Of Using an Art Show as Leverage: The United Poor People at City Hall

Photo credited to Larry Reynolds

The art and social practice group has recently put up together two group shows scheduled during July. The first was at City Hall (SW Portland) and the second at Worksound Gallery (SE Portland). For both of these shows our group decided to have a specific question or theme that would unite the show. For City Hall our work simply had to be something new that addressed City Hall in some fashion. Concerning the show at Worksound, I will address that another time.

I've been interested in using the exhibition as a means for leveraging ideas and I think, in both these shows, this interest came out stronger than it has before. My interest in this came from what I know about the artists Joseph Beuys and Pawel Althamer. Beuys used Documenta, a giant art exhibition, to gain attention for the Free International University by hosting a series of lectures, presentation, and questioning sessions. Pawel Althamer used the Berlin Biennale to attempt to secure a residency permit for an immigrant. He went to Germany, found an immigrant, and attempted to jump through the bureaucratic processes with little success. As the crowds came in to see his "installation" they saw a piece of paper on the wall addressed to Berlin's interior minister pleading for the residency permit.
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For City Hall I teamed up with Amy Steel and we worked with the United Poor People (UPP) - an activist group here in Portland that is largely made up of the homeless population. They are protesting the sit and lie ordinances, which make it illegal to sit and lie in public places downtown, as well as anti-camping laws. They also want short-term solutions such as realistic shelter options that can also accomodate couples and families. UPP has been meeting daily to discuss plans for green spaces and to give each other updates on their activities. They also meet up at City Hall every Wednesday where they can give 3 minute addresses to City Hall representatives.


Amy and I decided that the voice of UPP was one that could not be overlooked and we decided that instead of doing our individual projects, we would give UPP the opportunity to say what they wanted at City Hall. So, they gave us their information, pictures, communications, etc and we arranged it for them. You know what was great though, all this information is on the wall directly outside Sam Adam's office (Portland's mayor-elect). Sam Adam's currently supports the sit-lie ordinance but seems to maintain an open-mind and healthy attitude toward the whole situation. Members from UPP were able to chat with Sam Adams during the opening reception of the show at City Hall.

The posters will continue to be on display in Sam Adam's office area until the end of July.

I've written more about this subject on my beerandscifi.com blog here.


More reading about the sit/lie ordinance and the protests can be found here:
Willamette Week - Protestors Dissatisfied After a Meeting with Mayor Potter
Portland Mercury - Sit and Lie Ordinance is a Terrible Idea and Unconstitutional
Willamette Week - Park Exclusions Laws Need Changing say City Hall Protestors
Willamette Week - Homeless Protestors Not Swept From City Hall as Expected
Portland Mercury - Police Arrest Protestors
Portland Independent Media Center
Portland Tribune