Alice Street

In a rapidly gentrifying city, the construction of a luxury condominium threatens a local mural, forcing the artists and neighborhood to rally to protect its history, voice, and land.

Two artists — Chilean studio painter Pancho Peskador and Chicago-born aerosol artist Desi Mundo — form an unlikely partnership to paint their most ambitious mural to date in downtown Oakland. The four-story mural is situated at a unique intersection of Chinese and Afro-Diasporic communities who face the imminent threat of displacement and gentrification. But even before painting can commence, the artists face numerous obstacles such as complex negotiations with profit minded property owners, satisfying a community of diverse residents, and resolving the artists’ own aesthetic conflicts.

As the mural takes shape, Oakland’s unique cultural legacies come to life through historical flashbacks and despite additional setbacks during its creation, Peskador and Mundo complete it with great fanfare and a vibrant celebration.

But three months after the mural’s completion, a new luxury condominium development is planned that will obstruct this new source of neighborhood pride. Despite local opposition, the development receives city approval, and the community fights back. Ultimately displaced, the mural becomes a spark for the community to rally to protect cultural arts, and coalesces the community’s resistance to gentrification.