December 20th

3:00-4:20 pm

My name is Charlie Townes, and I make up who’s cooper black. At the start of quarantine I wanted to make a band, but because of Covid-19 and lack of friends who play instruments, I kinda gave up on actually making and bringing together a band. And then in June my girlfriend broke up with me which was really painful and really sparked most of the music I have made so far, and making these songs has really helped me with a lot of the pain from that. I play guitar pretty much everyday and it is definitely a form of therapy for me. I go to Lincoln High School and I am a junior.

Art is everywhere. It is an expression, an action, and an integral part of activism. In art, we envision our futures. In art, we make our voices heard. In this panel, we’ll be asking two youth artists to speak about their art and their work, and what it means to them.

9:00-10:20 pm

Belise Nishimwe is a senior at St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon. Extremely passionate about social justice, international relations, and law especially as it pertains to immigrants and their rights, Nishimwe was born and lived in a refugee camp in Tanzania until the age of five, when she and her family moved to America through Catholic Charities. Now a U.S. citizen, she has dedicated herself to be someone who can create a platform that gives a voice to immigrants and refugees and the representation they need. She serves as now President for a youth-led nonprofit called, Youth Ending Slavery. As well as these activities, she enjoys writing poetry and exploring other artistic venues. She was the 2019 Poetry Out Loud State Champion and received the 2019 Pamplin Media Group Amazing Kids Award. In the near and far future, she dreams of interning for a law firm or for a political office. She plans on strengthening her abilities as a leader and as an activist, so she can be a person who defends and speaks for those who are told they can’t.

Hobbs Waters, 14 year old artist, dancer and musician from Portland, OR. Founder of City Troll, my Urban lifestyle line, where he sells his apparel to financially elevate himself to pursue his aspirations of becoming a professional ballet dancer. Right now he dances in town at Steps PDX. He’s a recreational musician at the Ethos music center. In addition he’s a visual artist who’s shown in large art institutions in the greater Portland metropolitan, and has done five murals. He mainly focuses on abstract but is doing more realism.

My names are Eddie Enyart or Outra-Shawee-Yuo but my music name is Sasori 02. I use sounds that make me feel specific emotions, shapes or colors. I enjoy making music that doesn’t sound like it is from our timeline. Sasori 02 is a combination of different genres I either grew up with or have recently began to enjoy. I have been described as “Portland Drain” and “Hyperpop” I do not try to replicate these genres but I certainly am inspired by them. I would describe my music has many different styles under one name.