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SEEN ≠ HEARD confronts the illusion of visibility as a substitute for true inclusion. While the word “seen” may suggest recognition, it also echoes the silencing embedded in the old adage “Children should be seen and not heard” — a phrase historically weaponized to marginalize and mute those outside the perceived norm.

This exhibition rejects the passive visibility often afforded to historically excluded communities: Black and Hispanic individuals, people with disabilities (visible and invisible), and those whose identities defy dominant societal constructs. Instead, SEEN ≠ HEARD centers the question: What does it mean to be visible, but voiceless?

Through diverse media, including visual art, installation, and digital work, the exhibition offers space for artists to reclaim their voice, challenge normative frameworks, and amplify the lived experiences too often overlooked or misrepresented. It is both a critique of silence and a celebration of narrative power.

Curated with an emphasis on cultural equity and intersectionality, SEEN ≠ HEARD is a call to bear witness — not just to presence, but to perspective. Public programming, including artist talks and community dialogues, will accompany the exhibition to deepen engagement and ignite critical conversations.

This is more than an art show — it is an insistence that being heard is just as vital as being seen.

First Friday Art Walk

Visual Arts

SEEN ≠ HEARD

Portland Public Library

SEEN ≠ HEARD

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