CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
RAPPORTEUR’S SUMMARY
“Please see us. Open your eyes to see who is moving here and reach out.”
It was May 1 – a sunny, if admittedly chilly, late afternoon in Maine’s emerging spring –
and for a change, people attending the Celebrating Immigration series did not blow in
the doors on a burst of wind. This evening, as fellow Portlanders strolled on Congress
Street and into the Portland Public Library’s art galleries for the city’s First Friday Art
Walk, a gathering in Rines Auditorium prepared to exchange ideas on Immigrants and
the Creative Economy. There was to be a sense of personal fulfillment in the
presentations at the fourth event of the series. New Mainers had, after all, been
making art on their own initiative for years, following their gifts as artists the world
over do. No application, no permission was needed. But the realities of economic
survival still applied.
World Affairs Council of Maine’s Board Chair Tim Honey extended a welcome on behalf
of the Council and series partner Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition (MIRC), and
extended thanks to the series’ sponsors. Mr. Honey looked ahead to the issuance of a
report and recommendations at the series’ final June event, which is to be a capstone
celebration. And this evening, he asked again for those present to offer their voices,
without which Celebrating Immigration would not thrive. He then introduced Jennifer
Hutchins, Director of Creative Portland, who would moderate a multi-layered event
whose emerging themes would include:
 The importance of diversity as a pillar of the creative economy
 The arts as connectors across cultures and languages, and as pathways into
new communities
 The importance of locating passion and using it to build community support
for innovation in arts and creative new businesses
 The importance of locating organizations that can help with language and
business skills
 The importance of networking and finding mentors, both people and
organizations
 The importance of shared space and collaborative work
 The importance of the host community’s reaching out beyond its comfort
zone to “see” and connect with New Mainers
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
Ms. Hutchins – the ecosystem of diversity.
Among over 70 arts and cultural institutions in the City of Portland, Creative Portland
is the only quasi-municipal organization designated by the city to grow the creative
economy. The Creative Portland Corporation was formed in 2008 and since then has
sought enrich creative enterprise and to leverage creative assets to grow Portland’s
economy.
The creative economy – which experts consider to be one grounded in ideas, doing,
and innovation – depends profoundly on diversity which, as in a garden, is critical to
the sustainability of the entire ecosystem. In different words, diversity is considered a
pillar of the creative economy.
While diversity can mean many things, Ms. Hutchins noted that this evening, Creative
Portland is for the first time addressing ethnic diversity – and the people not born here
who have decided to make Maine their home.
Why not address ethnic diversity until now? Ms. Hutchins does not underestimate the
hard work that is involved in tackling the issue in the creative economy and
understood she could not do it alone – so when the World Affairs Council of Maine
approached her about collaborating on Celebrating Immigration, Ms. Hutchins saw an
opportunity to begin the work. She emphasized that this effort is only the beginning,
and hopes for a simple outcome: to emerge from the conversation with a little more
understanding of the ethnic and arts communities and the potential between them for
enlarging opportunity – that is, enlarging the human ecosystem in a community that
cares and supports.
At a practical level, Creative Portland has been working on attracting people to Maine,
but once here, they need to survive and engage in what is present in the state. Creative
Portland’s goal is to offer them a prosperous community, one that values and supports
what makes Portland a great place to live, not just to visit.
Many other cities are also doing excellent work on the benefits of ethnic diversity, and
the arts can often serve as a hook, a connection between newcomers and institutions, a
means of overcoming barriers to welcoming and sustaining a flourishing, diverse
populace.
Ms. Hutchins outlined the elements of this fourth series event:
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Highlights of artists who call Maine home
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
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A discussion of barriers and opportunities immigrants and others face in the
creative economy
Places to go for help in the creative economy
A visualization of the creative energy individuals can bring to Portland
Ms. Hutchins introduced Oscar Mokeme, founder and director of the Museum of
African Culture.
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Oscar Mokeme – a slide show sampling of diverse Portland area artists.
