The Temescal Amity Works is a community art project that facilitates and documents the exchange of backyard produce, conversation, and collective biography within the Temescal Neighborhood of Oakland, CA. It is created by Ted Purves and Susanne Cockrell in collaboration with the Temescal Merchants Association.

Over the next year, we are maintaining a community crop sharing program called The Big Backyard and a storefront just off Telegraph Avenue that hosts an open space called Reading Room. We are also producing an assortment of printed materials, including a community map and an ongoing series of free postcards that document the neighborhood’s social economy, its residents and ecology. These publications will be available at our storefront, through our website or at local businesses throughout the year.

The Temescal Amity Works is located at 482 49th St., Oakland, CA 94609. The project is supported by grants from the Creative Work Fund and the Creative Capital Foundation.

If you would like to participate in the produce sharing or have any other questions about the project, flag us down when you see our cart rolling through the neighborhood. Alternatively, you can email us at bigbackyard@amityworks.org