Please click here for the official KONO District Statement regarding the arrest of murder suspect.
YOU’LL FIND WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR IN KONO!
The KONO District is a unique and interesting neighborhood in a town full of interesting neighborhoods. It is center to businesses serving the Korean-American, Somalian and Eritrean communities (among others). Here you’ll find small mom-and-pop shops, old-school and cutting edge restaurants and bars, an array of galleries and more. We’re home to the Sutter Health Alta Bates-Summit Medical Center and more housing and businesses are on the way!
We’ve recently updated the KONO Business Directory on our website. You’ll find what you’re looking for in KONO! Please contact us for any changes or additions. Have an idea for a business you want to see in our district? Let us know!
STREET AMBASSADORS
KONO contracts with StreetPlus to provide a team of street ambassadors in the district . They work to keep the corridor clean of trash and graffiti, and engage with passersby to ensure a safe district. Our KONO Ambassadors are dedicated to removing blight and pressure washing large block faces throughout the district to ensure the district the side walks are clean. StreetPlus ambassadors are wearing safety gear and focusing on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, engaging with the homeless community and keeping eye on the neighborhood. Pictured above is the Streetplus team: Robert V , Marcelo H, Fernando O, Ramon H.
MONTHLY COMMUNITY ARTS FESTIVAL— Oakland First Fridays
Oakland First Fridays is Oakland's monthly celebration of arts, culture, food and community. It happens on the first Friday of the month on Telegraph Avenue from West Grand to 27th Street. It draws up to 30,000 people from Oakland and the surrounding area to celebrate our community. Over the years it has served as an incubator for many Oakland artists and small businesses, a driver of economic growth in KONO and the rest of downtown, as documented in this report on its economic impact, and a major factor in Oakland’s resurgence as an arts destination (evidenced by the fact that Oakland is the only North American destination in National Geographic’s Places to Visit 2019 cited for its culture).
Oakland First Fridays relaunched in October 2021 after 18 months of the pandemic closures.
litter receptacle mosaics
In 2018, KONO received a grant of $5,000 from the Fleishhacker Foundation to place mosaic art on litter containers in the district. Mosaics on the trash cans are a great way to beautify the district and the project has been a success in local areas such as Temescal, Montclair, and Old Oakland. Artist, Juan Lopez, has completed 5 litter containers. This artist has been working with tile for 25 years and is invested in community transformation especially with his work on trashcans. He often creates the mosaics with a nature scene and wildlife which is refreshing in a concrete, urban environment and symbolize an evolving neighborhood. As he says, “I’m turning a trashcan, which is normally an eyesore into something beautiful for everyone…I’m transforming trash into treasure.” Beautifying the trashcans elevates the artistic presence of the neighborhood and fosters pride in the district. They are representative of KONO’s renaissance and emergence of the arts, culture and environmental consciousness. Contact us if you would like to sponsor a mosaic art can (510) 343-5439. KONO is looking to add more mosaic receptacles in 2022/2023.
Utility Box Art Project
In 2012, KONO commissioned 14 different artists to paint art on utility boxes around the district. See interviews with the artists in this video produced by Laney College Digital Media Club. Go on a self-guided tour of the Art Boxes with our neighborhood map. A big thanks to all the artists: Fulani Carter, Eddie Colla, Jack Eastgate, Stevan Guiterrez, Lisa Hoffman, Dave Young Kim & Stephanie Leung, Joanne Ludwig, Pancho Peskador, David Polka,Lynne-Rachel Altman, Momoko Sudo, Ashia Tymous, and Desi Wome. KONO will soon invite the artists back to refresh the utility art boxes.
BEAUTIFYING KONO
In 2011, KONO planted over 100 trees using the City of Oakland Redevelopment Funds and partnering with Sierra Club. Recently, KONO introduced a cardboard recycle Go Green project which is transforming our tree wells from weeds to beautiful gorilla hair.
