Artists

Cleo Davis, current Artist in Residence at the City of Portand Archives, co-Artist of the Historic Black Williams Art Project and the Alberta Street Black Heritage markers, combines disciplines of cultural and creative arts while utilizing design, historic preservation, economic development and city policy. Davis' work takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues, reproducing familiar visual signs, arranging them into new conceptually layered pieces, while advocating for tools of economic growth and policy change. Most recently, Cleo orchestrated moving a historic house in order to create a BlackAfro-American cornerstone of creative genius that promotes art, research, and imagination.

buildingcornerstones.org

Creator and innovator, Kayin Talton Davis' work centers around her passion for fusing art grounded in Black heritage and culture with graphic design, mechanical engineering, community building and education. Known for her vibrant color palettes and unique aesthetic, Talton Davis founded Soapbox Theory™ in 2001, with the mission of "Cultivating Black Joy™" Kayin is a current City of Portland Archives Artist in Residence, and co-artist of the Historic Black Williams Art Project and the Alberta Street Black Heritage Markers. Her most recent permanent public installation, "We've Been Here" - highlighting Oregon Black women in the early 1900s, is located in the Portland Building.

@soapboxtheory
www.soapboxtheory.com

Sarah Farahat is a transdisciplinary Egyptian American artist, activist and educator dreaming of a more collective future amongst the rubble of capitalist empires. For the past twelve years she has organized her life around questions of identity, assimilation, grief, socio-political struggle, collective liberation and self-determination. She loves learning through stories, plants, music, food traditions and healing arts. Her work lives in protests, archives, non-profit, public and digital spaces and in the permanent collection of the Poor People's Campaign, The Arab American Museum Library, The Palestine Poster Project, and the Center for Political Graphics. She is a member of the Just Seeds Artists' Cooperative and teaches children in her community as well as at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

@ankhinkh
www.sarahfarahat.com
https://justseeds.org/artist/sarahfarahat/

Wendi YuLing [Anderson] (she/her) is a self-taught artist and activist of Filipino, Chinese, Scottish, and Dutch descent. She was born to a mother from Washington state and a father from Wai'anae, Hawai'i. Her home base is Portland, Oregon. Wendi's work is sometimes collaborative, often ephemeral, and typically incognito. Costume, performance, and ritual grant access to hidden spaces, give shape to the intangible, and bid us take notice of significance. Painting and illustration are conduits for the energy of social movements. All create entry points into dialogue and discovery.

@wanderingwonton
www.wanderingwonton.me

Hola! I am Sol. I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Currently living in the beautiful city of Portland, OR. I am passionate about creating multi-sensorial experiences beyond the boundaries of perception in every way. From fashion design to installation art, my goal is for the viewer to experience my work beyond just the visual form. Connecting ideas with sculptural elements and lighting allows me to tell a story, a story that evokes an ultimate spatial experience.

My grandparents immigrated from Spain to Buenos Aires, and when I was 19, I packed a bag and came to the US on my own. For ten years, I worked as an interpreter assisting undocumented families and as a paraeducator. Last year I started a graphic design enrichment class at a private school for underprivileged children. I always felt a connection for those who leave everything behind them in pursuit of a better life. Now more than ever, I want to help make a stand with design, using expression against oppression in any way I can. 

@designercash
www.solcejas.com