Intisar Abioto is an artist and explorer working across photography, dance, and writing. As a storyteller, her works capture the many narratives of peoples of African descent across various geographic regions. She is also the curator of the monumental exhibition, Black Artists of Oregon, recently shown at the Portland Museum of Art. 

For her KSMoCA exhibition, Abioto will showcase a photography series that focuses on Black and Indigenous stewards of the land across various landscapes—family farms, gardens, and other rural domains. As such, we thought it would be fitting that this exhibition also include our favorite steward at Dr. MLK Jr. school, the incomparable Ms. Ruby Sims!

For over fifteen years, Ms. Ruby has served tasty and nutritious meals to students, emphasizing the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables. As an avid gardener and herbalist, she is passionate about wellness and strongly believes in the healing power of plants. The exhibit features a portrait of Ms. Ruby by Abioto taken in the park next to the school.

For this exhibition’s accompanying workshops, Ms. Ruby led a “touch, smell, taste” session with Ms. De Lara-Vargas’ kindergarten class, where students had the opportunity to taste and learn more about her favorite herbs. In a second workshop, the students generated a creative response to the first workshop, adding drawings of their favorite herbs to t-shirts. After the workshop, they wore their shirts to the cafeteria, surprising Ms. Ruby with a “Kinder GARDEN Parade” through the lunch line. Documentation of both workshops will be exhibited with Abioto’s photography series.

The exhibit opening takes place in the Cafetorium hallway. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

Sadé DuBoise is KSMoCA’s Winter 2024 artist-in-residence. At KSMoCA, DuBoise led two workshops with Ms. Tran’s second grade class, where she helped students create their own portraits in nature. During the first workshop students had their portraits taken in their favorite outdoor spaces, which they later transferred onto watercolor paper. They were then instructed to select prompts that encouraged them to think creatively about their experiences in nature. During the second workshop students were encouraged to reinterpret their photos however they saw fit as DuBoise led them through the process of painting their portraits. The workshops were designed to not just teach painting techniques but to also connect the students with nature and their own creative expressions. It was a joy to see their individual perspectives and connections to the outdoors come to life through their artwork,” said DuBoise.

The exhibit opening takes place in the Cafetorium hallway. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

At KSMoCA Mr. Brown collaborated with PSU students to facilitate a workshop in Ms. Maalaea’s first grade class, inspired by the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. He believes that if children are given space to think deeply about this question, they can take steps to actualize their dreams.

Additionally, we invited professionals from the community that represented occupations students desired to learn more about. College students from PSU paired with the first graders to interview the visitors as Mr. Brown photographed their interactions. During a follow-up workshop, the first grade students augmented poster-sized portraits of themselves depicting their future selves working in their dream professions.

These works will be exhibited alongside images from Mr. Brown’s “There’s Magic in Dreams” series created in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

The exhibit opening takes place in the cafetorium hallway. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” pass to the school.

Update, 1/17/24: This event was originally scheduled for Thursday, January 18, 2024.

Please join us for the opening reception of Byron Kim: Sunday Paintings, which will take place during the MLK Jr. School Comm Unity Festival and during Assembly, a coauthored conference organized by PSU Art + Social Practice.