A Long Line of Non-Partial Jurors

Ralph Pugay with Ms. Asay’s Middle School Leadership Class, Commissioned by RACC, Spring 2018

A Long Line of Non-Partial Jurors was installed on a temporary pedestrian walkway along the SW Main Street entrance to the Hawthorne Bridge during the construction of the new downtown Portland courthouse. This public art mural was created collaboratively between Ralph Pugay as the lead artist with middle school students from Dr. MLK Jr. School in Northeast Portland. The work begins with a question, “Who would you want as a juror if you were on trial?”, and the mural envisions what a group of non-partial might look like.

As research for the project, Judge Nan Waller visited Dr. MLK Jr. School and spoke with Ms. Asay’s middle school leadership students about her experiences as a judge. Pugay, having never gone through the experience of being a juror for a case, found it interesting to imagine how the process of picking a non-partial jury worked. Pugay and the students drew a collection of characters they thought might be able to judge a case in a non-partial manner. Students’ images were superimposed onto the environment of a courtroom.

The mural was installed in the construction zone in front of Portland’s new downtown courthouse building. It was installed along the pedestrian walkway along the SW Main Street entrance to the Hawthorne Bridge until early 2020.

Thank you to the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) for their invitation and support of this project. Special thanks to Kiera Asay (Dr. MLK Jr. School), Peggy Kendellen (RACC) and Judge Nan Waller.

Related Projects: Ralph Pugay: Excursions, Roz Crews and Ralph Pugay: Neighborhood Dreams