Pro Arts Gallery & COMMONS is a collectively held space in Oakland, California that blurs the line between art, debate, experimentation, and collaboration. Through the sharing of material and immaterial resources, we reflect Oakland’s existing artistic and cultural fabric, while creating future landscape of commons-centric art spaces that ultimately proliferate the economic and cultural power of the community above all. Our collaborative activities are rooted in these mutual values and principles.

We are also a global, peer-to-peer networked community, spearheading a movement towards a post-capitalist art economy. Working together, commoners and affinity groups aim to reframe the value of art and art labor in the context of a sharing economy. We disrupt the logic of capital through sustaining those commons-centric spaces, practices, and value production models that re-wire the broken connections between artist, community, and everyday life.

Pro Arts’ space in downtown Oakland is a heterotopic space: a space, which both mirrors and counters the current art market and economy. We as a collective organize and operate on the basis of abundance and the principles of reciprocity, love, and respect. We share our material and immaterial resources and as a collective come together to protect ourselves and each other from the failings of the U.S. economy, the law, systemic institutional racism, residential and metropolitan gentrification, police brutality, and all manifestations of hate. See who we are HERE.

Our Performing Pro Arts COMMONS Incubator is a term used for all artists and art projects housed and nurtured under our roof. Our fellows can be described as marginalized communities, the previously or currently unhoused, and victims of domestic violence, and the abuse of the U.S. criminal justice system. We provide a platform and space for projects at new concepts that occupy the intersection of art, economy and law. Fellows share immaterial and material resources at Pro Arts and engage in collaborative research, practice, and production of ideas. Collectively we prioritize and value artistic autonomy, mutual aid between artists (reciprocity), dignified living, agency, and relational aesthetics.

Common Space. Our presentation areas double as exhibition space, performance space, space for screenings and public programs, such as talks, community fundraisers, literary events, workshops and live streaming.

Our Production Studio is a space with community shared resources including printing press, recording studio, audio-visual equipment, art production studio, and a powerful, outdoor projector.

Our space for research includes COMMON Knowledge Platform Residency for international exchange and artistic knowledge production on emerging models and practices that are situated at the intersection of art and activism. 

This windowed alcove serves as our Exit Through the Gift Shop, where visitors and passerby can peruse the shelves and window displays for the works of art produced within these four walls.