Never Look Away

In 2019, Zoe Piliafas noticed that the progressive city of Portland, Oregon – long known to be a welcoming place for the LGBTQIA+ community – didn’t have any public art specifically for the Queer community. So she formed a production team with local artist Cassandra Swan, project manager Ruban Lawrence, and Pride Northwest to try to create this – and so was the genesis of the “Never Look Away” mural. Throughout Portland, stickers bearing the frantic message of “Resist!” are found everywhere – resist oppression, resist homophobia – resist, resist, resist. When the production team first came together, they agreed that only resisting ends in destruction – and that the sister of resistance is creation. So they decided to create something that is an act of creating the world they wish for. The mural features eight people who made significant contributions to the Queer community’s history and rights – Marsha P. Johnson, David Martinez, Asa Wright, Angelica Ross, Aydian Dowling, Kathleen Saadat, Lynn Nakamoto, and Rupert Kinnard. You’ll learn about the Queer community’s history, you’ll witness how a massive piece of public art goes from being an idea, to existing in front of your very eyes. You’ll see how public art is a way of staking out a share of public space – of saying to the world, “We exist, and we have a right to exist.” And you’ll see how an idea, a small group of regular people, and a whole lot of community support can make anything happen.