How do you come together as a newly forming community when you are unable to gather in-person? This experimental community project offers an answer: multi-media image-making and collaborative printing as cultural praxis.

As the first resident at the newly founded all-ages community center, Alder Commons, the artist was asked to create work to celebrate their ethos and designed a community-wide collaboration. Beginning first with virtual facilitations to understand what collective beliefs were held, this was followed by a series of online workshops to establish thirteen core values. Each member of the group, primarily non-self-identified artists aged 8 to 61, worked one-on-one with the artist to visually translate each value. The final posters are 11” x 17” risograph prints made from original images that were hand drawn, suminagashi, computer illustrated, even danced on butcher paper with painted feet. Many participants also chose to work with moveable type to print their text. This series was made during the COVID-19 lockdown period. After over a year in the making, the result is now here on display to welcome every person who walks through Alder Commons’ doors.

Collaborating Artists:

  1. Adela Morales, Relatedness

  2. Bria Bloom, Collective Libecration

  3. Janice McDonald, Conflict Resolution

  4. Maria Grzanka, Autonomy

  5. Karl Keefer, Self-Determination

  6. Ryder Sherwood, Co-Creation

  7. Rachel Munzig, Equitable Access

  8. Isaac Weiss, Children’s Rights

  9. Ansel McDonald + Maya Nally, Community Support

  10. Bárbara Pérez, Self-Knowledge

  11. Brian Outlaw, Intersectional Justice

  12. Mitzi DuPlain, Compassionate Accountability

  13. Annie Nally, Competence

Alder Commons Core Values Poster Series, 2020-2021, multi-media image-making, collaborative printing, risograph printing by Leland Vaughn, Nia Musiba + Bailey Collins at Outlex PDX. Photo by Sean McDonald