Kathy Pennington is KSMoCA’s winter 2026 artist in residence. A painter who lives and works in Northeast Portland, she has been part of that community for more than fifty years. Her paintings document the everyday lives of Black Portlanders. A long-time resident of the Albina neighborhood and former student at Dr. MLK Jr. School, Pennington has witnessed the decline of what was once a vibrant, thriving, close-knit Black community. Central to her practice is the desire to recall these memories through the examination of contemporary Black life in Portland. From churches and bus stops, to car washes and restaurants, her paintings pay homage to the Black quotidian: friends catching up over lunch; familiar cityscapes; brightly colored outfits on Easter Sunday; scenes from the local barbershop, and everything in between. In doing so, she not only seeks to visually reaffirm the cultural presence of Black people in Portland, but intentionally paints familiar scenes with the hope that they will connect with them emotionally, engendering a desire to collect Black art.

Pennington was born in 1953 in Seattle, Washington. Her painting style was developed through a formal educational journey at both Oregon State University and Pacific Northwest College of Art, and a broader education that took place in the community through friends and partnerships with local artists. Four of her pieces were a part of the Black Artists of Oregon exhibition at the Portland Art Museum. Her artwork was also shown in the Kwanzaa on Killingsworth art show held in the historic Albina Arts Center. 

As a part of this residency the Harriet Tubman Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice at MLK School selected artworks from Pennington’s personal archive to create an exhibition of her paintings at KSMoCA. This group of fourth and fifth grade students learned about the process of selecting artwork and creating exhibitions by meeting with curators and museum professionals and through field trips to the Portland Art Museum where they are also curating an exhibition.

The artist talk is in the library and is open to the public. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

Educated as a city planner, an architect, and an artist, Yoonhee Choi creates work that explores the potentials of unexpected materials to express multiple scales of spatial experience and intimate, personal associations. In her projects, which range from tiny collages to drawings on paper to room-size installations, she uses everyday materials in a playful manner. Her work has been exhibited across the country and is part of collections on both coasts, including the Portland Airport where her glass walls line the north and south security areas.

Choi studied art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, architecture at Yale University, and city planning at Hong-ik University in Seoul. Born and raised in South Korea, she currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

The artist talk is in the cafeteria and is open to the public. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

Photo by Sam Gehrke

Mr. Xavier Pierce is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores memory, emotion, and the act of being present. He draws inspiration from his lived experience, using art as a tool to navigate life’s emotional currents. What began as a personal process to make sense of change and growth has become a practice rooted in his belief that creativity is essential to the human experience.

As a first grade teacher at Dr. MLK Jr. School and now visiting artist at KSMoCA, Mr. Pierce continues to develop a body of work that invites reflection, vulnerability, and emotional clarity. Students from class will join him in answering questions during this event.

Raised in Northeast Portland a few blocks from Dr. MLK Jr. School, he received both his undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies and a master’s in Education, both from Portland State University.

The artist talk is in the school library and is open to the public. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

For more than 50 years, Napoleon Jones-Henderson has created works that strive to highlight, celebrate and empower the communities where he lives. As an image maker and  founding member of the artist collective African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists (AfriCOBRA), his art practice is inspired by the lived experiences and cultures of people of the African diaspora. Self-affirming and reflective, his work illuminates both a fraught past and a liberated future. As artist-in-residence at KSMoCA, Jones-Henderson led a series of workshops with second grade students who created works inspired by his own. The resulting student artwork will be exhibited at KSMoCA alongside Jones-Henderson’s work. 

The artist talk takes place in the school library. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

Jones-Henderson was born in 1943 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended the Sorbonne Student Continuum-Student and Artists Center in Paris, France in 1963 where he was immersed in an independent study program in French Art History and Figure Drawing. Upon returning to the United States, he enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago receiving his B.F.A. degree in 1971. Jones-Henderson went on to earn credits in advanced graduate studies in Fine Arts at Northern Illinois University and earned his M.F.A. degree in Interdisciplinary Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005.

His artwork is in the collections of the DuSable Museum of African American History, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Southside Community Art Center, Hampton University Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Museum of National Center of Afro-American Artists and Studio Museum in Harlem. In addition, his artwork is in distinguished private collections and numerous public art commissions. He lives and works in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

During her fall 2024 residency at KSMoCA, Adriene Cruz conducted two workshops with first grade students in Ms. Maalaea’s class. Works by Adriene will be exhibited with the work created by the students.

