As part of The Living School of Art program, children in a low-income housing complex in East Portland apartment complex designed banners as a meditation on cultivating resilience within themselves and their community. Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity, bounce back from difficult life events, and cope with trauma and stress.

Over the course of a few weeks this past spring, the children studied banners, posters, and flags throughout history and around the world, and considered the meaning they create through colors, text, and symbols. They then designed their own banners as reflections on cultivating resilience and joy. The banners hung as an outdoor art exhibition this summer in the apartment complex and are now hanging in the windows of Nationale as part of Portland Textile Month (October 20–November 1, 2020).