Community Photography Pop-Up
The Hands of Portland : Holding On
March 23rd - March 28th, 2026
The Hands of Portland: Holding On is a community portrait project exploring how we hold one another. Building on my ongoing series of intimate hand portraits, this iteration extends into the broader Portland community, inviting PAIRS of friends, partners, teammates, families, and chosen kin to sit together and be photographed.
If you live in the Portland area, whether for years or for a season, you are considered a Portlander here. This project begins with individual participation to create a collective portrait of the city, shaped by the many hands that move through it.
Each session centers on the expressive power of the hand: hands held, hands resting, hands carrying meaningful objects. Through traditional 35mm film and close, attentive lighting, I photograph gesture as language and touch as testimony; capturing the subtle ways connection, memory, and belonging live in the body.
In a time when disconnection feels pervasive, sitting together and holding hands becomes a small but radical act. Participants will receive a Polaroid keepsake from their session. The resulting photographs will be compiled into a large-format zine and prepared for future exhibition, creating a shared portrait of Portland rooted in togetherness.
If this projects piques your curiousity, you are warmly invited to participate. Bring a friend, a partner, a family member, or come as you are. Your hands and the stories they carry belong here.
The Hands of Portland: Holding On, is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Office of Arts & Culture.
RACC @regionalarts
Office of Arts & Culture @pdxartsculture