Brown Bag Lunch – Gather: Make: Shelter

Artist Dana Lynn Louis will talk about her project Gather: Make: Shelter which gives people the opportunity for direct humanitarian engagement around issues of homelessness. As with all Brown Bag lunch programs, there will be ample time for a discussion. OJMCHE kicks off a new series of informal lunchtime conversations with scholars, museum professionals, historians, and others. Bring a lunch or buy a brown bag lunch in Lefty’s Cafe and join us in the museum’s auditorium for a lively give and take as we share and explore ideas, experience, and expertise.

About Gather: Make: Shelter

Gather: Make: Shelter is a citywide creative collaboration shepherded by artist Dana Lynn Louis to create a new model of engagement and connection between people experiencing homelessness and those more fortunate in Portland Oregon. The project bridges art making, skill building and philanthropy through direct humanitarian engagement within our community over the course of 8 months.

Gather:
We will gather, make art, food and break bread to create collaborative fundraisers in the form of community gatherings to share the riches of our labor that ultimately houses families in need this fall.

Make:
Hundreds of people are involved. Ceramic artists are making bowls to contribute to painting workshops for participants currently experiencing homelessness to paint. The workshops encourage creativity, mindfulness and entrepreneurial skill building. People experiencing homelessness receive a stipend to participate.

Shelter:
The project began in February 2018 and will be completed in September 2018. Gather: Make:Shelter culminates in engaging public gatherings to celebrate all participants, sponsors, and volunteers as well as highlight practical considerations from community liaisons that may help build bridges between diverse communities. The hand-painted bowls made at workshops will be sold and food will be provided. We will contribute our proceeds to house fellow citizens.