Field Trip: Art Strolls

Portland is home to so many wonderful murals — check out some of these works by BIPOC artists.

In late 2020, several BIPOC artists joined together to paint a mural on the side of the Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon building (MESO) at Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Shaver Street celebrating Black businesses past, present and future.

The two Alberta Commons murals on the corner of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Alberta Street (on the side of Natural Grocers) were painted by Portland artists Mehran Heard (aka Eatcho) and Arvie Smith.

Starting with the Vanport Flood of 1948, Smith’s Still We Rise tells the story of the upward struggle of the Albina neighborhood residents. Heard’s Until We Get There shows Portland past, present and future. Books abound in the mural — Heard’s way of saying knowledge makes you stronger. (And Davis is one of the faces in the mural!)

Eatcho also paired up with Jeremy Nichols for a grand, sweeping mural, titled A Voice to Be Thankful For, on the Black United Fund Building on Northeast Alberta Street. Inspirational Black women — Coretta Scott King, Ruby Bridges, Ruby Dee, Angela Davis and Maya Angelou — appear in the work.

Artist Tristan “TK” Irving’s brightly colored portraits of notable Oregonians temporarily replaced  the broken windows at the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) in downtown. The windows are back, but you still can see some of the portraits when walking by the museum.