Overview
Considering both the presence and absence of Black artists is critical to understanding the breadth of Black artistic production in Oregon—even in the midst of historic exclusion—as well as how the impact of that history affects our understanding of American art history and the history of the Pacific Northwest. This exhibition serves to deepen our awareness of the talented artists who have shaped and inspired artists regionally and nationally, and it will be the first of its kind to consider the work of Black artists collectively in Oregon.
Beginning in the 1880s and spanning through today, Black Artists of Oregon captures the Black diasporic experiences particular to the Pacific Northwest with 69 artists and over 200 objects. Artists represented in the exhibition will include Thelma Johnson Streat, Al Goldsby, Charlotte Lewis, Isaka Shamsud-Din, Ralph Chessé, Charles Tatum, Arvie Smith, Shedrich Williames, Harrison Branch, Bobby Fouther, and Carrie Mae Weems, among others. The exhibition and programming will also include the works of contemporary and younger artists working now, functioning as bright threads and offering intergenerational conversation throughout the exhibition, including sidony o’neal, Jeremy Okai Davis, damali ayo, Sharita Towne, Melanie Stevens, Lisa Jarrett, Tristan Irving, Ebin Lee, and Jaleesa Johnston.
“An intergenerational exhibit featuring 67 Black artists all cut from remarkably unique cloths, creating a metaphorical (or spiritual) quilt that is as diverse as it is dynamic as it is impactful as it is stunning.”
Brianna Wheeler, Willamette WeekThrough the narrative flow of the exhibition, visitors will experience work by Black artists across decades and generations. Particular attention is given to the works of Black artists who were producing work during the Black Arts Movement of the late 1960s, ’70s, and early ’80s, such as Portland-based painter Isaka Shamsud-Din. The exhibition will also mark regional artistic connections with global movements for Black liberation, as seen in the work of Charlotte Lewis alongside Portlanders Organized for Southern African Freedom and artists like Sadé DuBoise, whose “Resistance” poster series contributed to Portland’s 2020 George Floyd protests. Without chronological constraints, the exhibition is grounded by the work of elder artists, intergenerational conversations, and live activation in the exhibition galleries.
“Walking through Black Artists of Oregon, the ambitious exhibition currently on display at the Portland Art Museum, it’s impossible not to be impressed by the range and power of the work”
Kristi Turnquist, The OregonianBlack Artists of Oregon builds upon exhibition curator Intisar Abioto’s original research since 2018 exploring the lineage and legacy of Black artists in Oregon. The exhibition will continue Abioto’s research, which is grounded in Black American practices of listening, keeping, and passing on each others’ stories.
“Far from isolated or ancillary, Black arts and cultural production in Oregon has been in conversation and interchange with the world, and a part of its arts and cultural movements, all this time,” says Abioto. “Black Artists of Oregon is a heralding of Black presence, interchange, influence, and impact.”

Isaka Shamsud-Din, Rock of Ages, 1976, oil, gold leaf, and mirror on canvas, Gift of Roxie Schell and Damon Tempey, © Isaka Shamsud-Din, 2018.36.1


Black Artists of Oregon podcast
The Museum continues its Community Partner-in-Residence relationship with The Numberz FM and their AUX/MUTE platform to amplify the work of Black artists and creatives. For Black Artists of Oregon, The Numberz FM and the Museum have partnered to develop a podcast series. Interviews and conversations will be recorded and published through The Numberz FM and PAM’s Art Unbound podcast; the first episode launched August 17 and episodes will continue through the run of the exhibition, including planned episodes recorded at the 2024 Spring Black Podcast Festival at Northeast Portland’s Alberta Abbey as well as a closing episode where curator Instisar Abioto reflects on the exhibition.
Through music, visual arts, oral histories, and conversations, DJ Ambush, executive director of The Numberz FM, recognizes the connections of Black culture. “Our programming is a combination of music and talk, and in both cases we’ve seized the opportunity to uplift Black and Brown voices that may have faced obstacles in the past to share their experiences with their own community,” said DJ Ambush. “Through our partnership with the Portland Art Museum, creatives of color are behind these doors making good on a promise we’ve made to the community. We’re cooking up and delivering LIBERATED BLACK MEDIA.”
Related events
-
Sep 9, 2023
1219 SW Park Ave
-
Sep 14, 2023
1219 SW Park Ave
-
Oct 12, 2023
1219 SW Park Ave
-
Free & discounted Lectures & talks
In the galleries with Black Artists of Oregon
General AccessibilityOct 14, 2023
1219 SW Park Ave
-
Oct 18, 2023
1219 SW Park Ave
-
Dec 6, 2023
1219 SW Park Ave
-
Dec 7, 2023
1219 SW Park Ave
Resources

