“First, we remember. And after?” seeks to honor the many layered histories that have taken place in the town known as Vanport: land theft, flooding, displacement, and incarceration that have affected the Indigenous, Black, Japanese, Japanese Americans, and Vanport communities. These histories are not known to so many people who choose to live in Portland at the continued expense of these communities.

First, we remember. And after? also investigates the responsibility of the present moment. Once you become aware, what happens next? Currently, Oregon Metro is developing a process to envision a new use of the Expo Center and the surrounding 53 acres of land. This process will not let us forget: that this is land stolen from the Clackamas, Cowlitz, Multnomah, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz, Grand Ronde, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Natives; the atrocities that happened in Hall A to the Japanese and Japanese American community; nor the bureaucratic, racist negligence which allowed flooding to displace tens of thousands of Vanporters. This lands’s legacy is interwoven with these undeniable realities. Will Metro’s plans truly center the justice and healing this land cries out for? That these communities have not seen for 75 years and more?

Let us weave our voices together, stronger in their diversity, to preserve this place as a site of conscience and to demand that the future of this place is by and for communities. In hope, new paths are possible.

This piece was created in collaboration primarily with Sia Hanna and Colloqate Design for the 2023 Vanport Mosaic Festival. Nor would it have been made possible without the support and trust of ridhi d’cruz and Chisao Hata of the Japanese American Museum of Oregon.

Because Metro’s process is currently in process, this piece will travel in different iterations to upcoming events around Portland, Oregon. Please get in touch and add your voice to this chorus of resistance.

First, we remember. And after? 15’ x 25’, “ 2023, site-specific, interactive serial public installation. Blackberry plant, birch plywood, magnetic paint, cyanotype on canvas with grommets, laser-cut tessellations on digitally printed Astrobright paper 80#C.

Photos by Sean McDonald