Art Installation To Pay Tribute To Ghost Ship Fire Victims
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – An art installation that pays touching tribute to the victims of the Oakland Ghost Ship Fire is almost ready to make its public debut after months in the making.
The origin of the project dates back to the day after the deadly fire that tore through the artists warehouse, killing 36 people.
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The Oakland Museum of California asked Chris Treggiari and his co-creator Peter Focault to design a memorial piece that people could visit during "First Friday" events.
The memorial is designed to look like an actual ship. It was created in honor of the Ghost Ship Fire victims, particularly Alex Ghassan.
Treggiari worked alongside Ghassan last year.
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"He was an amazing person," said Treggiari. "An amazing artist, hard worker, good father, dedicated to the community definitely. And extremely talented."
As part of that piece, Treggiari asked people to write their feelings about the fire.
"All of the cards on the top sails are from that event, asking people how would they memorialize Ghost Ship," explained Treggiari. "What would you like to say? How would you like to be heard about what's happening?"
Within a couple weeks, he got more than 200 responses. Those cards will be on display as part of the memorial. Visitors will also have a chance to add cards of their own.
In about one week, the piece will be complete. Certain aesthetic decisions that the artists say will take the piece to the next level still need to be made.
This Ghost Ship memorial is part of a bigger exhibit called "The Days of the Dead." It opens October 18th.
The exhibit will be open through January 14th of next year at the Oakland Museum of California.
