PLANNED PARENTHOOD BRINGS AWARENESS TO NORTHEAST PORTLAND BUSINESSES WITH SECOND EDITION OF “SHARED WINDOW”
THROUGH A COLLABORATION WITH FISK, LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE PAIRED WITH ARTISTS TO CREATE ADVERTISEMENTS DISPLAYED ON THE PLANNED PARENTHOOD COLUMBIA-WILLAMETTE BUILDING
Artwork for “Shared Window” (L-R) by Miyo Shirotsuka, Momo Gordon, and Francisco Morales, Courtesy of Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood Columbia-Willamette (PPCW) is pleased to announce a continuation of “Shared Window,” a project started in 2020 to promote neighborhood community and bring awareness to local businesses in NE Portland. For its second year, “Shared Window” pairs furniture bank Community Warehouse with artist
Momo Gordon, Zaap Thai Restaurant with graphic designer and illustrator Miyu Shirotsuka, and Mexican restaurant Que Sabrosa with Francisco Morales. The project will be on view at PPCW’s NE Portland health center, located at 3727 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, starting June 16, 2022. To learn more about the project, visit https://sharedwindow.org/
At the height of the pandemic, many local businesses were facing hardships; As a large and involved part of the community, PPCW knew the impact its offices shutting down in 2020 would have on the small businesses around them and wanted to do something to give back. They reached out to Portland-based creative agency, FISK, to help facilitate the launch of “Shared Window”, an awareness campaign that paired small businesses with local artists to create beautiful advertisements to be displayed for free in the windows of their NE Portland health center.
In this second year of the pandemic, as local establishments slowly reopen and rebuild, PPCW recognized that many businesses and people still haven’t fully recovered. The organization saw the need to continue this project as a way to support their neighbors, show care for and solidarity with the community, and bring sustained patronage to the vibrant businesses in the area as they work to get back on their feet. Building on their collaboration, Planned Parenthood worked with FISK as a facilitator and curator for this second iteration. Here’s the list of Portland businesses and artists selected for “Shared Window” 2022:
Community Warehouse x Momo Gordon
3961 NE Martin Luther King Blvd.
Community Warehouse is the Portland metro area’s only furniture bank that provides essential furniture and home goods to people overcoming adversity. For the past 20 years, the non-profit
has operated with a community-based model that relies on donations — the more stocked the Warehouse, the more homes they can furnish. They believe that furniture creates space for joy, comfort, stability, family, and relationships, and they want to help provide and nurture these positive experiences in the community. “Shared Window” will bring more awareness to its mission. In addition to their two furniture bank locations in Portland and Tualatin, they also run Estate Stores, which sell home goods to support the furniture bank programs.
Community Warehouse is partnered with Portland-based interdisciplinary artist Momo Gordon, who will be drawing inspiration from Community Warehouse’s inventory to create artwork that promotes the organization’s role in the community. Gordon’s practice deals with emotional landscapes, sentient spaces, hostile architecture, and anthropomorphization of materials. They plan to personify objects, giving them a new and unexpected life just as Community Warehouse gives people’s intimate objects a new home. This will be Gordon’s third collaboration with Planned Parenthood and FISK.
Que Sabrosa x Francisco Morales
954 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227
Mexican restaurant Que Sabrosa was founded by Yulissa Velo and has been providing the Williams neighborhood locals with delicious traditional Mexican food for 14 years. Head cook Reina Hernandez and Velo serve food that hails from Guerrero, specifically Acapulco, which is
known for its enchiladas and empanadas — but Que Sabrosa is best known for its tacos made with homemade tortillas. During the pandemic, the restaurant came close to closing, but after multiple efforts Velo was able to get pandemic assistance to help keep them afloat. Although they’re not yet back to normal, word has spread through the neighborhood and the community has begun to show up and support them.
Que Sabrosa will be represented by multidisciplinary artist Francisco Morales, who aims to highlight the energy and community that’s so critical to this local institution. “I feel a strong connection to working to uplift my community and its members,” Morales says. Much of his work is inspired by an idea of latino futurism, breaking stereotypes to reframe how latinx design and artwork looks in new and exciting ways. He hopes this project helps both artists and local businesses overcome the many barriers they face.