The exhibition opening takes place in the Cafetorium hallway. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

Adrienne Cruz is a Portland-based textile and quilt artist whose work embodies the spiritual and cultural essence of the African Diaspora. Using bright colors, symbolism, adornments, and bold patterns, Cruz creates artworks that not only honor her ancestral roots, but also serve as channels of healing and blessings. 

Adrienne Cruz is a Portland-based textile and quilt artist whose work embodies the spiritual and cultural essence of the African Diaspora. Using bright colors, symbolism, adornments, and bold patterns, Cruz creates artworks that not only honor her ancestral roots, but also serve as channels of healing and blessings. 

"The art I create fulfills a powerful desire to express visually what's not easily spoken, a passion for color, a love of symbols, and a deep interest in matters of the Spirit. Gifts of my ancestors,  angels, and spirit guides celebrating the power of art beyond visual image flows through me as a celebration of survival. Ancestral roots real and imagined offer a base to channel elements of healing and blessings," said Adriene.

A Harlem, New York native Adriene was deeply inspired by her mother’s creative use of color and the rich cultural influences of her childhood community. She attended the High School of Art and Design and  received a BFA from the School of Visual Art in NewYork. After relocating to Portland, Oregon she explored quilting at the Oregon School of Art and Craft. What emerged were brilliantly colored and adorned quilts, large and small, piecing together richly patterned materials in rhythmic arrangements, structured as well as improvisational, deeply moving on a spiritual level and simply enjoyable for their sheer beauty. 

Intisar Abioto is an artist and explorer working across photography, dance, and writing. As a storyteller, her works capture the many narratives of peoples of African descent across various geographic regions. She is also the curator of the monumental exhibition, Black Artists of Oregon, recently shown at the Portland Museum of Art. 

For her KSMoCA exhibition, Abioto will showcase a photography series that focuses on Black and Indigenous stewards of the land across various landscapes—family farms, gardens, and other rural domains.

The artist talk takes place in the school library. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

Sadé DuBoise is KSMoCA’s Winter 2024 artist-in-residence. DuBoise is an acrylic painter, visual storyteller, and orator of Black experience(s) in the Pacific Northwest. Growing up in Oregon—specifically NE Portland—she developed a deep appreciation for nature at a young age, which has greatly influenced her painting practice. DuBoise’s work explores the experiences of multi-racial people, predominantly Black folks and their connectedness to the great outdoors. She considers her work sociopolitical, and seeks to dispel the notion that Black folks prefer urban settings because they fear nature. She does this by painting portraits of Black people, namely Black women, in various outdoor settings that she has personally visited while hiking and backpacking. Her latest series, A Moment Outside, which she created specifically for this residency, consists of 14 small portraits of women in natural settings that capture brief, yet significant moments of being in nature. 

DuBoise is a painter who considers her practice as a sacred place to reflect on her identity, existence, and life experiences. She recently received a BFA in painting from Willamette University/Pacific Northwest College of Art. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and were included in the Black Artists of Oregon exhibition at the Portland Art Museum.

The artist talk takes place in the school library. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” badge.

We are proud to have the incomparable Mr. Richard Brown as our Fall 2023 artist-in-residence. Mr. Brown is a local photographer and community activist that has been a fixture in the Black community for over 50 years. Not only has he documented the lives of generations of Black Portlanders, he has also worked tirelessly to address issues that affect the Black community.

Mr. Richard Brown is an activist and photographer whose work highlights what it means to be Black in Portland, Oregon. He takes photographs of the Black community, showcasing who they are and what kinds of lives they have.

He has been an activist for many years, and is passionate about helping police build better relationships with the communities they serve.

Mr. Brown has lived and worked in Portland for over 50 years. He began his career taking photographs for The Portland Observer, the city’s oldest Black-run newspaper, showcasing Black community members of all ages and backgrounds. He especially enjoys interacting with students and asking them what they might want to be when they grow up.

He is also very passionate about sharing Black history. One of Mr. Brown’s continuing projects is a weekly newsletter called The Talking Drum. It includes historical facts, current events affecting Black people, and comics created by Black cartoonists and from all over the United States. Mr. Brown also wrote a book titled, This Is Not For You, that highlights his years in Portland, mapping out his activist journey with the city and its people. 

The artist talk takes place in the school library. Please stop by the Main Office to sign in and receive a “Visitor” pass to the school.

Update, 1/17/24: This event was originally scheduled for Thursday, January 18, 2024.

Byron Kim will give an artist lecture in the Martin Luther King Jr. School Library on Wednesday, May 30 at 1:30 PM. The lecture is open to MLK Jr. Students and families, and members of the public. If you are a guest, please sign in at the front office to attend the lecture.