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Posted inArts

The Mercury’s Cover Artist of the Week: Fazilat Soukhakian

Her photo series “Queer In Utah” highlights the struggle of sexual repression in a religious society.
Avatar photo Corianton Hale

Fazilat Soukhakian is an Iranian artist, photographer, scholar, and storyteller whose work depicts the stories of bravery and strength of those marginalized by society, highlighting the act of overcoming struggle and inspiring others. She is currently an Associate Professor of Photography at Utah State University. In our interview, we talk about following dreams, challenging injustice, […]

Posted inNews

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: Commissioner Switcheroo, a Deadly Rose Quarter Plan, and Who’s Not Invited Back to 2023!

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to […]

Posted inArts

Meet Jason Sturgill—the Mercury Cover Artist of the Week!

Sturgill talks about the importance of being honest about one’s mental health, channeling the inner-child, and more.
Avatar photo Corianton Hale

Jason Sturgill is an illustrator, designer, consultant, and artist based in Portland. He’s tackled a wide spectrum of creative endeavors including starting a record label and his own online art gallery, as well as doing packaging design for Dark Horse Comics, marketing and product design at Nike SB, and interactive and strategy at Wieden+Kennedy. He […]

Posted inNews

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: How the PBA Siphons Taxpayer Money, Black Portlanders Sue the City, and Sex Tips for Sluts!

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to […]

Posted inNews

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: Wheeler’s Expensively Cruel Homeless Plan, Paulson Half-Asses It (Again), and Portland’s Runaway Millionaires!

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to […]

Posted inNews

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: A Spicy Exit Interview, Forest Grove’s Young Mariachi Geniuses, and Puppets That Go Easy on Fascism

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to […]

Posted inNews

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: Paulson Steps Down (Not Out), Portland’s Human Barricade, and Monkeys in the News!

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to […]

Posted inArts

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: Huge Rent Hikes, Gonzalez Slapped with Historic Fine for Breaking Election Law, and Bill Maher Should Really Shut Up

Avatar photo Wm. Steven Humphrey

GOOD MORNING, SUNDAY! It’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the great reporting and stories the Mercury churned out this week! (PRO TIP: If you despise being “the last to know,” then be one of the first to know by signing up for Mercury newsletters! All the latest stories shipped directly to […]

Posted inFall Arts 2022

Portland Comedy Apocalypse

Five local favorites look back on how the pandemic changed their careers and the city’s comedy scene.
Avatar photo Suzette Smith

The idea was simple enough: Talk to five comedians about the pandemic. Find out how they see Portland’s changing comedy scene. While it seems easy to ask that now, we couldn’t have written this piece six months ago. Coming off the winter surge—no one could say where Portland comedy was going. But now? There’s an […]

Posted inFall Arts 2022

Fucking A with a Capital Abortion

“You cannot do this play without talking about race,” Shaking the Tree’s Samantha Van Der Merwe says.
Avatar photo Max Tapogna

Shaking the Tree is a staple to Portland audiences. It’s a theater company that both embraces classics and subverts them, where audiences can start from a place of familiarity before leaping into the unexpected. Housed in an unassuming SE Portland warehouse, it has produced memorable versions of Macbeth, and the Bakkai, in addition to inventive […]

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