With his colleague Art Aleshire, Mr. Mokeme founded the Museum of African Culture in
Portland in 1998. It is the only institution in in northern New England devoted
exclusively to sub-Saharan African arts and culture, and curates art that is up to 2000
years old.
Mr. Mokeme gently narrated a slide show introducing various diverse and New Mainer
artists:
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Mr. Mokeme himself was pictured conducting a traditional ceremony in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire – one that re-consecrated an African burial
ground discovered under city streets.
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Ali Shakir Alasadi is an artist and painter who immigrated to Maine in January
of 2015. His carved wood blocks were pictured.
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Marie Solie, Congolese, is a film maker and musician. Pure Silence is one of her
recent films.
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Venus Labell, also Congolese and Ms. Solie’s twin sister, is a musician and
actress.
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Kazeem Lawal, perhaps the best-dressed man in Portland, is a creative
entrepreneur.
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Edwige Charlot is an artist whose mission is to inspire students.
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Alfinodah Farrai is a Congolese dancer.
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Ouda Baxer, a Bowdoin graduate with roots in Zimbabwe, is a photographer
and artist.
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Ebenezer Akapo, from Ghana, studied at MECA and is a jewelry designer.
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
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Sabin Badjyinama is an artist who connects the aesthetic of her country of
birth to the myriad sea shells of Maine.
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Adele Ngoy is a fashion designer whose mission is to enable other New Mainer
fashion designers.
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Yegor Malinovskii is a Ukrainian photographer.
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Alzenira Quezada – or “Lady Zen” – is a lyric fusion poet from Brazil.
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Mei Selvage is an artist and tech designer of Asian heritage whose show is
currently at 3fish gallery.
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Atiy Haji is a basketmaker.
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Reza Jalali is an author and playwright, a long-time U.S. resident and author of
The Poets and the Assassin and Moon Watchers, a children’s book for which he
received a note from First Lady Michelle Obama.
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Who can help? (Community Dialogue)
Ms. Hutchins invited three people onto the stage – each of whom had figured out how
to start creative businesses, and who would engage in an interactive conversation
about their experience and about who and what could help others:
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Jonah Fertig, co-founder of the Local Sprouts Cooperative. Jonah grew up in
Maine.
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Adele Ngoy, born in Congo, and living in Maine for fifteen years. She studied
fashion design in Congo and want to teach others how to become fashion
designers.
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Jake Ryan, born in Maine, works on community. He created the Open Bench
Project, a space in which people can explore how to make a business out of
“making stuff.”
The moderator for this portion of the evening was Edwige Charlot, educator, artist and
entrepreneur. Coming to MECA as a student, she has now spent ten years in Maine and
is a strong advocate for the arts in Portland.
Ms. Charlot: How did you get started?
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
Ms. Ngoy: It was hard with no English, but she went to school, got a job in her
field, and then started her own business.
Mr. Ryan: He began by daydreaming, fell in love with an idea, spent about two
years “thinking about doing it” and told people so. He put himself in the
position of having to be accountable, so he had to move forward with his idea.
Mr. Fertig: He began creating community space in 2002. He wants an economy
that works well for all, and the current one does not. He envisioned workers
owning their own cooperative, working together and owning businesses in
cases where they usually wouldn’t. In 2007, he founded the Local Sprouts food
cooperative, providing organic, local food. He attended community events,
went to schools, built community support, and opened the Local Sprouts café in
2010. Over 200 people helped renovate the café, volunteering painting,
building, and art.
Ms. Charlot: The fire within is clear in you. Where else did your resources come from?
Mr. Ryan: Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and SCORE were
resources for free counseling. He worked with any mentor he could find.
Ms. Ngoy: CEI helped her create a business plan. She also relied on friends.
Mr. Fertig: SBDC also helped, but he had to educate the business development
community with respect to his first workers’ cooperative. The U.S. Federation
of Worker Cooperatives and the Cooperative Development Institute helped him
with that education. He received some funding from Community Development
Block Grants (CDBG), the Cooperative Fund of New England, the community
and personal loans. Sweat equity kept costs down.
