Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) will host the first-ever Oregon showing of Particles on the Wall, a multidisciplinary exhibit exploring the impact of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation on our region and our world, May 3rd-June 14th at the Ecotrust Building in Portland, Oregon.
The exhibit is a thought-provoking collection of Hanford-related visual art, poetry, essays, scientific literature, and historical artifacts and will be exhibited at a time when leaking waste tanks have refocused public attention on Hanford as the most toxic site in the Western Hemisphere.
Particles on the Wall was created in 2010 and has been shown in nine communities throughout the state of Washington. It includes works by notable writers and artists such as Sherman Alexie and Kathleen Fleinnigan, Poet Laureate of Washington state. This will be the first time the exhibit has been shown in Oregon and will include new contributions from Oregon artists including Tiel Aisha Ansari, the 13 Hats collective, Leah Stenson, and Scott T. Starbuck.
The opening reception will include the awards ceremony for the 5th annual Greenfield Peace Writing Contest for Oregon high school students who this year wrote about why Hanford matters. Winning students are from Grant High School in Portland, Mapleton High School, Newport High School, and Oregon City High School.
In this program host Michelle Schroeder Fletcher speaks with several of the participants in the events. Guests include:
Maxine Fookson, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, member of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsiblity (PSR) Peace Work Group. Involved for many years in issues related to child health and peace and justice. She is an organizer of the Particles on the Wall exhibit in Portland and was a judge for this year's peace writing contest.
Steven Gilbert, PhD. President of the Board of Washington PSR, board member, National PSR. Steve is a Toxicologist with extensive research in neurological effects of environmental toxins. He has developed and maintains extensive websites with the mission of "Connecting science and people...all with the goal of creating a more healthy and peaceful world." He is a co-founder and one of the curators of "Particles on the Wall" and was a judge in this year's peace writing contest.
Taysie MollyRose Savage, second place winner of the 2013 Greenfield Peace Writing Contest. "I am a senior at Mapleton High School in Mapleton, Oregon. I live in the town of Indiola, a tiny speck on the map inhabited by 40 individuals. I was just hired by the US Forest Service for this summer as a wild land fire fighter. I hope to be able to earn the bulk of my tuition for college by working for the USFS. This employment will also tie into my selected college plans. I have been accepted at Oregon State University College of Forestry in Corvallis, Oregon. Just one of two colleges in the US with all four research grants (the other is Cornell University) I feel OSU is a great fit for me and I am tremendously excited by all my future will offer."
Opening Reception, Friday May 3, 2013, 6:00-8:00 pm. Exhibit runs May 3-June 14, 2013. Open to the public weekdays 8:30-5:30 and Sundays 8:30-2:00.
Ecotrust Building, Second Floor. 721 NW 9th Avenue, Portland, Oregon.
Hosted by Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), in collaboration with Washington PSR and the Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders, and POTW co-founders and co-curators, Dianne Dickeman, Nancy Dickeman, and Steven Gilbert.
- KBOO