Poster design by Rodeo Studio at Portland State University
There's Still Magic in Dreams: Richard J. Brown with Ms. Maalaea’s First Grade Class
January 18, 2024 - March 7, 2024
At Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, Richard J. Brown collaborated with students, teachers, Portland State University (PSU) students, and community members to facilitate a workshop inspired by the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, which he often poses to “youngsters” upon meeting them. He believes that if children are given the space to think deeply about their future, they can begin taking the steps to actualize their dreams.
Prior to the workshop, Ms. Maalaea’s first grade class submitted a list of jobs they wanted to learn more about. The staff at Dr. MLK Jr. School then invited professionals from the community to attend the workshop, where college students from PSU paired with the first graders to interview them as Mr. Brown photographed their interactions. Additionally, students had their portraits taken, which they enhanced with their own illustrations to look like their respective professionals during a follow-up workshop. They were also photographed with the person whose job they were interested in.
Richard J. Brown was KSMoCA’s fall 2023 artist in residence. As a community activist and photographer, Mr. Brown has dedicated his life and practice to empowering Black people through an array of efforts. For over 50 years, he has documented the lives of Black Portlanders while working tirelessly to improve issues affecting the Black community, such as fair housing, equity in the arts, environmental racism, and police/community relations, which he is particularly passionate about. Mr. Brown is also the founder, editor, and publisher of a weekly newsletter, The Talking Drum, which highlights important moments in Black history, spotlights Black achievement, and provides pertinent information for the well-being of Black communities.
Mr. Brown was born in Harlem, New York, in 1939. He spent twenty years in the Air Force before landing in Portland, Oregon, in 1976 where he began taking pictures for The Portland Observer. Even though he is retired, Mr. Brown continues taking pictures, meeting people, and advocating for Black issues and people with no signs of slowing down. In 2021, he co-authored his memoir, This Is Not For You: An Activist’s Journey of Resilience and Resistance, published by Oregon State University Press. Mr. Brown’s photography was included in the Black Artists of Oregon exhibition at the Portland Art Museum .
Career Day and Dream Workshops With Richard Brown and Local Professionals
Our first workshop with visiting artist Richard J. Brown and Ms. Maalaea’s first grade class was in October 2023. Before the workshop, Ms. Maalaea asked students what they wanted to be when they grew up. KSMoCA and the staff of Dr. MLK Jr. School invited corresponding professionals from the community to visit the class: chef Jenn Louis, nurse practitioner Karletia Lewis, electrician and entrepreneur Gerry Jones, Portland Police Bureau Sergeant Madison Ceasar, professional soccer player Jose Olmos, and the principal of Dr. MLK Jr. School, Teresa Seidel.
The first graders each met with their chosen professional and interviewed them, asking questions like, “why did you choose your career?” and “what is the best thing about your career?”
PSU student and KSMoCA mentor and photographer, Paulina Reyes Lara, photographed each first grader pretending to perform their dream job and in group portraits with the professional whose job they were most interested in. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, Mr. Brown created a similar series of portraits which were reproduced as posters for the Black United Fund of Oregon.
During the second workshop, Mr. Brown talked with students about the importance of identifying something that you really like doing and that you’d enjoy getting up and going to work every morning to do. Then they used crayons, markers, and pencils to add drawings and text to their portraits, depicting visions of themselves as adults in their chosen careers.
finished portraits
Original series by Richard J. Brown from the late 1980s/early 1990s
Artist Talk with Richard J. Brown and Exhibition Opening of There's Still Magic in Dreams
Mr. Brown spoke to students about his life, art work, and approaches to working with communities during an artist talk in the school library. Every attendee received a small magazine about Mr. Brown that was created and published by Portland State University students. Afterwards, everyone was invited to the exhibition opening in the Cafetorium hallway. Students in Ms. Maalaea’s first grade class led group or individual tours of their work in the exhibition. Families, classmates, school staff, and members of the public were all invited to attend and celebrate. The exhibition remained on view at the school for the entire academic term. Student work was exhibited alongside images from Mr. Brown’s original series, There’s Magic in Dreams.