Ms. Charlot: Please identify a barrier that became an opportunity for you.
Mr. Ryan: Money. In itself, it is not a solution, but not having it accelerates both
problems and solutions to them. Put differently, frugality forces innovation and
good fits.
Ms. Ngoy: She had good skills, but did not know how to sell herself, scale up,
move to current technology. Now, however, she is good at it.
Mr. Fertig: He had no business background, but operated on creativity and
passion. He learned from the ground up and can now share to help cooperative
businesses.
Ms. Charlot: Tell us about your space – where do you work and how did you get there?
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
Mr. Fertig: He has worked in and been evicted from various spaces in Portland,
especially since gentrification has raised rents. A shared space helps. There are
supportive landlords out there, but as real estate becomes more expensive, it
becomes more important for the entire community to address the issue.
Ms. Ngoy: She had space on Brighton Avenue. Four years later it closed. She
then worked from home and now works well in a shared space, a Gathering of
Stitches.
Mr. Ryan: He worked out of his home for a long time. The Open Bench Project
he created secured space to let work happen. Mr. Ryan knew a man who was
buying up beat up buildings and liked Mr. Ryan’s story. Mr. Ryan brought
people and tools to what would become the Open Bench – and once he had keys,
tools and power, he started selling memberships. He was basically squatting in
the building, renovating, and helping the developer at the same time. This
saved the building from demolition. Keep asking. Be tenacious.
Ms. Charlot: Networking seems important.
Mr. Ryan: Yes, networking is an important part of the story. He was too poor to
do things twice so he had to do them right. To do that, he reality-checked with
people – meaning that he had to make sure he was doing what people really
wanted.
Ms. Ngoy: Networking was important to her because she did not know how to
sell herself. She began with her customers.
Mr. Fertig: Networking and collaboration lead to a strong, creative community.
It takes years to develop collaborative spaces.
Question from the audience: You seem to start with vision and creativity. What if the
customer base is not ready? How do you balance your vision with the market?
Mr. Fertig: Do your marketing research, but be willing to challenge the market.
Once you have community support, ask your supporters to take an
unconventional step.
Ms. Ngoy: She adapted her designs to the needs of the community – and in
Maine, that meant the weather! She now makes fleece jackets in her own style.
Mr. Ryan: He makes the distinction between art and craft. Art he makes for
himself, regardless of the market. He makes his craft by using his creative skills
to solve others’ problems, to function in business, to bend fully to the market.
Ms. Charlot: Please use our panelists as resources. They are people like you. Don’t
worry if you “belong.” You do.
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
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Resources – where to go for help in the creative economy
Ms. Hutchins returned to say that one of the goals of this event is to get people who are
also resources into the room. Rather than offer a list, Ms. Hutchins suggested
involvement and consultation with 2 Degrees Portland
(http://www.liveworkportland.org/connect-visit/2-degrees-portland), “a network of
people who want to sustain and grow the city's economy by welcoming creators,
innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers to the area — a sort of 21st century welcome
wagon.” The title of the organization is a play on the phrase “six degrees of separation”
– 2 Degrees Portland believes that people are separated by fewer degrees than six.
Through 2 Degrees Portland, people can sign up as connectors/ees, then progress to
meeting face to face.
Ms. Hutchins introduced some of the human and organizational resources represented
in the room:
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Nelle Hannig from the City of Portland.
Kathleen Mundell, Special Programs Director (Traditional Arts), Maine Arts
Commission.
Tae Chong, CEI (a Community Development Corporation and Community
Development Financial Institution specializing in rural business development
and financing). CEI can be the first stop for translation services and is available
for business counseling.
SCORE/SBDC can be the second stop of you have already developed a business.
Virginia Rose, Southern Maine Community College.
