Haight Avenue Albina-Humboldt Neighborhood Mural

View the entire presentation at: (Google Docs )

Hi, I’m Daren Todd, a local artist and musician. In all the chaos of these times, I realized I needed to follow my dreams and make art full time, so I launched my art business: Art Larger Than Me. My first mural was finished in June! Located in the Humboldt neighborhood, it honors the Black Lives Matter movement and the many people who have died at the hands of police in this country. While painting, I was approached by Jeana and Collin and we talked about creating another mural in the area. As we stood on the sidewalk in front of my first mural, I could feel the excitement resonating between us and have been inspired to work on this project ever since.

The design for this mural is based around some neighborhood history they mentioned when we first met - how there was a women’s group that planted many of the beloved cherry trees around the Humboldt and Albina neighborhoods in the ‘60’s and the powerful history of resistance by the area’s Black community. I took that information and went on a deep dive, eventually uncovering a few poignant moments from Portland’s Black history that I was able to recreate into mural form. 

What follows are slides that represent the six panels of the proposed mural I would like to paint. Included in the artwork are the motifs Jeana and Collin specifically requested: cherry blossoms, street posts, an image of the current protests happening. You will also find an estimated timeline and a breakdown of costs to execute this artwork.

We are launching this GoFundMe as an opportunity for the neighborhood and community to be involved in supporting this mural's creation. 

 


Hello, we’re Jeana and Collin. We’ve been talking about having our long stretch of fence turned into art for the neighborhood for years and envisioned honoring the history and resilience of black communities in the Albina-Humboldt neighborhood. Meeting Daren was serendipitous - the three of us are all so positive about this project and the location along the Going St. public walkway ensures that it really is a mural for all of us. We’re thrilled to be supporting the work of a young Black trans artist who is bravely stepping into his dreams. Thanks in advance for helping make this happen!. 


View the entire presentation at: (Google Docs )