Across Portlands city streets, new murals have appeared on boarded storefronts and operatic performances echo from the steps of the barricaded Multnomah County Justice Center in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Meanwhile, some of Portlands art centers have formed alliances with community organizers, sharing their office space, redistributing resources and mounting exhibitions of protest art. And earlier this month, more than a dozen artists placed their easels in Chapman Square, in the citys downtown, with scenes of the recent violent clashes there between protesters and federal troops.
Looking to create more opportunities for Black Portlanders, Sharita Towne, 35, created A Black Art Ecology of Portland to connect arts organizations with affordable housing groups, memorializing the experiences of displaced residents through murals, photography, oral histories and other artworks. The project, which has received nearly $150,000 from supporters like the Oregon Community Foundation and the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, will also be included in Ms. Townes upcoming exhibition at the Portland Art Museum next year.
For nearly seven years, the photographer Intisar Abioto has created strikingly intimate portraits of Black people in the city for a project called The Black Portlanders. The 34-year-old artist has subsequently become an impromptu historian of the city, exhibiting her work in the Oregon State Capitol last year and working with community organizations.
The women spoke over Zoom about how Portlands artists are guiding conversations about race and art. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.read more
Black Artists Find Ways to Make Their Voices Heard in Portland
