Summer is dwindling, the air is forest-fire smoke-hazy, the country's news cycle continues to exhaust and infuriate, and we here continue to believe in the (both) urgent and timeless need for books, art, reading, poetry, sharing, and for representation, and spaces that allow us respite - yet through continuing and thoughtful engagement - from/with the chaotic rest of the world. As I write this now, it is an August afternoon and I am sitting in the quiet of our library…
Read MoreDe-canon Profile on :: INTERSECTFEST / Dec 8-10, 2017 :: A Q&A with Organizer Anna Vo
Here, De-Canon speaks to Anna Vo, musician, artist, zine-maker and publisher, and community organizer of IntersectFest, a festival from artists of color, which is in its third year of programming and takes place this year from December 8-10, at Ford Food & Drink and other locations around Portland.
1) In a few words, what is IntersectFest?
... It is an effort to center the narratives of people of color in Portland, and exhibit the work of artists of color from Portland and elsewhere. It is a refusal to submit to a narrative of whiteness being centered in Portland. ...
Read More'at the tender table, yes' :: A Reading/Event Series for Stories About Food
Tender Table is a series featuring the voices of women of color and gender nonconforming people of color. It is a platform for storytelling and sharing food. The stories told at Tender Table are connected to the food shared at these events.
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The urgency to create Tender Table came out of a desire and necessity to have these conversations in Portland, OR (often referred to being very white, a mecca of food appropriation by acclaimed white chefs) and hopefully someday in other cities. I encourage people to learn about the food they love, choose ethically sourced food, reach out and give back to the communities who’ve grown, harvested, and worked to put food in front of us. Many food workers of color work in harsh conditions and/or are not appropriately compensated or protected by their employers. How do we expose it, examine it, and create actions to change that?
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