Summer of 2025 has been busy for the pilot season of The -Ism Storytellers Project. So far we’ve had four events starting with our launch in Astoria, Oregon to three events in Portland.
On July 17th, 2025 despite the good weather, MediaRites had a rapt and attentive group of more than 35 people including the mayor of Astoria! We held the event in the intimate space The Anita House in downtown Astoria. Host/Curator Susan Banyas, multimedia writer, brought together Lam Quang, a visual artist, Brad Catton, a forester, Dinah Urell, the publisher of an arts magazine and Bonnie and Scott Thompson, owner of Blackberry Bog Farm. Susan rose to the mission of mixing artists and community people to share insightful and endearing stories about their own experiences with “Courage, Grace and Grit.”
After the stories, audience members stayed to talked to our storytellers . We had some great comments but this one stayed with us.
“Despite the wonderful singing (which I loved) my favorite part was the comparisons between the original settler of a Jersey dairy founded in 1915 and the current farmers at Blackberry Bog. There was also the forester final words about the courage to “plant trees we will never sit under” and the hope for those who will in the future….”
Watch the video of the event!
Then on July 27, 2025, Dmae Lo Roberts, executive producer of MediaRites, hosted and curated a storytelling event at the North Portland Library in Portland focusing on Mixed Race storytellers. She brought together Michael Hammerstrom, an actor, Margaret Lieder, a nonprofit worker, Victoria Alvarez-Chacon, an actress, Alec Lugo aka Quesa D’Mondays, a drag performer and actor and Dr. Eleanor Gil-Kashiwabara, a licensed psychologist. (see photo below)
At each event we hand out notecards for our audiences to create reflections, thoughts or drawings as they listen to our 10-minute stories. We had overwhelming comments from our -Ism Storytelling Project event on Mixed Race featuring Here are some comments on our themes of “Courage, Grace and Grit” and we also had a sub-theme “A Sense of Belonging.”
“Heart-breaking, inspiring resilience and grace!”
“Good to know I’m not alone and others have survived the ‘awkward’ moments of not fitting into the box. Not only did they survive but they paths to thrive.”
“Beautiful storytelling and heartfelt!”
” It takes time to process powerful lessons. I know that they’re meaningful when I want to cry…”
(L-R) Storytellers: Tim Seelig, choir director, Reid Vanderburg, singer, Kathleen Saadat,poet activist, Horatio Hung-Yan Law, visual artist and Host/Curator Sandra de Helen, writer.
Then on August 9, 2025, we had the largest crowd ever for our storytelling event at the Q Center in Portland focusing on elder Queer storytellers. This was such a loving community. Elders are rarely celebrated and there was such enthusiasm, many of the audience members volunteered to help us set up when the staff person didn’t arrive to open the room with the chairs and sound equipment. They were such a supportive group and really responded heartily to the stories of “Courage, Grace and Grit.”
Many were visibly moved, wiping a tear or two or joyously laughing. At one point at the end, Tim Seelig led the audience in a chorus of “You Are My Sunshine.” We continue to get these spontaneous moments of collective humanity and it’s inspiring. Join us for our next storytelling event on Aug. 30th at 2pm at the North Portland Library (512 N. Killingsworth) with a focus on Black female affinity!
And check out the excerpts from the Q Center storytellers below!
Excerpt from Sandra de Helen’s story about the grit to keep writing:
“In my twenties, I had several poems published. Won a few more contests.
Feeling proud of myself, I signed up for a creative writing class at the University of Alaska in Anchorage.
Before the semester was over, my professor, Tom Sexton, told me I’d never be a poet—
because I didn’t write like a man. He pointed to a woman in our class who had nine children, and said she could write like a man. So because of his harsh words—and my own insecurity—I stopped writing poetry. That was 1970. It took courage to keep writing through rejection and silence.
It took grit to write when no one was asking for it. Grace? That came later.
Excerpt from Horatio Law about discovering art during the AIDS pandemic:
“For gay men coming out during that time, liberation came with a terrible price amid the joy of discovering one’s gay identity and sexuality. I was surprised. It was also tainted with uncertainty and prospect of horrible sufferings and death. In the middle of this whirlpool of loss and fear, mystery and shame, one could easily get lost about your goals in life or questioned your reason to live. And then there was this question about my own mortality. It dawned on me that if I were at all serious about this art thing, I better start doing something about it. That’s when I realized I need to listen to my heart. And follow that whisper. It is said that art is about living. If I were an artist, I would explore every part of myself.”
Excerpt from Kathleen Saadat’s story about climbing a rockwall:
“What, what does it mean? The grace, the goodwill, the kindness, the empathy, the caring, all of which helped me up the rock. They pushed me up the rock, they pulled me up the rock. It was the grace. Not what you say before dinner, but it was that feeling of having a group of people that cared about you, want you to succeed.”
Excerpt from Reed Vanderburg about being trans in his younger days:
“I understand now with several decades of hindsight that the commonality between me and my partner is we were both trans. But the difference is my partner had always had this male persona inside and knew it, just didn’t know you could do anything about it. And then one day my partner saw an article random in a magazine about a trans man and thought. Oh my God. You can transition that direction. I had no idea. And came home and said to me, I’ve always felt like a man inside, and if I had the money, I’d have an operation tomorrow.”
Excerpt from Tim Seelig about aging and recently deciding to skydive:
“Being old takes courage. It takes courage to get out of the house. It takes courage to put on our clothes. It takes courage not to wear elastic pants, just on special occasions. A few weeks ago, four weeks ago, I faced yet another little ladder and I looked at it and I thought, okay, here we go. And I climbed up with the help of some people got in this little metal tube and it took off and went to 14,500 feet and I jumped. Wow. The landing was beautiful and I did not say I want to do it again. I think about the grit. It’s taken all of us to get here.”
We have two more events: August 30th focusing on Black Femme Affinity hosted by board member Shareen Jacobs at the North Portland Library and on Sept. 20th we are heading to Eugene, Oregon for a focus on the Helping Hearts program at the First Congregation Church, serving unhoused community members hosted by Eliza Roaring Springs, a volunteer for the program. More to come! Stay tuned!
