If you missed it, take a look at what artists and ‘makers’ had to offer – on the same day, in two different outer East Portland neighborhoods, simultaneously …

At the “Indigenous Marketplace of Love” pop-up market, a shopper buys an artwork from Pynaekot of Neecee’s Ancestral Art.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Artists and creative “makers” who often aren’t seen showcasing their wares at fairs and shows had the opportunity to do for two days – on the weekend before Valentine’s Day, on February 9 and 10 – at the pop-up “Indigenous Marketplace of Love”.

It was unique – a pop-up market that popped up in two different neighborhoods at the same time! The venues were both located on different sections of SE Foster Road. One was at Bar Carlo, in Foster-Powell; the other was four blocks west at the Southeast Family YMCA, in Creston-Kenilworth.

Discussing the “Indigenous Marketplace of Love”, it’s Nickolas Yellowhorse of Portland Indigenous Marketplace.

At Bar Carlo, several people were showing and selling their works. “We of the nonprofit organization called Portland Indigenous Marketplace, here in Portland, are putting this on,” Nickolas Yellowhorse acknowledged. “Our organization serves vendors who are of the BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) community, to help them sell their works.

“What is offered at our pop-up market can be any type of creative work,” Yellowhorse continued. “It doesn’t have to be jewelry, beadwork, or prints; we also have quite a wide variety of product vendors as well.”

Looking up from doing on-the-spot portraiture is artist Lindsey Danae Perez – also known as Lindzenator Draws on Instagram.

Both at the Bar Carlo, and at the Southeast Family YMCA were tables filled with all kinds of artistic endeavourer. Many shoppers visited both sites during the afternoon and evening the limited-time market was open.

“We create a no-barrier marketing situation, so that people who have art to offer, but don’t have the ability, or perhaps the money, for an entry or a table fee which they’d be charged at other venues, and offer it here,” Yellowhorse pointed out. “Because of this, our pop-ups have grown significantly! We now have a waiting list of artists who are asking to join our collective.”

At the Southeast Family YMCA half of the market, Christe Kwanan from CK Handmake African Apparel shows off a piece from her clothing line.

“I think the best thing that has come out of this is all the community and communal support that we’ve received,” mused Yellowhorse. “We’ve had people come from all over the metropolitan Portland area – and we have vendors who have come from as far away as Oklahoma to be here!”

Showing her “Crafted by tradition with intention” art offerings is Rowan Sixkiller, of Nature Ghost Art.

Learn more about the Portland Indigenous Marketplace by visiting their website: CLICK HERE.

© 2024 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™