WHY MASK PORTLAND a Disability Justice OPEN MIC with WHY MASK selfie station.
Aug 25 2024—Portland Playhouse and Online– 1:00PM-3:30PM

Our Why Mask Portland event, held at Portland Playhouse, was a hybrid pro-masking disability justice pop-up art exhibition and open mic, organized to raise awareness about the critical need for masking to protect disabled community members. With mask bans passing in North Carolina and being considered in Los Angeles and New York City, this event sought to bring attention to the life-threatening implications for immunocompromised people. The event also served as the kickoff for Calling Up Justice’s Capital Campaign.

Why Mask is the compassionate performance art project by Claudia Alick that invites people into an artistic exploration of community care and COVID cautiousness. The project consists of visual art by Claudia Alick with a QR code that leads to a digital gallery with photos of masked people and their testimonials about why they mask. It invited the viewer to add their own photo! The project is performed as invited installations with PPE and access doulas as well as emergent guerilla performances.

@vanhopper237

WHY MASK PORTLAND!!! stock photos of masked people doing everyday things by disabled and here! you can add your own selfie to the digital gallery space on callingupjustice dot com. art and other photos provided by @Claudia Alick and @babs_zone @Jesenia🌻 #whymask #yallmasking

♬ How to be Demure During the Pandemic – MidwestsideGunn (Jacob)

Venue & COVID Safety
The event space, generously donated by Portland Playhouse, featured an open wall to ensure optimal air circulation and COVID safety. In partnership with The Elbow Room, 400 free masks were provided to attendees, emphasizing the event’s commitment to accessible and safe participation.

Visual and Performing Arts
The event showcased an array of powerful visual art, including photography, paintings, and sculptures by artists such as Claudia Alick, Jesenia Delourdes, Disabled And Here, Birdie Sam, and Abby Mahler. Participants colored masks and insipring texsts from Claudia and Jesenia. Later Claudia Alick led attendees in an original TikTok dance she choreographed, creating a fun and engaging atmosphere.

The open mic was a highlight, featuring a range of performances that included costumes, dance, spoken word, visual descriptions, and interactive audience participation. The diverse art forms and performances emphasized the creativity and resilience of the disability justice community.

Event program: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n0-SVvDKOuF0oTU_oqbeEbeYYqaWavn-jey2yao6CEI

Unexpected Incident & Community Response
In an unexpected twist, during the event, a car accident occurred across the street, causing the ground to shake. Many attendees, including sign language interpreters, rushed to the scene to offer assistance. The team directed traffic, distributed masks, and provided emotional support. A special note of appreciation goes out to the team members who brought art supplies and coloring sheets to help comfort the children involved in the accident.

After this interruption, attendees returned to the event, where Curiosity Paradox led a grounding recentering ritual, helping everyone process the experience and refocus on the event’s mission. Our event concluded with a manifesto against COVID recklessness, followed by a closing dance piece, bringing the community together in solidarity. This powerful ending highlighted the importance of collective action in creating safer spaces and protecting vulnerable communities.

@claudiaalicklove

Why Mask Portland had a car crash mid show! It made the building shake! Disabled people are the best in an emergancy. #carcrash #communitycare

♬ original sound – Claudia Alick

Team and Partnerships
The event was a collaborative effort made possible by the hard work and creativity of the following team members:

• Claudia Alick
• Jesenia DeLourdes
• Maiamama (who also designed the livestream)
• Curiosity Paradox
• Becky Emmert
• Ry Holiday
• Van

We also partnered with several incredible organizations, each of which supported the event in various ways and committed to producing at least one mask-mandated event in the coming year. These partners included:

• Portland Art Museum
• Disabled and Here
• The Curiosity Paradox
• Portland Playhouse
• Elbow Room
• Portland Center Stage
• Black & Beyond the Binary Collective
• Ori Gallery

Acknowledgements
A huge thank you to our community, without whom this event would not have been possible. Special thanks go to Becky Emmert and Curiosity Paradox for their leadership, and to our wonderful supporters including Cathy Deforest of Vision Quilt, Robert Alexander, Mr. Curtis, Mary Lee Vance, Emily Valdez, Norma Jane Meijas, and our future funders who joined us on the day.

This event was a true “stone soup” effort, a testament to the power of community collaboration in times of crisis and celebration.

We need people to stand up for masking now. With mask bans passing in North Carolina and considered in LA and NYC, Disabled community members’ lives are endangered! Be sure to visit our Capital Campaign to support our continued work!

@claudiaalicklove

Why Mask Portland producers Calling Up Justice and Curiosity Project. After dinner shenanigans! #whymask #masking #maskup

♬ original sound – Keith Muise

ACCESSIBILITY AND COVID PROTOCOLS

Content Notice: This is an uncurated open mic and may include acts that make people uncomfortable. This event is all-ages.

This event will be live-streamed to https://youtube.com/live/Riffkhc_ohc?feature=share

More details about accessibility will be made available here as the event approaches.

We are still living in the midst of a global pandemic. 

It is up to us to protect the most vulnerable members of our community as an act of loving solidarity and as Disability Justice praxis. 

We will thus be actively enforcing the following COVID policies to make it possible for immunocompromised people to be present, and help protect all Why Mask Portland attendees from COVID and Long COVID:

Current COVID variants are highly transmissible, and there have been numerous cases of outdoor transmission!

• Please take a COVID test no earlier than 2 hours before attending Why Mask Portland.
• Please do NOT attend Why Mask Portland in person if you test positive for COVID or are sick with any COVID symptoms.
• KN95, KF94, N95 or higher-rates masks are required (well fitting, no vents) unless you have a medical device that prevents you from properly wearing a mask.
• We will have masks and tests at our information booth for those who cannot or do not have one of their own.
• Please mask both inside and outside of Why Mask Portland.

Thanks to StaceyFest for this text!