Sally Sutton, Portland Adult Education
Liz Trice, Peloton Labs co-working space
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Visualizing yourself in the creative economy
Kate Manahan, host and developer of New Mainers Speak, moderated the next section
of the event. New Mainers Speak is a “weekly half-hour radio broadcast in which
individuals from Maine's immigrant/refugee/asylum-seeking communities are
interviewed about their personal experiences in their home countries, as well as here
in Maine.” (http://www.wmpg.org/archivefiles/newmainersspeak.htm)
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
First, Ms. Manahan asked everyone to stand and introduce themselves to the people
next to them. The room buzzed with the friendliness this exercise generated, and it
was almost difficult to stop.
Ms. Manahan then told the audience that, in her weekly radio show, she asks her guests
about their hopes and dreams; the guests are open and generous in sharing what is in
their hearts. Ms. Manahan asked audience members to think about their hopes and
creams for their creative life in Portland. She conducted visualization.
She asked everyone to close their eyes and imagine themselves relaxed, in a busy
coffee shop, waiting for a dear friend. Imagine being excited to share news about
recent events. Imagine those events have to do with a project, performance or
something you love – perhaps something you’ve considered but have not yet tried.
Imagine that this is what you want to talk about with your friend, and that you have
worked to meet a common goal and are now savoring that accomplishment. Think
about the creative relationships you have made in the process, how your work has
made a difference in the community, how you made hearts sing. Experience the
gratitude you feel for those you met along the way and imagine your best hopes for
this creative endeavor in the future. Now here comes your friend and asks, “What’s
new with you?”
How do you answer? Ms. Manahan asked audience members to write their responses
on index cards and to share their ideas.
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Open Mic (Community Dialogue)
Leslie MacVane: Wants to be a resource through her work at Community Television
Network. She has a summer project planned for helping New Mainers tell their stories
through video.
Claire: Born in England and later living in Hong Kong, she has been in Maine for five
years. She believes it is important for immigrants to tell stories, as being an immigrant
can be confusing and complex. She wants to start a salon for East-West exchange.
Adele Ngoy: Wants to see more immigrants involved. Good information has been
offered here, but there is a disconnect. She does not see enough immigrants here, and
she finds that confusing. (Ms. Manahan asked for guidance on whom and how to
invite.) Reach out to immigrant community leaders and excite them. Otherwise, they
will keep hearing the same things, see no change, and stop coming to events.
Julia Trujillo: Asked the immigrants in the room to stand. She observed that there
were more present than people might think – but still agrees with Adele.
Ali: This is a more selective event than the first in the series, which focused on jobs.
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CELEBRATING IMMIGRATION: SESSION #4 – MAY 1, 2015
Victoria Chicon: A film maker from Peru, and a Spanish radio commentator on WMPG,
she now wonders whether she needs to broadcast in English to connect to the full
community. But people may not be here today because they work two to three shifts.
That makes it hard to connect – and artists can help with that connection. Victoria
suggests that at a First Friday Art Walk there might be an event that connects, for
example, one Peruvian artist and one U.S. artist. The Maine Arts Commission is not
enough. Institutions need to open their eyes to see who is moving here and to reach
out. It is difficult for the individual to write the grant, particularly in a non-native
language. Grantors need to go into the community. “Please see us,” said Victoria.
“Don’t wait for the grants to come in. If mine is badly expressed, call me if the idea is
good.”
Ina Demers: Language is a major barrier. Timing of events and education is often bad
when people are holding down two and three jobs. Saturdays? Ina also advocated for
raising the minimum wage, and stemming the cuts to Portland, which is mistakenly
perceived as rich. In reality only 1% are rich. When you see a person who looks
different from you, talk to that person.
Julia Trujillo: The arts inspire because they are not necessarily language-based.
Whether you are an immigrant or a non-immigrant is irrelevant. The arts can make
you a world citizen. Help creators broaden their lives’ work.
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Ms. Hutchins ended the event with some questions: “What can we do as established
Mainers to reach out?”
She announced that volunteers were ready to give guided tours of the First Friday Art
Walk, and introduced Jo Israelson and her community art project “Weave the Tent,”
taking place in the Atrium of the Portland Public Library. Ms. Hutchins thanked the
audience and said good evening.
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