Vanport Mosaic Festival - An Afternoon of Rooting and Re-Storying

Pop-up exhibits, tours, performances, singing, a community altar on the Indigenous land where Vanport once stood and Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated.

Bring a cup for lemonade/tea, your voice to sing along with a Threshold Choir, and an open heart to transmute pain, celebrate survivance, and everything in between.

We will root into this place through various stories of place curated over the nine years of this festival. We will re-story our intentions and imaginations for this place, and the numerous people impacted.

REMEMBER US: a temporary memorial created by Chisao Hata.

FORCE LAKE BIRDWATCHING AND HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR: Led by historian Marti Clemmons and BIRDHERS Han Lyons.
VANPORT WALKING TOURS of historic sites led by survivors, descendants, and educators.

DRUMMING by Native artist John Edmo

PORTLAND TAIKO

HISTORY IS NOW - memory activism displays that amplify community histories - a Vanport Mosaic exhibit in collaboration with Design As Protest, Maxville Heritage Center, Latino Roots in Oregon, Afro Village, This IS Kalapuya Land/Five Oaks Museum, Oregon Black Pioneers, Oregon Jewish Museum, Japanese American Museum, Portland Chinatown Museum, Portland Black Panthers, People 4 Mutual Education, The Immigrant Story, Fair Housing Council

THE JAPANESE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF OREGON will display  history boards, signage, photos, and memorabilia of the Portland Assembly Center.

VANPORT: STORY LIVED. STORY TOLD: Vanport Mosaic pop-up exhibit

VIDEO ALTAR by Joemil Santos (content curation: Story Midwife Laura Lo Forti)- A container for our converging stories: past,  present, and future; a space to enter willingly,  contemplate quietly, and love unconditionally;  an altar for the land and its people; a place to amplify, honor, present, and preserve the silenced histories that surround us; an opportunity to be in a circle,  to be present, to witness, and ultimately, to choose: How will these stories live on? How and what will you add to these stories? What action will you take to make sure these stories never repeat themselves?

VANPORT AND ALBINA MURALS by Alex Chiu created as part of Vanport Mosaic story circle

FIRST WE REMEMBER, AND THEN? traveling installation launched during the 8th Vanport Mosaic Festival May 2023. Participants respond to prompts such as; What does it mean when a place is sacred? What does repair look like? The public is invited to bring items or offerings that symbolize remembrance and healing.