SHAPESHIFTERS CINEMA

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About Us

Shapeshifters Cinema is an experimental microcinema located in Oakland, CA. Our mission is to provide a venue and support for contemporary artists working with experimental and artist-made film, video, sound, music and other types of mediated performance. In addition to regular, live events, we offer workshops on experimental moving image and sound production and a storefront shop specializing in print publications, sound recordings and other artist-made media.

Staff

Gilbert Guerrero - Co-director
Kathleen Quillian - Co-director
Ellie Vanderlip - Workshop Coordinator/Administration Assistant

Membership

The Shapeshifters Cinema Membership Program is a critical way for us to continue as a sustainable, creative, arts-focused venue in Oakland. For questions about membership, or to sign up, please contact us directly.

Address

567 5th Street
Oakland, CA 94607

Our building is wheelchair-accessible and has one wheelchair-accessible bathroom.

Hours

Our building is temporarily closed to the public, except for special pop-up events and workshops.

Show Your Support

Make a donation to support Shapeshifters Cinema

Donations are tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, San Francisco Cinematheque, a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

Cinema

Current and Upcoming Programs & Events

open house and pop-up market

Shapeshifters Open House & Pop-up Market
Saturday, December 18, 2021
1-6pm
Free admission
Masks and proof of vaccination are required for entry

Join us for our first public event since March of 2020! We will be hosting an Open House and Pop-up Market from 1-6pm to welcome the community back in and check out our new storefront space where we will be selling our eclectic collection of artist-made media and goods as well as a selection of brand new beers made on-site in our microbrewery! Several other local vendors specializing in vintage, second-hand, hand-made and artist-made goods will also be set up in and around the space, including Kitten Claw Vintage, Hell Yeah Vintage, Owllamode, San Francisco Cinematheque, Land & Sea, Re/Search Publications, Lea Zalinskis, Desert Glass Jewelry and Miss Lori's Unique Boutique. Proof of vaccination and masks are required for entry.

About Our Cinema

Our intimate, 40-seat cinema is able to host a range of performances and events by contemporary artists working in film, video, sound, music, multimedia and performance. Along with screenings and performances, you will also find workshops, salons, artist talks and lectures. Our focus is primarily on experimental and artist-made.

Rentals

Our venue is available to rent for private events.
More about rentals

Workshops

Upcoming Workshops

We are currently working on putting together lots more great workshops for you in 2022. Check back again soon!

About Our Workshops

Our workshops emphasize a DIY approach to art-making. Each one is taught by a different guest artist who shares practical, hands-on lessons in a variety of media and creative practices using materials and resources you probably already have, or are otherwise easy to acquire. Learn something new or enhance your own established art practice. Everyone is welcome!

Shop

Shapeshifters' store is now open for business (on-line only, currently)! Our store features an eclectic range of DVDs, books, CDs and other artist-made items. Browse the selection here

Browse the full selection

Suki O'Kane, August 16 2020, at Shapeshifters Cinema

John Davis, September 20, 2020, at Shapeshifters Cinema

Killer Banshee, September 13, 2020, at Shapeshifters Cinema

Ether Ship, January 11, 2020 at Shapeshifters Cinema

Elena Pardo, December 6, 2019 at Shapeshifters Cinema

Lynne Sachs, November 10, 2019 at Shapeshifters Cinema

Minoosh Zomorodinia, October 13, 2019 at Shapeshifters Cinema

Jeremy Rourke, September 20, 2019 at Shapeshifters Cinema

Connect

Announcements

Shapeshifters In the News

In the wake of SFMOMA's announcement to cut its historically-significant and beloved film program, KQED journalist Sarah Hotchkiss wrote a great article looking at how this affects the over-all ecology of the Bay Area film culture and the film programs and microcinemas (including Shapeshifters) that continue to cultivate it. Read the article here.

Jack London Improvement District awards funds to Shapeshifters for our merch expansion!
Due to restrictions brought on by the global pandemic and for the safety of our community, we shut down for over a year... but we did not stop! In addition to livestreaming artists' work and hosting artist-led workshops, we opened a retail shop online. We are expanding and building out a shop at our venue with the help of funds provided by the Jack London Improvement District (BID). The funds will go towards building a wall of shelves and stocking up on artists books, records, DVDS, CDs, unique works of art, and handmade goods. Check out the announcement and the full list of award winners.

Shapeshifters receives an Oakland CARES grant!
We are very grateful to have received a grant through the Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Non-Profits, made possible by the city of Oakland Economic & Workforce Development Department, Cultural Affairs Division and administered by Center for Cultural Innovation. These funds ensure that we can continue our (modified) operations during these challenging and uncertain times.

Thank you to all of our donors & funders
We rely on individual donations to support artists and operate our cinema. We are immensely grateful for their contributions. View the list of donors

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@shapeshifterscinema

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