ABOUT THE CONCERT

As the culminating event of the 10th Annual Vanport Mosaic Festival (May 17 - June 1), Resonance Ensemble and Vanport Mosaic present We Are Still Here—an immersive site-specific performance at the Portland Expo Center, the former site of Japanese American incarceration during World War II.

This powerful afternoon brings together Resonance Ensemble under its Associate Conductor Shohei Kobayashi; the world premiere of On This Land, a new commission by Kenji Bunch; and the Portland Assembly Center Project’s unique blend of poetry, movement, and narratives devised by Chisao Hata, a third-generation Japanese American artist and cultural organizer,  in collaboration with actor and director Heath Hyun Houghton, amplifying the words and memories of Japanese Americans incarcerated at this historic site. Through song, spoken word, and embodied storytelling, We Are Still Here confronts the legacy of injustice and the urgent need to reckon with this chapter of Portland’s shared history.

VIEW THE DIGITAL PROGRAM

Featured Artists and Performers:
Shohei Kobayashi, conductor
Chisao Hata, Guest Artist, Portland Assembly Center Project
Heath Hyun Houghton, Guest Artist, Portland Assembly Center Project
Kenji Bunch, Guest Artist, Commissioned Composer/Violist
Resonance Ensemble

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH VANPORT MOSAIC
A culminating event of the 10th Annual Vanport Mosaic Festival