18 May Dreamers of Oregon travels to Hillsboro Civic Center, Portland City Hall

Since the end of the DACA program in September of 2017, many immigrants in Washington County and across the country have been living in the shadow of uncertainty. This summer, several of these Dreamers will step forward and participate in Dreamers of Oregon: Out of the Shadows, a traveling exhibit that will tell their stories through image and narrative at venues across Washington County and the Portland metro area.

Holly Andres and assistant take photographs of the Dreamers.

On May 29, the exhibit moves to the Hillsboro Civic Center where it will be on display through June 8. A reception to honor the Dreamers will be held on Tuesday, June 5 from 5:30-6:45 p.m., before Hillsboro’s City Council meeting and as part of the downtown First Tuesday Art Walk. (RSVP here) A brief presentation about the exhibit will be made to the City Council during the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

On June 12, the traveling photography and storytelling exhibit will open at Portland City Hall. The display will be open to the public for two weeks before it moves on, on June 22. In the evening on June 12, a reception will be held at City Hall to honor the Dreamers and hear them speak about their lives.

“Back to square one. On September 2017, Trump decided to end DACA and with that hundreds of thousands of dreams. I remember feeling betrayed, hopeless, and distraught,” said Gustavo, a Dreamer who is both profiled in the exhibit and part of the project’s leadership, as he spoke about the end of the DACA program. But he ended his story with a renewed determination. “I am not a criminal, I am not here to steal anything from anyone. I only seek to be part of this country and to provide and give back to my family and community everything they have given to me.”

Bienestar is sponsoring Dreamers of Oregon: Out of the Shadows in partnership with Hacienda CDC and Pacific University, featuring photographs taken by photographer Holly Andres, graphic design by Jeff Proctor, and storytelling by Nelda Reyes. The project is supported by the Harbourton Foundation and the MRG Foundation.