Artist Julian Saporiti describes collaborating with community group Portland Taiko, to create Orient Oregon. “It was a historical song/film work composed against the backdrop of 2020. Through music it highlights the often invisible story of early Japanese American immigrants who worked as shopkeepers, loggers, farmers, and more. Over the course of a century, they endured racism and mass incarceration in concentration camps. Through original songs we get a sense of this 20th century narrative all set to rare footage of Japanese-American home movies filmed between 1920-1960, situating faces of color amongst the waterfalls, mountains and cities of Oregon, broadening a general understanding of who is woven into Oregon’s history.”

No-No Boy is a multi-media project blending film, sound, story and song into works which illuminate untold histories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. Through original lyrics, sound design, and carefully curated and edited archival imagery, difficult histories come to life in a pastiche which attunes multiple senses to the stories unfolding in each work.

 

#PDXCARES Supported Capturing the Moment

This RACC initiative was intended to further and support Portland-based artists making work during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. The call for submissions aimed to reflect and record this time of change, uncertainty, loss and hope. It will continue to serve and showcase some of the work emerging from artists and creatives during this historic moment. Artist submissions selected for Capturing the Moment will be shared via RACC and the City of Portland’s communication channels including digital formats and social media accounts.

Funding for Capturing the Moment came from the City of Portland’s federal allocation of CARES funding (#PDXCARES). It was specifically dedicated to Black artists, Indigenous artists, and all artists of color who reside in the City of Portland.