It's a Happening When Performance Art & Installation Art Meet

On Saturday, June 20, 2026 from 10AM to 2:30PM Omar and I installed and performed Let's Go Swapping and Un-plugged Seating at the historic open air Saturday market on Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. Many vendors at this historic market are members of the Oakland Black Chamber of Commerce. It also coincides with the famous Grand Lake (Merritt) Farmers Market. The pop-up style open air market is arranged around the perimeter of the lake and includes a large selection of vendors that carry beautiful authentic African Arts & Crafts and local food vendors. If you have a hankering for ox tails, fried catfish or mac and cheese, this is the place. It also isn't unusual to find local youth sports teams fundraising as well as regular local favorites offering goods like: custom mixed natural oil fragrances, natural skin care products, sunglasses, self defense items, and Oakland-based garment makers. All provide authentic Oakland style and hospitality. And don't forget the parade of Oakland's four legged fur family members out taking in the sights with their mommies and daddies.

I was excited to join the party with the presentation of Let's Go Swapping and Un-plugged Seating. With Art, context can really make a difference. Let's Go Swapping is designed to raise awareness around and question garment/textile manufacture, consumption, and waste on a global scale. Since millions of tons of US textile waste is sold to and/or dumped on African countries, placing this work in juxtaposition of African vendors selling beautiful hand made traditional and contemporary African fashions was satisfying and appropriate. I encourage you to visit the Saturday market and see for yourself the bright and beautiful offerings of the (largely West) African vendors.

I was also pleased to share Un-plugged Seating in this setting. Un-plugged Seating is designed to confront the viewer/participant with questions about consumption of electronic media. It is an invitation to be in the present moment and "un-pug" from the tech matrix -- to reconnect with humanity.

The performance part of the installations comes in to play when I interact with the viewer to discuss the terms of trade in Let's Go Swapping and/or ask them to put away their electronic device when interacting with Un-plugged Seating. In this pop-up style installation nothing is for sale. It is an Art Happening designed to build healthy community and spark conversation. To learn the terms of Let's Go Swapping click here. In Un-plugged Seating I also provide gratis items for participants to interact with and take with them such as: reading materials (copies of the Constitution, 1UV MONTHLY Magazine), crayons, pens, mini notebooks, kazoos, and bottled water. To learn more about Un-Plugged Seating click here.

The installation was over all well received by community. I may decide to offer the works in this venue again in the future. If/when that happens I will have it listed on the 1UV Calendar of events. Hope to see you there.