SE Uplift Grant Projects
July Events & Opportunities for Community Participation
July is a busy month for SE Uplift’s Neighborhood Small Grant recipients, and community members are invited to join in on the festivities. Learn more about how you can get involved with the numerous projects taking place, including intersection mural paintings, street art bicycle tours, and a traveling jukebox exploring income inequality.
WAGE / WORKING – EXPLORING INCOME INEQUALITY THROUGH A TRAVELING JUKEBOX
Local artists Laura Hadden and Tennessee Watson are teaming up to present Wage/ Working, a project that will culminate in the creation of a traveling jukebox full of interviews and stories about the working lives of Portland residents.
Stories will be gathered, in part, through two free workshops, during which both youth and adults will be able to create their own audio portrait of a worker in their community. Before being placed in the jukebox, the stories will be edited to the length of time it takes takes these workers to earn $1 – resulting in longer stories from those who earn the least.
The jukebox will be hosted in at least three different public spaces (venues still to be confirmed) across SE Portland starting in late July 2015. Potential venues include laundromats, bars, post offices, government buildings – anywhere people gather and might be open to interact with the jukebox and reflect on the impact of income inequality on their local community.
The project is currently looking for workshop participants and subjects to interview about their work experiences. Applications are available online at wageworking.com and will be accepted on a rolling basis through July 6th.
For more information, check out wageworking.com
ART FILLS THE VOID – INTERPRETIVE BICYCLE TOUR OF SE PORTLAND MURALS AND STREET ART INSTALLATIONS
Portland Street Art Alliance’s Art Fills the Void! project is hosting a free interpretive bicycle tour of 20 existing murals and street art installations in the SE Uplift area of Portland on Saturday, July 25th. This free tour will be provided in both English and Spanish. PSAA tour guides will provide descriptions, histories, and explanations of the artwork seen at each tour stop. Several local artists, activists, and academics will speak along the way.
Prior to the bicycle tour, PSAA is also organizing a mural re-painting event to rejuvenate one of Portland’s oldest community murals, Art Fills the Void! at SE Division and 12th. Muralist Frank DeSantis, an original member of the group that painted the mural in 1982, will be at the event to help restore the mural and speak with the community about his experiences painting guerrilla murals in Portland in the early 1980s.
Art Fills the Void! Events:
- Saturday & Sunday, July 11th-12th – Restoration of the Art Fills the Void! banana mural
- Saturday July 25th – Public Bicycle Tour of SE Portland Street Art
For more information and to sign-up for the bicycle tour once registration is opened, visit artfillsthevoid.info or facebook.com/ArtFillstheVoid
REED & NORTH TABOR INTERSECTION MURALS – JOIN YOUR NEIGHBORS & PAINT THE STREET
All interested community members are invited to join the Reed Neighborhood Association on Saturday, July 11th to paint a street mural at the intersection of SE 28th Place and Pardee Street. In addition to providing a good time for the whole family, RNA hopes the project will help to build a strong foundation for collective identity, cohesion and resilience within the community.
So wear your painting clothes, bring a dish to share, and join your neighbors on July 11th.
Reed Intersection Mural Painting
Saturday, July 11th
9am – finish
SE 28th Pl. & Pardee St
More Information at: facebook.com/ReedNeighborhood
The North Tabor Neighborhood Association is also painting a street mural this summer on August 1st and 2nd at the intersection of NE 53rd Ave and Everett St. The mural will be of a mandala designed by the upper elementary school children at the Portland Montessori School. NTNA hopes to bring color, vibrancy, and a stronger sense of community to their humble corner of Portland.
All community members are invited to partake in the festivities and help create something unique and beautiful that will be enjoyed and celebrated by all for years to come!
North Tabor Intersection Mural Painting & Block Party
Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd
10 am – 4 pm
Ne 53rd Ave & Everett St
More Information at:facebook.com/NorthTaborNews