Each night of the Village Building Convergence was a different evening event for people to come and eat and discuss relevant issues in relation to the work of placemaking. This year, the discussion revolved around the theme of resiliency and inclusion and to really delve into more difficult topics of land acknowledgements and white supremacy…

Like what my dear professor Curtis said, “Much in the same way that genres of popular music can only be intelligently read by an intimate few, graffiti art’s strength lies in its ability to communicate with itself in plain sight of a mass audience that could not or would not hope to decipher it.” (84)…

Humans have an obsession with memory. Why do we need to secure the past in monumentally public form? (82) Why do we crave these large markers of history in our public spaces? The city is like a skin- empty space demands ornamentation. Graffiti inspires more graffiti. This phenomenon relates to how the government has used…

Bea Herzberg (She/Her/Hers) art@cityrepair.org Bea has been working with placemaking sites and City Repair events to build temporary ecological installations. These art projects offer a vital role in activating space, strengthening connections to the natural world, sparking curiosity, and cultivating community. Bea loves the opportunity that City Repair provides for teaming with other organizations to…

This past Thursday we had our final official place-making meeting and graduation celebration for the place-making sites. We had a potluck and a little ceremony of gratitude for the work everyone has put into the program and the projects they have committed to making a reality. To show our appreciation we made wildflower seed packets…

I went with Ridhi and some other folks who work for the Village Coalition ( working to advocate for houseless folks and houseless communities) went to Dignity Village (a houseless village) to serve food and eat together. Often times, the element of sitting and eating and getting to know one another – houseless and non…

For me? My art and the world blend together. Imagery, connection, pattern, feelings mash together to create both identity, familiarity, and where my hands and eyes tend to respond.

This Village Building Convergence will be busy! The flyer with more detailed event information was just released! Each night will be different programing run with allied programs and organizations as well as City Repair. For more information, click here : https://villagebuildingconvergence.com/evening-events During the day, placemaking sites will be doing street painting, plantings, natural building projects…

I attended Sunday Parkways which is a (PBOT) Portland Bureau of Transportation organized event. The purpose of this event is to get Portlanders out riding their bikes, but also scooters, skates, and boards in specific quadrants of the city. The route is made by connecting city parks and bike streets. Each park on the route…

This book is a collection of various uncommissioned street art projects and acts as a general ode to street art. The book opens with a Banksy quote from 2010 “To some people breaking into property and painting it might seem a little inconsiderate, bt in reality 30 square centimeters of your brain are trespassed up…