Assembly
Assembly 2020 will be held in partnership with the King School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA) in May, finalized dates coming soon.
Assembly 2019 took place May 3-5th in Portland, Oregon and is free and open to the public.
Community members joined us for a free and thought-provoking weekend that included discussions, physical activities, participatory projects, meals and workshops. This 6th edition of Assembly explored social issues, power, migration, recreation and memory in Portland’s most diverse neighborhood, where communities grapple with development plans while cultivating spaces to thrive. The three-day program took place at Mt. Scott Community Center and venues around the Jade District & 82nd Ave Corridor.
Schedule Overview
Friday, May 3rd, 2019
at Harrison Park Elementary School, 2225 SE 87th Ave, Portland, OR 97216
4:00-6:00pm – Harrison Park School Interplanetary Contemporary Art Fair sponsored by Imagination Academy
at Canton Grill, 2610 SE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97266
6:30-8:00pm – Canton Grill Degustatory Research with Salty Xi Jie Ng and Eric John Olson. Free with RSVP: http://tiny.cc/cantongrill
8:00-9:00pm – Karaoke!!
Saturday, May 4th, 2019
at Mt. Scott Community Center, 5530 SE 72nd Ave, Portland, OR 97206
Ongoing – SoFA Journal “Recreation” reading nook hosted by Spencer Byrne-Seres, Eric John Olson and Tia Kramer.
10:00-10:30am – Welcome
10:30-11:30am – Mapping the neighborhood through resident’s personal stories about different places by Anupam Singh.
11:45-12:45pm – Conscious Contact by Nola Hanson with Tia Kramer.
12:45-1:30pm – Lunch
1:30-2:30pm – Games People Play by Shoshana Gugenheim.
2:45-3:45pm – Tomorrow’s Time Capsule by Jordan Rosenblum.
4:00-5:00pm – Tenant Self-Defense hosted by the Office of Speculative Neighborship with Zeph Fishlyn and Eric John Olson.
5:15-6:15pm – Physical Education workshop with keyon gaskin and Takahiro Yamamoto hosted by Spencer Byrne-Seres, Shoshana Gugenheim, Salty Xi Jie Ng and Anupam Singh
at Assembly Brewing (6112 SE Foster Road, Portland, OR 97206)
6:30-8:00pm – Social Practice Term Definitions launch
Sunday, May 5th, 2019
at Harrison Park (near Harrison Park Elementary), 1931 SE 84th Ave, Portland, OR 97216
10:30-10:45 – Welcome
10:45-11:45am – Scores for Psychological Space, with Carlos Reynoso, Jordan Rosenblum, Nola Hanson, Brianna Ortega.
at Panaderia 5 De Mayo, 1134 SE 82nd Ave, Portland OR 97216
12-1:30pm – La Frontera: Una Conversación by Carlos Reynoso
At Harrison Park (near Harrison Park Elementary), 1931 SE 84th Ave, Portland, OR 97216
1:45-2:45pm – Play & Work by Brianna Ortega and Students of Harrison Park School
At A1 Birdbath, 8560 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97266
3:00-6:00pm – Jim Gion Celebration of Life hosted by Stefan Kovatchev with Amanda Leigh Evans, Artist Matoska, Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr, Eric John Olson, Roshani Thakore, Roz Crews, Tia Kramer, and Zeph Fishlyn.
Detailed Schedule with Event Descriptions
Friday, May 3rd, 2019
at Harrison Park Elementary School, 2225 SE 87th Ave, Portland, OR 97216
4:00-6:00pm – Harrison Park School Interplanetary Contemporary Art Fair sponsored by Imagination Academy. The fair features artist projects by and for young people that are simply not of this earth. The students at Harrison Park School are hosting invited guests: The Living School of Art, Mudland, Tiny Gallery, Real Food Faux Truck Food Truck, Elijah Turner-Nelson, and KSMoCA, who will be exhibiting work that will expand one’s understanding of who should be considered an artist in the contemporary art universe. While some of the artwork is of this earth fair go’ers can expect to see and experience the tastes of otherworldliness.
at Canton Grill, 2610 SE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97266
6:30-8:00pm – Canton Grill Degustatory Research with Salty Xi Jie Ng and Eric John Olson. Portland’s oldest Chinese-American restaurant, Canton Grill, has prodigiously thrived through the generations with continued resilience and adaptation. Today, Chinese-American food is a hybrid of its own, prepared by chefs from China with their own narratives of adaptation. Investigating both personal and collective histories alongside the role of food in migration, this dinner is a sensorial ten-course tasting experience serving degustatory samples intermingling culinary art, performance, research and personal histories. It promises to be a beautiful, complex, fine dining experience that will tickle your palette and tease your soul. Free of charge. Prior registration recommended. RSVP at http://tiny.cc/cantongrill (Please note any dietary restrictions).
8:00-9:00pm – Karaoke!!
Saturday, May 4th, 2019
at Mt. Scott Community Center, 5530 SE 72nd Ave, Portland, OR 97206
Ongoing – SoFA Journal “Recreation” reading nook hosted by Spencer Byrne-Seres, Eric John Olson and Tia Kramer. Look out for the Social Forms of Art pop up reading room, where we are launching the Spring Issue of SoFA! Issue 003 is centered around the notion of recreation, how artists use recreation in their practice, and how artists relax when they are off the clock.
