Portland city officials, artists and community members are collaborating to bring more programming to the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center.
courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation
Portland city officials are working with community members and artists to bring regular exhibits and events back to the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. The historic center features a 99-seat black box theater, a rehearsal studio and an art gallery.
The space was founded in 1982 by Portland’s first African-American Commissioner and Parks Director, Charles Jordan, according to the city. Now, Portland Parks & Recreation has collaborated with a community advisory committee to create an artist residency program.
“It was everything,” said Kwik Jones, a playwright who’s been inspired by the space and is a program resident. “It was a place where my daughter took African dance and it was a place where I produced and directed and wrote plays.”
In the third grade, Jones added, he started writing television scripts after learning from creators at the space. More recently, he led an intro to playwriting class through the center. As an artistic resident, Jones has used the center as his haven for creativity, a place where he can write and explore his work without interruption.
Community members, city officials and artists are working on the future of the historic Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center.
courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation
And Portlanders hope to keep the momentum going at the center. The city has been working with a community advisory committee to figure out the best plans for the space. The committee, formed in 2018, was originally supposed to meet about four times to help with the project, but still collaborates with the parks department on the future of the space.
“A lot of these advisory committees, as people say, have no teeth,” said Donovan Scribes, a writer, artist and member of the committee. “We were ultimately able to move past those four meetings and turned this into a longer process that really got at the heart of things.”
The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center is a historic community arts center located in North Portland.
courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation
Those involved are making efforts to improve the center as it faces issues like sound leakage and space constraints. A feasibility study is underway to analyze the best next steps for the center and determine an operating plan that can expand the space into a sustainable cultural hub for Black arts.
“You’re carrying on Black excellence and that’s important for me,” said Jones. “To be a part of Black Portland and the artistry that we’ve had before me and to be in a place where great artists were here and to be a part of that, it means a lot.”
Kwik Jones and Donovan Scribes spoke to “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller about the future of the space. Click play to listen to the entire conversation: