Long before Portland-based multidisciplinary-artist Intisar Abioto took on guest curation of Black Artists of Oregon—a massive exhibit at the Portland Art Museum (PAM) that opens this fall—she was just looking to connect with older Black artists in her community.
“I wasn’t initially approaching this as a curator at all,” Abioto told the Mercury. “I was approaching it as an artist in the Black arts community. And then it was almost like I shape-shifted roles into being able to tell, and be a part of telling, this story.”
Abioto interviewed textile artist Adriene Cruz, performer and painter Bobby Fouther, and activist-painter Isaka Shamsud-Din, and thumbed through the archives of publications like the Oregonian, the Oregon Journal, and the Advocate. She searched through collections in the city’s archives, as well as archives found out of state.
Over and over, Abioto found that there were no good records of the artists she wanted to find.