10:00-10:30am – Welcome
10:30-11:30am – Mapping the neighborhood through resident’s personal stories about different places by Anupam Singh. This project maps Mt. Scott’s Arleta neighborhood through personal stories and anecdotes of the local residents. It also explores the role of personal stories in fostering our sense of belonging in a neighborhood.
11:45-12:45pm – Conscious Contact by Nola Hanson with Tia Kramer. What does it look like to feel safe? Conscious Contact invites participants to experience “receptive boxing”, an exploratory training methodology informed by traditional boxing and contemporary dance. This performance, part of a larger project, is informed by my ongoing work with the Trans Boxing Collective in New York City and my current collaboration with corrections officers and artists-in-residence at the Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland, Oregon.
12:45-1:30pm – Lunch
1:30-2:30pm – Games People Play by Shoshana Gugenheim. Cooperative games offer a counterpoint to a competitive recreational culture in America. Our time together will be spent in interactive exploration of cooperative games that challenge and hone our capacity to listen, problem solve and collaborate. All ages are welcome.
2:45-3:45pm – Tomorrow’s Time Capsule by Jordan Rosenblum. What should future residents know? Using the time capsule as a form, this project explores what we believe is most important communicate to people two thousand years into the future. Marking a moment through the creation of a time capsule asks participants to contemplate neighborhood and place on an expansive time scale, and to wonder into the lives of those who may exhume them.
4:00-5:00pm – Tenant Self-Defense hosted by the Office of Speculative Neighborship with Zeph Fishlyn and Eric John Olson. Confused by complicated housing rules? Learn how to take care of yourself in uncertain times! Through a combination of Know Your Rights basics and group exercises, you’ll leave with a clearer sense of your power and place in a changing city! Learn some basics about the new state rent control law through playful movement exercises. Just bring yourself and your curiosity. No special clothing or equipment required.
5:15-6:15pm – Physical Education workshop with keyon gaskin and Takahiro Yamamoto hosted by Spencer Byrne-Seres, Shoshana Gugenheim, Salty Xi Jie Ng and Anupam Singh. Members of Portland-based dance collective Physical Education will lead an interactive dance and movement workshop in the Auditorium at Mt. Scott. Physical Education (P.E.) is comprised of dance and performance artists keyon gaskin, Allie Hankins, Lu Yim and Takahiro Yamamoto. P.E.’s vision is to offer performance audiences, artists of all mediums, and curious individuals immersive methods of engaging with dance and performance. P.E. acknowledges and scrutinizes the perceived illegibility and messiness of the performing body. P.E. organizes and hosts READING GROUPS, LECTURES, curated PERFORMANCES, AEROBICS/MOVEMENT classes, and straight-up sweat-it-out DANCE PARTIES.
at Assembly Brewing (6112 SE Foster Road, Portland, OR 97206)
6:30-8:00pm – Social Practice Term Definitions launch
Sunday, May 5th, 2019
at Harrison Park (near Harrison Park Elementary), 1931 SE 84th Ave, Portland, OR 97216
10:30-10:45 – Welcome
10:45-11:45am – Scores for Psychological Space, with Carlos Reynoso, Jordan Rosenblum, Nola Hanson, Brianna Ortega. How do artists create the psychological space that allows them to make art? Can the “external conditions” that the creation of an art project requires become a visible part of the project? Or a work of conceptual art in its own right? Scores for Psychological Space questions the boundaries of art, life, work, and rest, while offering a peaceful pause for both artists and participants between other Assembly projects.
at Panaderia 5 De Mayo, 1134 SE 82nd Ave, Portland OR 97216
12-1:30pm – La Frontera: Una Conversación by Carlos G. Reynoso. This project is a collaboration with artist Carlos G. Reynoso and his family who immigrated to The United States in 1987. The project is a conversation expressing family members personal experiences with crossing the border from Mexicali Baja California to Calexico California on their way to Los Angeles. The conversations are available through a zine and will be presented in a short film created by artist Natalie Reynoso.
At Harrison Park (near Harrison Park Elementary), 1931 SE 84th Ave, Portland, OR 97216
1:45-2:45pm – Play & Work by Brianna Ortega and Students of Harrison Park School. What is the relationship between work, play, and being a child or adult? Have some adults lost joy in the corporatization of work? Can kids’ perceptions of play transform our work lives? In this facilitated experience, we will enact scores based off Harrison Park School students’ exploration of these concepts.
At A1 Birdbath, 8560 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97266
3:00-6:00pm – Jim Gion Celebration of Life hosted by Stefan Kovatchev with Artist Matoska, Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr, Eric John Olson, Roshani Thakore, Tia Kramer, and Zeph Fishlyn. Join us for a free community event celebrating the life and work of a renowned local sculptor, Jim Gion. Alongside his many public works, Jim sculpted over a thousand portraits of dogs, and we are honoring his legacy with a dog-focused event! Free treats for dogs and humans, dog portraits by artist Roz Crews, dog photo booth, clay workshop by Amanda Leigh Evans, Jim’s art and more! (Kids also welcome!)
Assembly Archive
