Posted by: Anne Adams on Mar 03, 2011 at 02:00AM0 Comments
Three Veils, a tale about Middle Eastern women’s journeys of personal discovery, will be the flagship feature at POWfest, the Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival. The five-day event kicks off next Wednesday at the Hollywood Theatre, with a packed program of shorts showcases, workshops, and panel discussions designed to inspire female filmmakers.
Owner Liz Gross has spent almost a decade proffering the finest heirloom frocks and frippery.
Posted by: Anne Adams on Sep 03, 2010 at 12:00PM0 Comments
“Xtabay” roughly translates as “female ensnarer.” This dress from Xtabay Vintage is trying to beguile you into its coquettish clutches.
Xtabay Vintage owner Liz Gross is less a shopkeeper, than a vintage-couture curatrix. Wafting around her store with balletic elegance, she can appraise the year, region, maker and craft of each piece in her precious, pristinely steamed collection. And what pieces they are: nipped-waist taffeta party frocks, floor-sweeping silken gowns, sparkling sequin sheaths—with here and there the kind of gather, piping, pleat or puff that make vintage clothes such works of art.
This weekend marks Xtabay’s ninth year on SE 26th and Clinton Street, and Miss Liz intends to celebrate with champagne and cupcakes. If you don’t yet think of garments as art, let Liz show you some of these prize pieces.
This event begins at 11am, and closes at 7—just in time to catch a showing of The Mirror (another Culturephile pick; see below) directly across the street! For a more comprehensive list of upcoming events, visit the Arts & Entertainment Calendar!
Recently released female felons photo-document their journeys.
Posted by: Anne Adams on Sep 02, 2010 at 12:00AM0 Comments
When you get out of prison, you get a bus ticket and the clothes you wore going in. You may miss your inmate “family,” and rewards for good behavior. You have to check the box on every form forever, that says “convicted felon.” Psychologist and recalcitrance researcher Joni Kabana brings these post-prison hurdles to light, as she supplies women who’ve just been released from prison with journals and cameras, and then displays their combined images and writings. Brace yourself for a surge of empathy. These photographs will show throughout September at Mercy Corps Action Center, 45 SW Ankeny Street.
Also, if this topic tugs your heartstrings, please have a look at PM’s recent photojournalism feature, A Woman’s Work by Cassandra Nelson.
Culturephile can only feature a few First Thursday picks, but for a more comprehensive list of upcoming events, visit the Arts & Entertainment Calendar!
During her 10 year Portland residency, Anne Adams has contributed to local publications, including Barfly, the Portland Tribune, and Portland Monthly. In 2005 her serial zine, The Bookmark, was endorsed by Wordstock and Powell’s Books.
Anne’s horizons extend beyond pen and page, with an Art Department credit in the movie Coraline, and passionate participation in the indie music community. Anne is an avid arts appreciator who can zero in on a detail of gesture or craft, but cannot suppress a wistful tear when faced with expressions of human truth.
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Culturephile chronicles the vibrant world of Portland arts & culture, its movers and makers.
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