In the spring of 2019 I had a lot of fortune to work on a project dedicated to rediscovering and celebrating Portland’s LGBTQ pioneers. Marking the anniversary of Stonewall Uprising’s our community has a lot of reasons to celebrate the progress and historic changes of the last few decades. However, some elders active in the 60s-80s are going back into the closet due to fears of discrimination in elderly health and social services.

AIGA Portland Design for Good and Wilde Town have partnered up on a project to raise awareness and prevent LGBT elderly isolation by showcasing and empowering Portland’s diverse community of queer pioneers.

In the course of the project’s three months my work consisted of getting to know folks like Patti May and her partner Jean, Portland famous and the world’s oldest performing drag queen Darcelle XV, Frank Schreckenberger and others and following their gatherings and daily activities as they would get lost in stories and memories.