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Sue Mark. What do you think about urban green space?10,000 Steps, an interactive community-based project designed to increase awareness of historic parks in downtown Oakland, invites you to share your story at one of their upcoming greening events. On Friday, August 1, First Friday, 10,000 Steps will act as stewards of Frank Ogawa Plaza in the vicinity of the Oakland Art Gallery (Kahn's Alley near City Hall) from 5-8PM.

Equipped with a multifunctional workcart made from re-used materials, 10,000 Steps will invite passers-by to engage in park maintenance as well as story-telling: tell them why urban green space is important to you. Your stories will be added to their website, www.10000stepsoakland.org, an-ever growing record of Oaklanders' relationships to the parks.

10,000 Steps is a unique collaboration between marksearch (Sue Mark and Bruce Douglas), an independent artistic cultural research team, and the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation. In this two-year stewardship project, the artists are working with neighbors and community groups that surround four historic parks in downtown Oakland – Jefferson, Lafayette, Lincoln and Madison Square Parks – to beautify and draw attention to green urban public space.

The team has co-hosted many park greening events in and around the parks: clean-ups, picnics, and community gardening. Future events include the creation of butterfly gardens in Madison and Lincoln Square Parks as well as a youth bench-building project at the Lincoln Rec Center. Check out the 10,000 Steps schedule (in the ‘about’ section) at www.10000stepsoakland.org . 10,000 Steps will culminate in a series of permanently marked self-guided walking tours in downtown Oakland that will lead people to these parks.

This project is generously supported by the Creative Work Fund, Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation and local community groups and businesses.

For more information, contact Sue Mark or Bruce Douglas at marksearch@sbcglobal.net, or Kathy Raymond, Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation, 510-465-1850.Donna Keiko Ozawa, Bob Hsiang, Christine Wong Yap and Kearny Street Workshop (Visual Arts, 2007)Donna Keiko Ozawa and her collaborators have launched Activist Imagination, a major exhibition and series of discussions with activists, artists, and community members. The exhibit features new work by Ozawa, Bob Hsiang, and Christine Wong Yap, who represent the three generations of Kearny Street Workshop’s contributions to Asian American art and activism. It opens on Friday, February 29, 6:30-9 p.m. and runs through May 24. All events are at Kearny Street Workshop, 180 Capp Street, #5.