The Confluence
A Joyful Resistance
Exhibition: June 24 – August 15, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 27, 1pm-3pm | Learn more…
Location: West Gallery and Courtyard
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm
The galleries will be closed Saturday, July 4, 2026.
Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804
The Confluence: A Joyful Resistance brings together artworks created during the annual anti-Chevron Day gathering of environmental activists, artists, and organizers working to imagine and build a fossil-free future. At the center of the exhibition stands The Gift of Pride & Purpose, a monumental 18-foot-tall sculpture created by Graham L.P. (with Princess Robinson and the Fencelines Project) installed in Richmond Art Center’s courtyard. Covered in colorful community messages envisioning a world beyond fossil fuels, the four-legged land protector embodies the joyful resistance of Richmond communities fighting for environmental justice and collective liberation.
The sculpture — offered as a “gift” in a play on the story of the Trojan Horse, that was delivered to the gates of the Chevron Richmond Refinery in a one-time-only performance in May 2026 — contains within it not a literal group of warriors, but an alternative vision rooted in community, wellbeing, and reverence for life. Importantly, it calls on us to remember our pride and purpose (the City of Richmond’s motto), and to summon these values collectively as we imagine a Richmond beyond extractive industry and beyond Chevron.
A confluence is a gathering point, a place where we come together in our different struggles to amplify our collective power with one voice against the detrimental impacts of Chevron here in Richmond and in communities around the world. Through works by Jackie Fawn, Raul Gonzalez, Isaac Murdoch, Rafasz, the Rich City Rays and Graham L.P. (Fencelines Project), the exhibition brings together protectors of the land, water, and sky. Together, these artists affirm art as a critical tool for resisting extractive industries and cultivating the cultural shifts necessary for a just future. Grounded in Indigenous practices of reciprocity and stewardship, The Confluence stands firmly on the side of life, offering visions of collective resistance, environmental healing, and a world shaped not by extraction, but by care and community.
Image: Detail of work by Jackie Fawn
