Part of the Gay Oakland Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Oakland, California
QTPOC-led gallery in Grand Lake housing the Miss Major Griffin-Gracy Art Gallery
The Queer Arts Center is a QTPOC-led gallery and community space on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland's Grand Lake neighborhood, steps from Lake Merritt. Run by the nonprofit Spectrum Queer Media since 2009, the physical space opened in 2020 and houses the Miss Major Griffin-Gracy Art Gallery — named for the trans activist and Stonewall veteran. Programming centers Black and Indigenous queer and trans artists through rotating exhibits, film screenings, sober sip-and-paint nights, and healing workshops. The center also runs food security and job training programs, having distributed over 30,000 meals to marginalized QTPOC community members since the pandemic. Open Saturdays and Sundays noon to 5 PM, with weekday visits by appointment.
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