an important article in the east bay express
Here are some words from eda yu:
One of the Berkeley High alumni who died this past summer was Terrence McCrary, a co-founder of Le Vanguard. Since the tragedy, Le Vanguard has been shifted things around to better reflect issues affecting Oakland, such as violence and gentrification. Through its work, the collective hopes to provide for its community by creating safe spaces to heal — such as Le Vanguard's last event, which acted as a tribute to McCrary.
"Violence is really real out here, still," Nguyen said. "Our motto is to protect the art. But like, we also have to protect our youth. So, after what happened with Terrence, we've been on a break, trying to re-imagine what to do with ourselves next as a collective. [How to] address safety, address violence."
As for Le Vanguard, Nguyen and Watts said that future programming will be more grounded in the historical foundations of Oakland's contemporary art scene — which they feel are often taken for granted. But that's only a portion of what they want to accomplish.
"There are so many dreams we have that we're just spread thin right now," Nguyen said, smiling widely. "We're good kids. And we only care about our community."
Eda Yu, Nov 2016
eastbayexpress.com/oakland/a-hub-for-oaklands-young-artists-reborn