We’re Still Here

What does it mean to create a memorial together, to invite people into a space and reflect on its history?

Resonance Ensemble joins Vanport Mosaic, artist Chisao Hata, and survivors of Japanese-American incarceration and their descendants, to acknowledge the little-known history of the Portland Expo Center and honor the survival and persistence of Japanese Americans in our region.

As part of the 10th Vanport Mosaic Festival, this event will activate the former WWII-era assembly center with historical photographs and video projections, a communal altarpiece, and musical and theatrical offerings — including new site-specific works conceived by Hata. In tandem with Vanport Mosaic’s celebration of a decade of memory activism, this evening will be recorded for an ongoing digital memorial as we aim to recognize and ring out the whole of this space in sound, word, movement, and song.

Featured Artists and Performers:
Katherine FitzGibbon, conductor
Shohei Kobayashi, conductor
Chisao Hata, guest artist
Resonance Ensemble
Vanport Mosaic