Learn how an outer East Portland nonprofit helped young leaders rethink safety, place, and pride in their own neighborhood …
In a Midland Library community room, teens and families explore the “Voices In Bloom” exhibit, taking in artwork created over six months by teen leaders and elementary students while they were also working on their own art projects.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Visitors who walked into Midland Library at midday on Saturday, May 9, and peeked into the Midland Large Community Room 1A, found more than just stacks of books.
This Hazelwood-based library’s Community Room had been temporarily transformed into a bright, bustling gallery and workshop space for “Voices In Bloom” – a first-time art showcase and hands-on display created by youths from outer East Portland.
Near the back-wall gallery of art, teens and adults pause to talk about the stories behind these “Voices In Bloom” panels.
The free, one-day program ran from noon until 2 p.m., offering families a chance to explore art created over six months by teen leaders and elementary students, and also to themselves join in creative activities, and enjoy refreshments.
The showcase grew out of a grant-funded project sponsored by the Portland Office of Violence Prevention and led by the non-profit Free Arts NW, engaging young people from, primarily, the Powellhurst-Gilbert area.
Art therapist facilitator Kimberly Blackwell spends a moment with Free Arts NW Executive Director Hannah White, at the “Voices In Bloom” showcase at Midland Library.
Executive Director Hannah White of Free Arts NW explained that the project began with tough subject matter: Local gun violence. Teens studied data and real-world impacts before turning their reflections into the large art panels that anchored the back of the gallery. “They studied a little bit about the data and the impact of gun violence, especially in this community, and then they made art to reflect of their own responses to it,” White recounted.
These works formed the visual backbone of the exhibit, inviting visitors to consider both the causes and the human cost of violence in outer East Portland.
As the showcase unfolds, young people settle into tables to work on new art projects inspired by the “Voices In Bloom” exhibit.
From there, the teen leaders shifted into mentoring roles. Free Arts NW brought in younger kids for poetry and photography workshops, resulting in a vibrant collage-style installation along the back wall. White described the layered outcome as “all of the art on the back wall” – an expression of younger students learning alongside the teens who guided them.
Another phase of the project focused on “placemaking” – caring for, and improving, shared public spaces. During a camp session, the participating teens designed and built small outdoor structures inspired by the Little Free Library concept. As White put it, “a ‘little free library’ is …a small structure that’s accessible to the public, where people can donate stuff, and other people can pick it up for free.”
Student artists at the exhibit put the finishing touches on a “Little Free Hygiene Library” box, expanding the Little Free Library idea to include hygiene products.
Instead of just limiting themselves to books, the kids expanded the idea. “The kids decided to make these ‘libraries’ on different topics,” White explained. “There’s one that’s for art supplies, there’s one that’s for snacks, and there’s one here that’s for hygiene products.”
During the May 9 showcase, the participants continued decorating these boxes, which are intended to support neighbors with creative materials, food, and basic-care items.
Julia, a sophomore at David Douglas High School, shares the poster she designed as part of the youth art project.
Throughout the project, organizers provided free lunch and snacks to the participants, reinforcing the welcoming, community-centered tone. The public showcase also featured hands-on creative stations for attendees of all ages, in keeping with our Community Calendar listing that highlighted it as “a free one-day art gallery and family participation event” celebrating youth creativity.
Looking beyond the art on the walls, White emphasized the connections built between older and younger participants. “I think there’s just been some really incredible connections between the older kids and the younger ones, and they’ve all just really gotten the chance to see – to think about – their neighborhood, and the place where they live, a little bit more; and realize what kind of impact that they can have.”
Throughout the afternoon, people come and go, settling in to start their own art projects beside the “Voices In Bloom” exhibit.
To White, those new relationships, and that sense of agency, may be the most lasting outcome. “I think [it’s] becoming more engaged in the community – like possibly joining more community-focused activities as they get older – and just being part of creating a stronger society, and taking pride in where they and we live.”
For those two hours on this Saturday afternoon, “Voices In Bloom” filled the room at Midland Library with color, conversation, and community pride – and pointed to how East Portland young people are already imagining a safer and more connected neighborhood.
Learn more about Free Arts NW at their official website: CLICK HERE.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
