PORTLAND, Oregon — An exhibit at the Portland Art Museum shares the legacy of Black artists in the region, dating back more than 100 years.
Black Artists of Oregon is a collective tribute to nearly 70 artists and features paintings, photos, sculptures and textiles. The exhibit celebrates Black creatives from around the state, spanning from the 1880s through today.
Guest curator Intisar Abioto brought the exhibit to the Portland Museum. She said it embraces the expansiveness of the Black experience.
"How Black people live here in this space today, how they lived in the past, how we'll live in the future," Abioto said. "It's almost like a portal, a window."
Portland artist Janice Ingersoll was a young upstart in the 1980s. She remembers that mainstream galleries weren't all that interested in Black art, so she and her friends booked their own shows. Ingersoll said she could have never imagined "in a million years" that her paintings would hang in the Portland Art Museum.
"When I walked in here the very first day it was, it energized me and it made me proud. And I said, 'All of this has been hiding in Portland and people need to see it,'" Ingersoll said.
She added that her mother was among the first Black docents at the Portland Art Museum. However, her relatives in the Rose City go back much further than that. Her grandfather was a tailor and owned a shot off Burnside Street in the 1920s. Ingersoll also remembers her dad being the first Black engineer at the Bonneville Power Administration.
Her father's legacy is more about math and science. Ingersoll said both her parents taught her about about African American artists. Now, she's doing the same thing for the next generation.
"I think that this show, and watching my great-grandchildren respond to it, shows me that it's going to continue," Ingersoll said. "It's never going to go backwards. It's only going to get bigger and better."
Black Artists of Oregon is more than an exhibit; it's an invitation for people to look, learn and listen.
"What if these artworks are just catalysts for us to imagine these artists and think about who else there is? Who else could be in this space?" Abioto said.
People can view the Black Artists of Oregon exhibit when they buy a general admission ticket to the museum. It runs through March 17, 2024.
Another exhibit at the museum, Africa Fashion, highlights the creativity and talent of designers behind contemporary African fashions. It's the first-of-its-kinds exhibit, according to the museum, and this is it's only stop on the West Coast. "Africa Fashion" runs now through Feb. 18. 2024. There are more details on the Portland Art Museum's website.