The Taylor Electric Retrospective will be an interactive art event and public engagement platform, documenting and displaying community-contributed photos, videos, media, and artwork of the former ruins of Taylor Electric in SE Portland. Taylor Electric was a burnt-out industrial building that served as a unique hub for street art for the past decade. A short documentary film exploring the space’s history and impact will be premiered at the event. The event will include an interactive temporary free-standing wall where the public can reminisce, reconnect, and share memories by leaving personal “eulogies” for Taylor Electric. An archival project website will provide a centralized space to document Taylor Electric’s history and art, and serve as a platform for the community to share their lived experiences interacting with and creating this unique public art gallery.

The central focus of the project is to create spaces for public learning and dialogue. At the event, local artists, community leaders, and academics will lead discussions engaging with the community on various topics such as the politics of public space, insurgent public space-making, and the impacts of development, gentrification, and urban change on the arts community. The goal is to build relationships and facilitate dynamic dialogue between a diverse and often under-represented group of communities to help increase their input and impact on public decisions that involve art and urban development. With this project, we aim to capture and document some of this unique Portland history and energy, and encourage people to explore, appreciate, and positively engage with the spaces around them.