Artist Alexandra Bell, holding the microphone, speaks during the “Power of Creativity” panel discussion Saturday at Indigo Arts Alliance in Portland. Ray Routhier/Staff Writer Natalie Hill says she was drawn to Indigo Arts Alliance in Portland on Saturday by two powerful forces: grief and food. The Welcome Table – in honor of both Juneteenth and Pride month – was a daylong event featuring panel discussions and workshops focused on the cultural and culinary traditions of social justice movements and oppressed peoples around the world.
Hill said she was interested in the focus – at lunch and during a workshop – on traditional African and Black foods and food history. But she also signed up for a workshop about “grieving in marginalized communities” through movement and meditation. “It’s been a heavy few years.
Having a communal space for grieving sounds interesting and important,” said Hill, a librarian at Colby College in Waterville. She cited the pandemic, the killing of George Floyd and resulting protests, and wars around the world as some of the traumatic events in recent years. “Working in education with students and families, it’s been exhausting.
” Indigo Arts Alliance’s programs are focused on supporting Black and brown artists while advancing the cause of social justice. The event Saturday was held partly in observance of Juneteenth – the annual June 19 holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in this country – but also.
