Category Archives: Arts & Culture

By Karen Wells | CNA Media Team

Three six-pane doors capped with three seven-pane half moon windows signal the formal entrance to McMenamins Kennedy School. Late afternoon western sunlight illuminates the lobby.

These windows weren’t always bright with sunlight. When the school closed in 1975, the windows were boarded up and fell into disrepair. The building became an eyesore.

Isaka Shamsud-Din, (pronounced E sa ka Shem sue Deen) a former Concordian – along with his wife, son and a team of artists – took charge. They created a beautification project for the school building windows prior to the building’s renovation.

Led by Isaka, they created vibrant designs on the boards with bold colors and sweeping strokes. Each painted wood panel was unique and kept the windows safe from vandalism. This project launched a 15-year working relationship between Mike McMenamin and Isaka.

The Kennedy School project wasn’t the first time Isaka used his skills for the greater good of his community. A story teller, historian, educator, muralist and activist, his work has chronicled the African-American experience in the Northwest for more than 50 years.

Each of his pieces highlights the importance of perseverance, hope, education, remembering African-American history and contributions to the fabric of the American experience.

His current projects include launching a Go Fund Me campaign: “Juneteeth Calendar – Celebrating the Black Experience,” an 18-month engagement and history calendar. Isaka is collaborating with Pacific Northwest College of Art and Don’t Shoot Portland to host a night of social justice art and auction Dec. 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Pacific Northwest College of Art. He is also actively gathering community support for the restoration and preservation of his 1989 mural, “Now is the Time, the Time is Now.”

Editors note: If you’d like to know more about this mural and/or artist, Karen shares her resources online. Visit ConcordiaPDX.org/ KennedySchoolMurals.

Karen Wells is a retired early childhood community educator, health and safety trainer.

By Karen Wells | CNA Media Team

The last link of chain, broken, dangles from the arm of central male figure as he cradles a brown child. Arm and index finger point to Pan-African flag embellished with “Still We Rise.”

This is the title of Arvie Smith’s 2018 mural facing Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Boulevard at Alberta Commons Natural Grocers, 5055 N.E. MLK Blvd. The 10-by-17-foot porcelain enamel panel is a permanent installation of the Alberta Commons building.

The mural is one of two murals to be installed. The other mural, “Until We Get There” by artist Mehran Heard, will be of the same dimensions and will face Alberta Street.

“Still We Rise” is a nod to Maya Angelou’s 1978, 240-word poem “Still I Rise.” Arvie’s multi-paneled mural is a narrative of Portland African-American history from last century to the present.

Icons embedded in the mural’s field provide clues to the forces and elements that shaped, negatively or positively, the Portland black experience. Reading the mural, starting at the lower left corner and progressing clockwise, several main themes emerge.

The central figure stands on a roadway posted as “I-5.” Scenes of flood waters and home destruction morph to a nightclub band scene. The flute guy in the band, clad in yellow, is Arvie Smith.

The 11 o’clock position, offers scenes of occupations and police brutality. The 1 o’clock area tells the story of the impact the Emanuel Hospital expansion on the community’s viability. A broad red line dominates the 5 o’clock space.

Arvie is a long-time northeast neighbor and, in 1984, became the first African-American graduate of Pacific Northwest College of Art, where he earned a bachelor’s of fine art. He received his master’s in fine art from Maryland Institute of Art in 1992.

His work has been featured in numerous Baltimore and Portland galleries, including the Portland Art Museum.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to know more about Arvie Smith and Maya Angelou, their lives and their art, Karen shares her resources online. Visit ConcordiaPDX.org/still-we-rise.

By Karen Wells

A larger than life portrait mural of Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson is a fitting representation of the “larger-than-life” Major League Baseball (MLB) player who stepped up to bat for the Brooklyn Dodgers April 15, 1947.

A month into the season, his first swing broke the color line of the segregation policy of the MLB. Robinson’s player number was 42. Collaboration between Michael DeMarco, Our 42nd Avenue executive director; Dennis Karas, Cully Neighborhood News advertising manager; and local painter/art teacher John Vance brought the image of the legendary baseball social justice activist to life on the north-facing wall of 5140A N.E. 42nd Ave. two years ago.

In 2016, John asked Dennis if there was any opportunity to install a mural within the Cully neighborhood. During a negotiation meeting, Michael shared a photo of Robinson wearing his No. 42 jersey.

The number was a good fit for the Our 42nd Avenue, and the organization’s primary goal of supporting equity and inclusion of all who live, work, play and do business in Cully and along 42nd Avenue.

John used interlocking geometric shapes painted warm colors of red, yellow and orange – interspersed with cooler ones of blue, green and violet against a black background.

Together they create visual illusions of blocks, diamonds or mountains. Robinson’s image is emblazoned against this background of color. The sense of agency – his innate ability to exert power – is palpable to the viewer. He is positioned to take flight toward the next goal, the future.

John earned his bachelor of fine arts degree in 2004 from Parsons School of Design, New York City, and the following year he moved to Portland. He loves the physicality of producing murals, and the abundant trees, natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. John’s work can be seen at JohnnyTerrific.com/muralsgallery/.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to know more about Jackie Robinson, his life, and his influence on American culture, Karen shares her resources online. Visit ConcordiaPDX.org/jackierobinson

Karen Wells is a retired early childhood communit y educator, health and safety trainer.

Editor’s note: This month launches a regular CNews feature by Carrie Wenninger to highlight the murals in the Concordia neighborhood.

Mural location/age: La Sirenita Taqueria, 2817 N.E. Alberta St. / about 1 year

Artist: Pablo Garcia, a Portland mural artist with roots in Mexico and more than 50 pieces of work on view around our city, in collaboration with friend Consuela Del Moral

Representation: The eclipse surrounding Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, is telling us that we are running out of time. At the same time, Quetzalcoatl is giving the energy from the sun to us, to help us grow along with the Tule tree, an enormous and ancient cypress. The earth is strong because of the energy of this nature god.

Business Owner: Luis Moreno, La Sirenita, proprietor

Fun fact: Pablo is also responsible for the mermaid La Sirenita – the business’s namesake – on the front of the building, whose shimmering scales were fashioned from recycled CDs.

See more of Pablo’s work: www.pablosmurals.com