In Dmae Lo Roberts’ new podcast, six mixed-race Oregonians create oral histories, talking about how their backgrounds shape their work and lives.

Stories bring people together in shared humanity. Personal stories can uplift, move and connect. In 2025, Dmae Lo Roberts embarked on a statewide storytelling experience focusing on personal stories from both artists and community members. These stories are a form of living oral history. The -Ism Storytellers Project was launched as a project of MediaRites with Dmae as the project director. Six storytelling events — in Astoria, Eugene, The Dalles and three in Portland — were held with the theme of “Courage, Grace and Grit.” Each event featured a different host who curated stories from their immediate communities.

Two of the storytellers (Victoria Alvarez-Chacon & Quesa D’Mondays/Alec Lugo) are featured in a theatrical storytelling performance on April 26 at 2 p.m. & 6 p.m. at Fuse Theatre as part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works. This year’s theme is “A Sense of Belonging,” and this cabaret-style performance features monologues of mixed-race, WWII Japanese-American Incarceration and transcultural identities and ASL as a second language.

Listen to the podcasts below, or follow the links to Oregon ArtsWatch for more information.

Queer Elders: https://www.orartswatch.org/special-series-the-ism-storytellers-queer-elders/

Mixed Race: https://www.orartswatch.org/special-series-ism-storytellers-mixed-race/