Street roots
June 21, 2013
This is
Portland
Photographer Intisar
Abioto shoots the many
faces o f her city through
a refreshing lens
BY AIMN-DERRICK GAIL LOT
S T A F F W R IT E R
s Portland continues to shine in the
national arts and culture spotlight, it
drags along with it the tired portrait
of who is or is not the “typical Portlander.”
Photographer Intisar Abioto breaks up this
static representation with her blog and
photo project The Black Portlanders
(theblackportlanders.com) on which she
showcases her
portraits of the black
Portlanders she meets.
With its simple
Above, Drew and Anthony, one in a series of
layout and reserved
photos by Intisar Abioto in The Black
captions, The Black
Portlanders. A t right, Isaiah, Chris, Tre and
Portlanders manages
fam al, Portland natives. Bottom right,
to focus on not only
Thomas, 27, also a Portland native.
the black community
itself in Portland but
also on its often-
Intisar Abioto
overlooked diversity.
certain need - whether it’s to be seen,
Originally from
known, acknowledged - and through that to
Memphis, Tenn., 27-year-old Abioto was first connect with other black people, or people
inspired to do the project from her own
of color, that we are here, doing things,
search for community and identity in her
making things, living. It broadens the story
new hometown.
and undergirds the story of who we actually
One sunny morning, Intisar and I met to
are.
discuss the project, her vision for the blog,
A.G.: Can you tell me about an encounter
and her hope to influence the future of
where you went to photograph someone that
Portland’s national and global face.
A
P H O T O B Y IN T ISA R A B IO T O
sticks out most to you?
A nn-D errick Gaillot: In one o f your first
posts you say one o f your sisters helped you
come up with the idea. Could you tell me
about the conversation that sparked this?
In tisar Abioto: To put it straight, we’re a
family of artists and thinkers and we think
about things and make art and come up
with ideas and try to implement them. So, I
think that one night we were just having a
conversation about being in Portland, about
being black in Portland. And Hanifah
suggested we do something about being
black in Portland, telling our story or
showing our perspective.... I think that was
kind of a natural progression to just talk to
people and take their portraits, and so that
was the spark. Talking about black people in
Portland and what it’s like being here.
A.G.: So what have people’s reactions to the
photo project been so far?
I.A.: They’ve been really positive. People
really appreciate it: from showing an
important element of Portland to showing a
Portland I experience but I don’t see
reflected or spoken about in the current
local and international or national
expression of what Portland is. The story of
“what Portland is” is hype now. But that’s
kind of a sliver of the story. I think it fills a
I.A.: There are so many now. I have an
encounter, but I didn’t actually take a photo
of this woman. She looked so interesting
and fragile a little bit. She was like, “I’m not
the best at being photographed.” But she
seemed interested still. And I was starting
to walk away and she was still talking to me.
I had got maybe 10 feet away and then she
was like, “yeah it’s about helping people,
you know?” Just that she was able to see
that, that it is about helping people and
bringing people in and people being seen.
And that kind of experience or response,
that this is a photo project, an exploratory
project, but it’s not about the photographs.
A.G.: You say it’s not about the
photogrpahs, so how did you came to choose
Tumblr as your outlet, and ju st this very
simple layout o f having the photo and ju st a
few lines, i f any.
I.A.: Tumblr’s great. Tumblr is good, I
think, for reaching a population outside of
Portland, and that’s also my goal. I want
people in Portland to see this population,
but I also want it to have an international
presence. I want people to know that there
are black people and people of color in this
city. There’s just a simplistic nature to it. I
don’t want to put too much onto the photos.
www.portlandhearingvoices.net
I want these people’s image to speak for
themselves, and they can speak for
themselves. People are powerful, they can
tell their stories through their image, too,
and I guess as a photographer or storyteller
or appreciator of stories, that’s what I’ve
been developing — the ability to show that
through the image.
A.G.: So what’s for next for you and The
Black Portlanders?
I.A.: Well, I think it is actively developing.
It’s hopeful in its center and that spirit of
adventure and seeing what needs to happen
in the moment, I want to keep that. As for
me, I’m an adventurer, an explorer and I
love art and people and I’m learning about
myself so hard right now. But I just want to
be a great creator in the world. Create
things that move people to greatness. I’m
learning how to be a person in the world,
making art and living and being in
community with other people in a powerful
way.
P H O T O B Y IN T ISA R A B IO T O