Invitation to Mic Check! Voices from the Margins

APANO is thrilled to announce the launch of our official cultural event series "Mic Check! Voices from the Margins" sponsored by the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC). This summer and fall, APANO will be hosting events and partnering with organizations to lift up the voices and stories of community members whose stories are often marginalized. At APANO, we recognize communications and cultural work as a strategy for change, rooted in the belief that telling our stories, speaking truths, imagining alternatives and shifting culture matters. We invite you to these events, all led and facilitated by community members.

We decided to name our cultural event series, "Mic Check! Voices from the Margins", because of the usage of phrase "mic check" in direct actions. "Mic check" is often used as a call-and-response technique for organizers to unite the crowd and spread their comments without amplification. This repeat-after-me technique was popularized during the height of the occupy movement (read this The Nation article by Richard Kim for more context). The message of "mic check" is a way of letting a crowd know that someone is about to speak, and also a way for a group to support and amplify what's being said. We recognize that the voices of those most affected by systems of oppression are powerful, but are often unheard or intentionally silenced. At APANO we are calling "mic check" to make space for them to speak and magnify their reach.

For more information about these events, please contact Community Engagement Manager, Luann Algoso at luann@apano.org.

- July 22: Writing with Fire Workshop (API Queer and Trans writing workshop)
- July 24: Brave Spaces Open Mic (API Queer and Trans/QTPOC event)
- July 29: Never Give Up: An Evening of Art and Dialogue (Staged reading of Citizen Min + panel discussion on community activism)
- August 15 & 22: Our Families, Our Home: Jade International Night Market (Annual international night market in the Jade District. Event supports building a resilient community to resist displacement.)
- September 3:An Evening with Hari Kondabolu (Co-Presenting with Lewis & Clark College. Fundraiser for APANO's Arts & Media Collective)
- September 15: Dis/orient/ed Comedy Showcase (Sponsored by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time-Based Art Festival)
- October 24: A Tale of Two Ghettoes: The Future Specters of Chinatown Past (This project is also funded by Caldera as a part of “A Day In Paradise”, in connection to the exhibition “Fallen Fruit of Portland” presented by Caldera and Fallen Fruit (David Burns and Austin Young) at Portland Art Museum in October 2015.)