Upcoming ORAL HISTORIES Event at SEA Change Gallery

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming ORAL HISTORIES event at SEA Change Gallery. Here is the flier; feel free to pass it on to anyone you know who might be interested. Print it out and wear it on a t-shirt, or hang it on your fridge, or do both!

This event will feature live presentations of oral histories, a discussion (with special guests) on the importance of oral histories and how the internet and digital media are transforming the media, a workshop on the ethics and processes of collecting oral histories, and the opportunity to participate in a collaborative oral history documentary project made possible by our recently awarded Portland STOCK grant.

We're excited to see you. It's been a while, and we miss you, and we're excited to share, learn and grow together.

FRIENDSHIP Event at SEA Change Gallery

A detailed report about our July 31, 2009 FRIENDSHIP event at SEA Change Gallery is coming soon. Here are a few images to tickle your curiosity.

Above: Lola Wilson teaches hand-clapping games, which can be used to help make hanging out with friends even more fun.

Above: Public Social University Co-Director Rozzell Medina facilitates a panel discussion about music & friendship featuring Musician Allan Wilson (!!!), Mississippi Records Owner Eric Isaacson, and Artist/Musician Chris Johanson.

APOCALYPSE Event at MK Gallery

A detailed report about our April 16, 2009 APOCALYPSE event at the MK Gallery is coming soon. Here are a few images from the event to tickle your curiosity.

Above: Steve Baggs (center) facilitates a discussion about current events that could be viewed as corresponding to historical/biblical allusions to apocalypse. Jin Camou (right background) studies her notes for "To/From Destruction & Creation," a collaborative movement expression ritual she is about to develop with attendees.

Above: Attendees play Destrukto, a game in which one person draws something, then passes it to the right. The next person draws something that could destroy the thing that the previous person drew. As far as we know, this was the largest game of Destrukto ever played in an art gallery during an event about apocalypse. Yet another first for Pubic Social University! The completed Destrukto drawings were exhibited in the gallery for the rest of the month as part of Public Social University's installation in Eric Steen's "Building in the Post-Apocalypse" exhibit, which was largely concerned with radical education, science fiction and beer.

WATER Event at SEA Change Gallery

A detailed report about our April 30th, 2009 WATER event at SEA Change Gallery is coming soon. Here are a couple images to tickle your curiosity.

Public Social University in Mission Dolores Park

Public Social University Co-Directors Judy Fleming and Rozzell Medina arrived at San Francisco's Mission Dolores Park after a visit to the Museum of African Diaspora (MOAD). With pens, paper, envelopes, knives, and potatoes in tow, they set up Public Social University at a picnic table near the playground. (Sign by Judy Fleming)

It was a sunny spring day, and there were hundreds of people in the park. Kids of all ages played and relaxed, enjoying the awesome view that the park offers.

Rozzell and Judy watched a group of people doing a form of contact improv yoga in the distance. The possibility of asking them to participate by demonstrating and/or teaching a class was discussed, but ultimately rejected due to shyness. In hindsight, this proved to be a valuable lesson on the importance of bravery. About a dozen people showed up for Public Social University.

Judy explained the project she had devised to begin the afternoon. Attendees were encouraged to write a letter to someone, then to address it to that person without using a formal mailing address. For example, Rozzell wrote a letter to the MOAD curator and addressed it like this:

Attendees were then encouraged to ask a stranger to facilitate the delivery of the letter, and to carve potato stamps to serve as postage and decoration. Some beautiful results ensued, such as this piece, carved by Judy's sister, Erin Fleming:

Judy and Rozzell asked the San Franciscans present to lead a tour of the area, using Guy Debord's dérive as a model. During the dérive, participants shared their knowledge of edible flowers, stems, and herbs that grew in random public green spaces. Justin, a resident of San Francisco, commented on how many edible plants grow in the city if one is open to finding them. Also, participants espied what seemed like a watchtower atop a house. Rozzell and Judy knocked on the door of the house in the hopes of gaining entrance to the watchtower, curious about the view it might offer. The group was denied entrance by the owner of the house, but he was kind enough to explain that the feature in question was called a cupola, and that he uses the room as a creative space. Everyone on the dérive agreed that they would love to have a cupola someday.

Later, at the streetcar stop, Rozzell had a serendipitous encounter with a stranger. The stranger mentioned that he was interested in tutoring children, and that one of his favorite things to do is point out Africa on the globe and explain that everyone came from Africa. Rozzell mentioned his visit to the MOAD, and was surprised that the stranger had never heard of the inspiring museum. Rozzell told the stranger about the MOAD, and the stranger said that he would go there during the upcoming weekend. Rozzell asked the stranger to deliver the letter to the MOAD curator for him, and the stranger agreed, without question.

FOOD

Thanks to everyone who participated and helped make FOOD, Public Social University's first themed event at SEA Change Gallery, a success. After a brief introduction by Public Social University co-Curators/Organizers Judy Fleming and Rozzell Medina, Nolan and Chris of The Wealth Underground Farm encouraged everyone present to go out and plant the seed bombs they had prepared for the event. The seed bombs contained wild lettuce and flower seeds, and we dispersed throughout the downtown Portland area, bombing the city with the seeds, which will hopefully grow and benefit our fellow citizens. Thus began the Guerrilla Gardening portion of the evening. Here is a photo of our seed bomb arsenal:

And (can you find it?) one of our seed bombs in its new home, ready to grow:

Upon our safe return to the gallery, Nolan and Chris facilitated a discussion about our adventure, and about Guerrilla Gardening in general. Several attendees agreed that the exercise was useful; venturing out with the intention of finding space where the seeds might grow helped us to closely consider the utilization and under-utilization of urban spaces that could be used for food cultivation. Public Social University Co-Founder Ally Drozd explained that during the exercise she observed a line of people gathered at the entrance of a downtown homeless shelter. The exercise took on new dimensions of purpose for Ally as she realized that Guerrilla Gardening could provide much-needed sustenance for hungry Portlanders. 

Here, Nolan and Chris facilitate the dialogue about Guerrilla Gardening:

Next, we were honored to have Jane Paik's participation. She taught us Yoga poses and stretches useful in alleviating corporeal stress often associated with working in the garden. She did a wonderful job of making the poses and philosophy of Yoga relevant to gardeners. As you can see, there wasn't enough room in the gallery for everyone to go all out, so some attendees practiced the poses in their seats.

The FOOD event was borne from Sublimating the Economic Recession, a public forum that Public Social University hosted at the Central Public Library on February 26th. During the forum, community members discussed ways that we can use the current economic recession as a stage for strengthening individuals and communities in lasting, substantive ways. The fact that many people don't know how to grow their own food came up numerous times, and Public Social University decided to help motivate and educate citizens by organizing the FOOD event.

Towards this end, we invited Jolie from Portland Nursery to come teach an Urban Farming class. Jolie brought handouts, planting calendars, and her vast knowledge of organic urban food farming, and facilitated a 45-minute presentation/Q&A. Attendees learned a great deal about ways that they can utilize space to grow and maintain a healthy, chemical-free food garden.

We would have been remiss in our duties had we presented a FOOD event without any food for attendees to enjoy, so we invited Kyler Grandkoski to present a live Raw Foods Preparation show in the gallery. He worked hard to prepare an amazing coleslaw for guests to savor throughout the evening.

During his presentation, Kyler talked about the benefits of a diet rich in raw food. He answered questions and prepared and explained several raw treats and dishes. We feasted and celebrated.