Black Artists of Oregon Activity Guide

Educator resources

Free digital guide
Discover
Artists featured in Black Artists of Oregon
- manuel arturo abreu (b. 1991)
- damali ayo (b. 1972)
- Natalie Ball (b. 1980)
- J.S. Bell (1882-1925)
- Harrison Branch (b. 1947)
- Nikesha Breeze (b. 1979)
- Grafton Tyler Brown (1841-1918)
- Richard Brown (b. 1939)
- Iván Carmona Rosario (b. 1973)
- David Ornette Cherry (1958-2022)
- Ralph Chessé (1900-1991)
- Robert Colescott (1925-2009)
- Licity Collins (b. 1972)
- Adriene Cruz (b. 1953)
- Cleo Davis (b. 1974)
- Jeremy Okai Davis (b. 1979)
- Baba Wagué Diakité (b. 1961)
- Penda Diakité (b. 1992)
- Modou Dieng Yacine (b. 1970)
- Sadé DuBoise (b. 1993)
- Ray Eaglin (1941-2004)
- Mo Fee (1969 – 2020)
- Bobby Fouther (b. 1950)
- Henry Frison (1940-2020)
- Julian V.L. Gaines (b. 1991)
- Al Goldsby (1930-2002)
- Sherrian Haggar (1946-2019)
- Elijah Hasan (b. 1966)
- Patricia Herron (b. 1951)
- Jason Hill (b. 1976)
- Janice Ingersoll (b. 1949)
- Tristan Irving (b. 1990)
- Lisa Jarrett (b. 1977)
- Jaleesa Johnston (b. 1989)
- Nick Jones (b. 1945)
- Arnold Kemp (b. 1968)
- Rupert Kinnard (b. 1954)
- ebin lee (b. 1989)
- Charlotte Lewis (1934-1999)
- Geeta Lewis (b. 1956)
- Mark Little (b. 1948)
- Willie Little (b. 1961)
- Latoya Lovely (b. 1982)
- Ivan McClellan (b. 1982)
- Chris McMurry (b. 1970)
- Christine Miller (b. 1990)
- sidony o’neal (b. 1988)
- Katherine Pennington (b. 1953)
- Otis Quaicoe (b. 1988)
- J.L. Quenton (b. 1953)
- Cole Reed (b. 1973)
- Philemon Reid (1945-2008)
- Bill Rutherford (b. 1937)
- Isaka Shamsud-Din (b. 1940)
- Arvie Smith (b. 1938)
- Melanie Stevens (b. 1979)
- Thelma Johnson Streat (1911-1959)
- Kayin Talton-Davis (b. 1980)
- Charles Tatum (1937-2008)
- Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971)
- Sharita Towne (b. 1984)
- Thomas Unthank (b. 1936)
- Maya Vivas (b. 1990)
- Samantha Wall (b. 1977)
- Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953)
- Shedrich Williames (b. 1934)
- Tammy Jo Wilson (b. 1974)
- Mosley Wotta (b. 1983)
- Eatcho (b. 1980)
Acknowledgements
Presenting Sponsors
- Institute of Museum and Library Services
- Meyer Memorial Trust
Lead Sponsor
- Terra Foundation for American Art
Major Sponsor
- The Ford Family Foundation
Sponsors
- Bonhams
- Ed Cauduro Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation
- Oregon Heritage Commission
- Rena and Cheryl Tonkin and Marv Tonkin Leasing Company in memory of Alan Baron Tonkin
Additional support provided by the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Endowment for Northwest Art and the Museum’s Artist Fund.