Global Urban Humanities/Future Histories Lab

Instructor: Pablo Gonzalez

Term: Summer 2021

Course #: HUM 132AC / ENV DES 132AC / ETHSTD 190AC

Why read this case study?

How can new technologies encourage students to observe, research, analyze, and share knowledge about urban environments? Can mapping public protest art and creating augmented reality projects and podcasts inspire students to ask deep questions about power, race, and privilege in urban neighborhoods?

In the wake of protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, thousands of people gathered in overwhelmingly peaceful protests in Oakland, as across the country. Fearing unrest, many building owners in commercial districts covered ground-floor storefront windows with plywood.

Local artists used this plywood as canvases to express their outrage and resistance to racism and state violence. These temporary murals were important records of a historic moment when the Black Lives Matter movement gained new visibility.

However, within a year, many of the murals had been whitewashed or the plywood they were on was removed.

In order to preserve the meaning and memory of this protest art, students in Dr. Pablo Gonzalez’ Summer 2021 course Public Art and Social Justice: Mapping Mural Art and Narratives used photographs of these ephemeral murals to create a virtual public gallery of this important art. The students in this class, which was supported by Future Histories Lab (part of the Global Urban Humanities Initiative) mapped the art and created augmented reality projects that allowed people visiting the storefronts to use their smartphones to see images of the murals that had been removed.

The students also tracked down and interviewed a number of the artists and created podcasts and audio clips for the augmented reality project that convey the artists’ intentions to future generations.

The gallery, augmented reality projects, and podcasts can be accessed through links in this case study.