Member Creativity Takes Many Shapes By Jake Ten Pas
M
AC members make many kinds of art, but in a more reductive sense, there are two basic types of club creators. The first grew up within the community, learning their discipline with MAC as a backdrop, while the second honed their skills beyond these walls, finding inspiration to join after developing a distinctive voice on their own. Like America, the club is stronger when outsiders join their voices to its chorus, and yet its strengths also are evident in the dulcet tones developed from within. This year’s showcase features both sides of the imaginary coin, and either way you flip it, the community wins when beauty in any form flourishes in the world. Lifelong member Charlene Hannibal is a ballet dancer and choreographer who harnessed the power of her belief in movement to found Open Space, a dance school and company located in North Portland. Painter Ningshu Fang and author and screenwriter Daniel H. Wilson joined MAC in more recent years, and both have found a welcoming new home base from which to pursue their muses. These artists represent just a few of the many suggestions received by The Winged M for feature in the October issue, so if you don’t see your favorite maker this time around, stay tuned in the months and years to come. Also, don’t forget to keep your eyes open when going about your club routine. You never know if the person on the treadmill next to you is a singer in an alternative rock group, works in stop-motion animation, or might become the next fashion designer to take Portland style around the world.
48 | The Wınged M |
OCTOBER 2022
