Small Business
The Corner shelf, opening weekend market, and pop-up activations.
Tell us about youPress & Media
Interviews, imagery, and opening weekend credentials.
Media requestsSomething else entirely? Email oakland@themuseumforblackgirls.com.