More on "​Flowers for Black Elders"

​Flowers for Black Elders began as an idea we had early in 2021: an oral history and portraiture project built to honor five Black musicians who helped shape Northeast Portland's Albina neighborhood as a creative scene, some of them going back to the 1990s!

Curated by Onry and Liam Whitworth, with photography by Brett Brown, the project tracked down and interviewed Libretto Jackson, Alonzo Chadwick, Derrick McDuffey, Mel Brown, and Saeeda Wright, and paid each of them directly for their time, their stories, and their portraits.  

The work went public at Nationale Gallery in Portland's Project Room, running January 27 through March 4, 2023, with a closing reception and listening party at One Grand Gallery on March 3. The Skanner, Portland Tribune, Oregon ArtsWatch, EverOut, and iHeart's JAM'N 107.5 all covered it. Lead funding came through the Oregon Community Foundation's Creative Heights program.