Old Chinatown, SW 2nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon, ca. 1900, Oregon Historical Society Research Library,
As part of COMING HOME: Week of Memory Activism in Portland’s Historic Old Town 9/28 - 10/5, 2024 (Full Program here)
SNACKS AND STORY: A culinary experiment in community history and imagination in Old Town
Please join us for a snack gallery in which visitors will be invited to sample creative snacks inspired by Old Town history and connections. This event is free and the culinary artworks will be available for sampling until we run out.
Facilitator: Lynn Yarne
FEATURED CULINARY CREATIVES
Jaclyn Nakashima // @jackknak
Jaclyn "Jack" Nakashima, she/they, is a 5th generation Chinese American, 4th generation Japanese American, with deep roots in the greatest city in the world, Chicago. She spent 14 years working in hospitality from cooking to pastry to management and operations. She has spent the last few years organizing social justice centered bake sales and community events. She is currently working on honing revolutionary skills to change working conditions in restaurants and challenge the systems that continue to oppress Black, Indigenous, and people of color. She believes in community + solidarity over everything, abolition, and reminding people of their collective power.
Daphne Kauahi’ilani Jenkins // @daphne_k_jenkins, @onomaugoods
Daphne Kauahi’ilani Jenkins is Portland-based multidisciplinary artist, writer and home-baker who explores themes of identity and belonging as a mixed Kanaka ‘Ōiwi wahine born and raised in Hawai’i, now living in the diaspora. Through my work, I express my deep love and longing for my homeland of Hawai’i while granting myself permission to embrace diasporic influences and joyful play. Whether baking butter mochi, writing, or making lei, I try to make a home away from homeland and create contexts for my own belonging. It is important to me to recognize the artistry in everyday cultural practices that affirm who I am. He Hawai’i au - I am Hawai’i. Haku au. I am a maker. Time, beauty, longing, and devotion are recurring organizing principles in my work. My work aims to disrupt the mainstream media constructs of “Hawaii” by leveraging delight and deliciousness to add nuance, depth and complexity to understandings about Hawai’i.
Laina Yoswein // @omijahomebakes
Omija Home Bakes is Laina's love letter to the magic of home baking & shared moments of (not too) sweetness. Most inspired by Korean & Jewish flavors and desserts, her treats are often filled with personal meaning and connection to her identities. You can expect thoughtful, complex flavor combinations and lots of enthusiasm. When she's not dreaming up or testing new bakes, you can find her around town working as a youth therapist or at home being cozy.
Thuy Pham // @mama.Dut.foods, @thuypdx
James Beard nominated chef, Thuy Pham is the founder and owner of Mama Dút, a vegan Vietnamese restaurant in Portland. Pham was born in Vietnam and immigrated to Portland with her family in 1982, but grew up both in Oregon and California. Pham started her vegan food business, Mama Dút, to support herself and her eight year old daughter. Beyond her contributions to the Vietnamese food scene, Pham is an active member of the Vietnamese and broader AAPI community and has worked with organizations including IRCO and the Asian Family Center.
Joyce Chung // @goodiessnackshop
Joyce Chung is a first generation Korean American creative who grew up in Los Angeles and now calls Portland home. She has spent the majority of her career building and growing F&B brands in CPG. Today, she is channeling her passion & creativity into growing a neighborhood happy place in Portland's Oldtown Chinatown: Goodies Snack Shop
Lynn Yarne // @be.nice_studio
Lynn Yarne is a 4th and 5th generation Chinese and Japanese American from Portland, OR. She is interested in visual remixing as a process of meaning making, pulling from mixed metaphor and iconography, stories your auntie’s friend told you, traditions you don’t know where they came from, making it up as you go along and doing with what you have. Though much of her work has stemmed from a family connection to Portland’s Old Town, her curiosity around community, space and story extend and expand as they encounter the experiences of other communities and individuals.
Yarne works as a teacher in a public school facilitating a screen printing program. She works with over 200 students a year in concepts around self expression and critical visual communication. As a teacher and artist that often works with people, she approaches the study of engagement with curiosity, worry and intention.