Photographer, dancer, and writer Intisar Abioto is a Tennessee native who moved to Portland in 2010 with her mother and sisters (one of whom is singer/songwriter Amenta Abioto). Abioto loved what Portland had to offer in terms of food and bike culture, but found herself wondering where all the Black people were—that’s partly what inspired her to document the Black community that is here. As Abioto began bumping into Black folk in North and Northeast Portland and asking them about their stories, an exploratory photo project emerged: The Black Portlanders. The portrait series became both an outlet for Abioto’s creative lens and for Portland’s Black presence to be seen and shared online. Her gorgeous photographs captured the attention of W. Kamau Bell, and were featured on his CNN show United Shades of America; Abioto was also a TEDxPortland speaker in 2016.
Today, the exploratory project Abioto began with The Black Portlanders continues to grow and evolve, with the 150-plus photo exhibit Black Portlanders, Black Portlands at PSU’s Littman Gallery, spanning five years of photographic work. Given how small Portland’s Black community is, I looked forward to seeing how many faces would be familiar. I’ve always thought Abioto’s portraits were beautiful. They’re not overly styled or model-y. Instead, Abioto captures her subjects in their natural environments, as if she just happened upon them in the middle of their day.
