Flowers for Black Elders (curated by Onry & Joni Whitworth)

On view in the Project Room January 27–March 4, 2023
A closing reception with listening party and performances will be hosted at One Grand Gallery on Friday, March 3 (7-10pm)

Nationale is honored to present the exhibition Flowers for Black Elders, a multimedia oral history and financial reparations project by City of Portland artists-in-residence Onry and Joni Whitworth. Onry, one of the only Black male professional opera singers in the Pacific Northwest, honors five musical mentors who influenced and paved the way for his career. The exhibition features portraits of each elder, taken by photographer Brett Brown, and oral history interviews, recorded by Joni Whitworth. The project documents the stories of Black musicians in Northeast Portland from the 1990s to the present.

Featured musicians:
Mel Brown | Listen to oral history HERE
Alonzo Chadwick | Listen to oral history HERE
Libretto Jackson | Listen to oral history HERE
Derrick McDuffey | Listen to oral history HERE
Saeeda Wright | Listen to oral history HERE

Through the all-queer non-profit art collective, Future Prairie, Onry aims to ensure that the history of Portland's aesthetic founders is not lost and to challenge the predominantly white and able-bodied art scene to prioritize talent from underrepresented segments of the local artist community. The exhibition also addresses gentrification in Portland and its impact on historically Black neighborhoods. 

The title "Flowers for Black Elders" represents the project giving money, gratitude, and appreciation to mentors and peers while they are still alive. The archival efforts of the exhibit preserve and celebrate the cultural heritage of Black Portlanders, while also resisting the erasure of Black voices and experiences in a city with a long history of racism and exclusion. The project received funding from Oregon Community Foundation's Creative Heights program, which supports innovative arts and culture experiences in Oregon.

Director: Onry / Executive Producer: Joni Whitworth
Photographer: Brett Brown
Assistant Creative Producers: Carissa Buganan-Smith and Shakir Najieb 
Logo Designer: Stacie Balkaran
Lead sponsor: Oregon Community Foundation
Supporting sponsors: Oregon Humanities, the National Endowment of the Humanities, Regional Arts and Culture Council  

PRESS & MORE
Elder Flowers, Portland OR US Now, January 28, 2023
Exhibit “Flowers for Elders” Celebrates Living Portland Artists, The Skanner, January 26, 2023
Recommended Exhibition, EverOut/Portland, January/February 2023
JAM’N 107.5 Celebrates Black History Month, February 1, 2023
VizArts Monthly: February 2023, Lindsay Costello, Oregon ArtsWatch, February 2, 2023
'Flowers for Black Elders': Artist Onry pays tribute to influential Northeast Portland musicians, Jason Vonersmith, Portland Tribune, February 2, 2023

IMAGES

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