Memorial Art
The Visioning Process
After holding monthly vigils at the site since 2010, in 2019, momentum started to gather around the desire to create a physical and permanent art installation at NE 6th and NE Halsey. The visioning process was a carefully held Black liberatory space, very different from typical processes that tend to privilege the lived experiences and imaginations of people in dominant identity groups. It was imperative to maintain the self-determination of the Black community and specifically Keaton and Fred’s family, to decide what this memorial would be by not allowing things like funding, technical constraints, and local property owners to limit the possibilities.
The visioning and memorial process was led by Walidah Imarisha, Sharita Towne of Black Arts Ecology of Portland (BAEP) and Donovan Scribes and supported by local placemaking organizations, including Lloyd EcoDistrict and City Repair Project. The process centered family and friends of Keaton, local people impacted by state sanctioned violence, as well as long-term vigil stewards like Pacific Northwest Family Circle (PNWFC), Asians for Black Lives (A4BL), and Showing Up for Racial Justice Portland (SURJ PDX).
Community members discussed how a regular street painting didn’t feel like the appropriate way to memorialize Keaton and Fred. We wanted something unique that spoke to how different the experience of “placemaking”, “placetaking”, and “placekeeping” is in this city for Portland’s Black community members.
Out of this multi-year visioning process with over 25 individuals deeply committed to Portland’s Black community and to the fight for racial justice, the following key concepts arose.
Love for Keaton. Love for Fred.
Love that fuels intergenerational family connection.
Love for those we’ve lost to police violence.
Love that fuels ongoing fights for justice, healing, and Black survivance, inspiring action.
Love for Black imagination and community thriving.
Sharita used these five key concepts to anchor the what, how, and why of the five memorial art & placemaking elements. Community was asked what they would prioritize the most for Keaton’s memorial. People shared that the street kintsugi, imagery of Keaton and Fred and a parklet all resonated deeply. The group then proceeded with implementing the kintsugi and plaque as part of phase 1 and the parklet and portraiture for phase 2.
Here, lead artist, Sharita Town, presents the project, explaining the different elements using the Memorial Vision PDF that came out of the visioning sessions.
Click here for an expanded look at the visioning timeline.
The visioning process spanned multiple events and years. Key highlights and steps included:
Artwork & Placemaking
Kintsugi (2022)
As Pete Shaw wrote in the Portland Occupier “Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery, and it was chosen as the basis for this first phase of the memorial because it is both a shrewd and apt choice, and a moving metaphor. In this case, the pottery, at least its physical representation, is the stretch of NE 6th between Halsey and Clackamas. The street has long been in a state of disrepair, the cracks in its concrete expanding in both size and number with each passing year, time and weather taking their toll….In Kintsugi, which translates to “golden joinery,” pottery shards are brought together with a lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. The effect is not simply to repair the pottery, but to strengthen it. The clear veins of the resinous lines demand the viewer contemplate the cracks, and thus the breakage of the pottery, not as things to be hidden, but rather as part of the pottery’s history.”
Pete spoke to Sharita who shared:
“There’s a reverie in the gold lines for a cracked open world that lets us step out with our whole selves,” said Towne. “I think of Keaton, a creative person, breathing, walking and dreaming life into his community. So it’s for Keaton, and it’s for us. To keep holding each other close, and holding each other up, in memory and grief, and celebration of life within us.”
Read the full article here – https://www.portlandoccupier.org/2022/09/09/memorial-to-keaton-otis-to-be-unveiled/
Plaque (2022)
The plaque inlaid on the sidewalk features, in gold matches the kinstugi in the street. The plaque contains the words “In Memory of Keaton Otis, January 4th, 1985-May 12th, 2010” and the outline of two rivers – the Willamette River in Oregon and the Saskatchewan River in Alberta. Sharita shared that she added these riverine kintsugi elements so that we could continue to hold Keaton’s memory between the two rivers that he spent his life living.
Parklet (2025)
As part of the latest phase of memorial work JFKO worked with local partners to create a small park area on the site of Keaton’s murder.
Click here to see a timeline of the parklet process
The Memorial Unveiling Events
Following the installation of each Phase, JFKO organized unveiling events to bring community members together. These events were important to both celebrate and reflect on the tremendous amount of community support and work that went to the memorial’s visioning and installation efforts, but also continue to hold space, lifting up Keaton’s and Fred’s lives.
The Phase One unveiling event occurred on September 12, 2022. The art unveiling celebration event convened 150 intergenerational community members, offering an extensive kids’ area, free dinners, free books, ASL interpretation, and accessible bathrooms. It’s important that these events are family-friendly and accessible.
You can read more about the installation and event here.
Full photo documentation can be seen here.
Resources for Monument Making
Part of the intent of this site is to support others in their own memorial and placemaking efforts by providing transparency around how we approached it. Below is a list of documents and resources others may find useful or insightful.
Crack fill progress album (this happened with dozens of volunteer shifts over multiple weeks)
Thank You!
Thank you to the people and organizations who have been collaborators, partners, and supporters of different elements of the visioning, installation, and maintenance of the physical memorial:
Family & Friends
Alyssa Bryant (Keaton’s sister)
Tanika Burlie (Keaton’s cousin)
Fabian Shakir (Keaton’s childhood friend)
Pacific Northwest Family Circle (PNWFC)
Artists and Advocates
sharita towne, Black Arts Ecology of Portland (BAEP)
Benson High School Tech Geometry Class of 2023-2024
Other Project Partners
Lewis & Clark College – Student Leadership & Service
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ PDX)
City Repair (2019-2021)
Metro’s Community Placemaking Grant Program
Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC)
Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT)
Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)
Site font is Tre by Vocal Type
Website design by Lafangi Studio
This is not an exhaustive list. Many other individuals and groups have contributed to honoring Keaton and Fred through the creation and care of a permanent memorial.