NYTimes article on Oakland's Arts Scene (Paramount: buyers, theater, activity)

[18Montclair]

Awesome.

I can't wait to see the renovated Museum next week...

What began as a predominantly hipster local crowd now includes visitors from around the Bay and beyond. Serious art buyers from as far away as New York, Miami and Rio de Janeiro have also begun turning up.

Art Murmur is just one sign of the recent emergence of Oakland’s cultural scene. In February 2009, the Fox Theater joined another grand old theater, the Paramount, in being restored to its former luster. The two auditoriums now attract audiences in the thousands to performances by local arts organizations like the Oakland East Bay Symphony and the Oakland Ballet, as well as by well-known pop music acts like Mary J. Blige, Green Day and Jeff Beck.

There are now 30 arts festivals that take place in Oakland, up from 2 in the mid-’80s, and about 50 art galleries where there were only a handful a decade ago.

Nonprofit arts in Oakland generate more than $103 million in gross annual economic activity and provide around 5,000 jobs

Arts - In Oakland, Museum Reopens and Arts Spur Growth - NYTimes.com