Flavors of Being
Minal Mistry on reconnecting with the spices of his ancestors.
Borrowed Kitchens and Conference Rooms
Diana Marcela Cuartas writes about the challenges of finding cultural space in the Portland metro area's rapidly changing east side.
Every September in Pendleton
Olivia Wolf writes about people for whom the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon show are about more than spectacle—they’re a family legacy.
Speaking in Tongues
Aleksandr Chernousov writes about the experience of hearing his first language turned to violent authoritarian ends and finding it anew in Oregon
Beyond Plunder
Minal Mistry on how plunder became the basis for our culture economy, and what might replace it.
Corazón de Fuego / Heart of Fire
La Comida de Nuestras Madres / The Foodways of our Mothers by Yanely Rivas
From the Director: Old Jokes
Adam Davis on the personal and cultural legacy of cruel jokes
The Value of Your Story
Photographer Joe Whittle writes about his experience as a 2019–21 Fields Artist Fellow.
So Much Together: Shared Possessions
Patricia Vázquez Gómez is an artist whose practice investigates the social functions of art, the intersections between aesthetics, ethics, and politics, and the expansion of community-based art practices. She strongly believes that we all possess unique talents, knowledge, and perspectives that make us unique and unordinary, and that those special possessions are often obscured by the situations in which we find ourselves. In this workshop, Patricia will share some of her projects and guide conversations and quick activities to connect to the themes and methods of her artwork. We will learn about the unique cultural possessions that each participant brings in the form of sayings inherited from families and cultures and make a set of posters featuring those sayings.
So Much Together: Shared Possessions
Patricia Vázquez Gómez is an artist whose practice investigates the social functions of art, the intersections between aesthetics, ethics, and politics, and the expansion of community-based art practices. She strongly believes that we all possess unique talents, knowledge, and perspectives that make us unique and unordinary, and that those special possessions are often obscured by the situations in which we find ourselves. In this two-part workshop, Patricia will share some of her projects and guide conversations and quick activities to connect to the themes and methods of her artwork. We will learn about the unique cultural possessions that each participant brings in the form of sayings inherited from families and cultures and make a set of posters featuring those sayings.
Cekpa
Leah Altman reflects on revolutionary decolonization, ownership, and power.
People, Places, Things
Chava Florendo's photo of her brother, Justice Florendo.
Clicking
After moving back to Portland, Marbla Reed looks for connection in online event organizing, but finds creating community without the context of preexisting relationships more challenging than anticipated.
Reciprocity of Tradition
Photographer Joe Whittle explores how traditional practices of Native Americans of the Columbia Plateau strengthen communities and preserve connections to the land.
Posts
Readers write about “Union.”
Black Mark, Black Legend
Intisar Abioto explores the legacy of Black artists in Portland and the meaning of that history for current creators in the community, as part of Oregon Humanities' Emerging Journalists, Community Stories fellowship program.
More than Words
Emilly Prado explores the stories of three families in the small rural border town of Nyssa, Oregon, and how immigration policy changes have affected their lives.
Making Woodburn History
Gustavo Gutierrez-Gomez makes it his mission to get people together.
What Is Mine
Editor Kathleen Holt on looking for identity in the post-colonial welter of midcentury Hawaii.
Your Cultural Attire
Conversations about appropriation sometimes miss the complexity of culture. An article by Zahir Janmohamed
Posts
Readers write about Carry
Slow Ascent
A Chinese American woman searches for belonging in the country of her grandparents. An essay by Jessica Yen
Between Ribbon and Root
Hope and a history of tragedy live together in a Cowlitz woman's son. An essay by Christine Dupres
Mothers to Daughters
Mothers give advice to their daughters about living bravely in an unsafe world in this film produced by Sika Stanton for Oregon Humanities.
This Way through Oregon
Illustrating the systems that move salmon, waste, traffic, and legislation
So to Speak
Novelist Laila Lalami on moving between languages to find her voice
Group Therapy
Copping out at an uptown slumber party. An essay by Dionisia Morales
A Temporary Insanity
Torn between the pull of family and the pull of home. An essay by Gail Wells
Magazine Podcast: Quandary
Talking about Ferguson, feminism, and filling out forms with Oregon Humanities magazine contributors
Feel-Good Feminism
Bitch Media cofounder Andi Zeisler wonders if feminism's pop-culture cachet has doomed the movement.
One Giant Step
Coming of age during the hopeful days of American space exploration. An essay by Dmae Roberts
Burning Bushes
When it comes to attention-getting spectacles, God is no longer the only game in town. An essay by Dan DeWeese
An Anecdotal Glossary of Spectacle
M. Allen Cunningham sorts through our landscape of scandal, show, and distraction
Rodeo City
Pendleton has built its identity around a dogged loyalty to tradition. An essay by Sarah Mirk
Being More Human
Intel's resident futurist, Brian David Johnson, on how the steampunk culture offers clues to building a better tomorrow
Soldiers' Stories
Photographer Jim Lommasson collaborates with war veterans on a gallery exhibit and book project that look at life for soldiers after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Olde Towne Team
For sports fans, it's more than just a game. An essay by Guy Maynard
Uprockin' the Rose City
The community that hip hop built in Portland. An article by Walidah Imarisha
The Artist as Worker
Rilke would never have understood the current desire to merge commerce and creativity. An essay by M. Allen Cunningham
Abnormal Beauties
Portlanders don't fair well in a national magazine's beauty ratings. So what? An essay by Karen Karbo
Designing the Good Life
Beauty is a desirable bonus when design improves our lives. An essay by Lisa Radon
Seen Though Not Heard
In the designs on a Klikitat basket, a woman finds an unspoken link to her past. An essay by Christine Dupres