ZAAP Thai x Miyu Shirotsuka
3513 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97212
Family-owned Thai restaurant Zaap Thai has been run by brother and sister Beer Tebuteb and Siri Tebuteb since they moved to Portland in 2019. The siblings (and sometimes their mother) cook traditional Northeast Thailand cuisine from the Isaan region, including many dishes which are based off of their grandma's recipes. Favorite dishes on the menu include Pad Krapao, which features hand chopped meat stir fried in spicy garlic basil sauce with pepper, and onion,
as well as Som Tom, a sweet and sour Thai style papaya salad. They also offer weekly specials which feature hyper local dishes that you won't see at many Thai restaurants, such as Tom Yum Fried Rice or oxtail noodle soup.
Zaap Thai’s artwork will be created by graphic designer and illustrator Miyu Shirotsuka. Shirotsuka’s design is inspired by the universality and tangibility of the word “Zaap,” which means “tasty and spicy” in the Isaan dialect, and refers to “a sudden burst of energy or sound” in English. Her work will bring the word to life through impactful shapes, colors, and metaphorical imagery. “Throughout the last couple of years I’ve seen so many of my favorite restaurants and shops close their doors. It’s truly heartbreaking,” says Shirotsuka. “I hope this shared window project can help to bring more recognition and foot traffic to the amazing businesses we have in this town.”
All of the participants are excited to support Planned Parenthood’s critical mission in reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. At a time when all eyes are turned toward Planned Parenthood’s essential services for healthcare and reproductive rights around the country, this local chapter remains committed to staying grounded in community, showing up for and supporting their neighbors in whatever ways they can everyday. For more information about “Shared Window” visit https://sharedwindow.org/
ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Founded in 1986, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette is the largest non-profit family planning and sexual and reproductive rights health care organization in Oregon and Southwest Washington, with 7 health centers located in Portland, Beaverton, Milwaukie, Salem, Bend, OR and Vancouver, WA.
ABOUT COMMUNITY WAREHOUSE
For 20 years, Community Warehouse has served as the Portland metro area’s only furniture bank. Our mission is to provide essential furnishings to neighbors overcoming adversity, creating stronger home foundations and brighter futures. Our concept is simple: we accept donations of household items from the community and give them to people who need furniture. We provide beds to sleep in, tables for family meals, cookware and dishware to prepare meals, lamps and desks for schoolwork, and other essential household items to turn empty houses into furnished homes. Alongside our two furniture bank locations in Portland and Tualatin, we operate Estate Stores, where we sell donated vintage, antique and contemporary home goods. All proceeds from Estate Store sales go to support the furniture bank program.
ABOUT QUE SABROSA
Founded in 2008 by Yulissa Velo, Que Sabrosa serves up traditional Mexican food from the region of Guerrero. One of the highlights of the menu are tacos served on homemade tortillas and topped perfectly cooked pork, chicken, beef or vegan chorizo with an al pastor recipe that comes from Velo’s own family in Acapulco.
ABOUT ZAAP THAI
Zaap is a Thai restaurant that earned a five-star rating based in 92 reviews. The eatery opened in June and specializes in Isaan Thai cooking, inspired by Laotian and Cambodian cuisine, from Thailand's northeast.
ABOUT MOMO GORDON
Momo Gordon is a Portland based interdisciplinary artist focusing on emotional landscapes, sentient spaces, hostile architecture, and anthropomorphization of the materials.
ABOUT MIYU SHIROTSUKA
Miyu Shirotsuka is a Portland based Japanese graphic designer making work with a focus on curiosity, open mindedness and intricacy, aiming to channel her unique international background and experience into her practice.
ABOUT FRANCISCO MORALES
Francisco Morales is a Latinx multidisciplinary artist based in Portland, Oregon. Much of his work is inspired by an idea of latino futurism, breaking stereotypes to reframe how latinx design and artwork looks in new and exciting ways.
ABOUT FISK
FISK is a creative practice focused on the enhancement of art and design in our daily lives. As a cohort we craft thoughtful experiences for digital and physical spaces for clients like: Nike, Alicia Keys, Harvard GSD, Alicia Keys, Apple Music, Madhappy, and Akádi . We utilize graphic design, websites, objects, and physical spaces to visualize our ideas. The first “Shared Window” featured Star Kitchen Thai Food Cart in collaboration with Reshidev Rk, Turning Heads Hair Styling Studio with artist Nia Musiba, and Cedo’s Falafel & Gyros depicted by Salomée Souag.