Let knowledge serve the city

Want to check out an art showcase that addresses social concern?

On Thursday, March 1, Portland State students, local artists and Bud Clark Commons residents will present Know Your Neighbors, an art exhibition that aims to open up a dialogue about homelessness within Portland’s community.

The gallery, held at the Bud Clark Commons, is part of a senior capstone course that puts the PSU motto “Let Knowledge Serve the City” into action through weekly activities with BCC residents, including student-led workshops and guest artist presentations—activities that have resulted in this collaborative show.

“We are hoping that a new light will be shined on the homeless community in Multnomah County and, ideally, everywhere,” said Holly Turk, marketing and PR director of the exhibit. “Homeless people are just that—people. Like everyone else, they have their struggles—many more traumatic than some people could even imagine dealing with. Our class hopes to bring awareness to the growing problem of homelessness as well as bring awareness to what it is that the BCC does for the homeless community.”

Know Your Neighbors will take place on First Thursday and will feature pieces created by both PSU students and BCC residents. It “seeks to explore how art can be used to serve this transitional community and to facilitate a broader awareness of our neighbors.”

Turk, a PSU senior, has been part of the project since the beginning of winter term.

“The more people who know and understand what the BCC does, the more homeless awareness is spread, and hopefully as a result the homeless population will decrease,” Turk said.

But raising awareness is only half the battle.

“There is more to getting off the streets than just getting a place to live; it’s much deeper than that,” Turk continued. “It takes life changes and support from the community to help a homeless individual acquire a home where they can establish a new life and not return to the streets and shelters.”

The Bud Clark Commons was constructed in 2009 as a cornerstone of the city’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The BCC is a partnership among the Portland Housing Bureau, Home Forward, Transition Projects, Inc. and Multnomah County.

By providing vital resources, shelter and housing placement services to individuals and couples experiencing homelessness, the BCC has received positive support and attention. It is also the first LEED Platinum building of its kind in the country.

“It’s really fantastic what our class is doing with and for the community,” Turk said. “PSU students are really fortunate to have the opportunities to work one-on-one with the community and make a difference through these capstones.”

Jason Sturgill, a second-year student in the MFA art and social practices program as well as co-instructor of the capstone course, has high hopes for the project.

“My hope with the show is that there will be a sense of curiosity around the Bud Clark Commons and what they do,” Sturgill said. “And that people from the neighborhood and from around the city will come to the opening and leave with a sense that it’s something that needs the support of the surrounding community to be successful.”

Along with artwork by PSU students and BCC residents, local artists will be showing work from the weekly workshops that are directly pertinent to the gallery’s overall message.

“One of the elements of the exhibition will be a structured conversation based on the class workshop by artist Ariana Jacob between attendees of the show,” Sturgill said. “There will also be more conventional pieces like life drawings that were made up from PSU students and clients from the BCC who went out and found strangers to draw each other at the same time. Similarly, there will be some photography based on a workshop project with artist Harrell Fletcher.”

Added Sturgill: “Hopefully doing more events like this will create awareness and open a line of communication that crosses boundaries into people and organizations that normally don’t intersect with the BCC.”