Instagram story viewer> @helliongallery> Posts

Matt Wagner

@helliongallery

13.1K

followers

1939

following

ᴄᴜʀᴀᴛᴏʀ/ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ/ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ ꜰᴇꜱᴛ ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛᴏʀ/ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛᴏʀ ɴᴏɴᴘʀᴏꜰɪᴛ/ꜰꜰᴛᴛ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅᴇʀ/ʀᴇᴄᴏᴠᴇʀɪɴɢ ʀᴇꜱᴛᴀᴜʀᴀᴛᴇᴜʀ/ @creativeneighborhoods @pickathon @batluckpdx

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

The rebellion was hatched in one of these alien clamshells scattered about the streets of São Paulo. I’m sure of it. The deep-cover agent ducked her head into one of these bivalve exoskeletons to light her cigarette, or at least that’s what she wanted passers-by to think she was doing. She was there at her scheduled time, to make contact. At 12:01 a.m. on the dot. She picked up the handset and the voice said, “Meet me under the São Paulo Museum of Art in one hour. Bring the documents.” In my head, that’s what these mysterious phone-booth eggs say. In actuality, there is a more practical story behind them.

Dotted throughout the metropolis that is São Paulo are these colorful phone booths designed by Chu Ming Silveira in the early ‘70s. Indeed, she was inspired by the egg, its organic shape, and natural acoustics. She designed them to shield callers from the weather and give much-needed privacy in this concrete jungle. Made from fiberglass and acrylic, they also stood up to intense Brazilian heat. In Portuguese, they are known as orelhão, or “big ear” in English. They were formally named Chu 1 and Chu 2 but had many nicknames: Tulipa (tulip) and capacete de astronauta (astronaut helmet), just to name two. But it was orelhão and orelhinha (little ear) that stuck.

Silveira’s phone booth design was adopted in other South American countries, as well as China, Angola, and Mozambique. At the time, they provided an affordable and exotic way to communicate. These days, they are an endangered species in a world of handheld devices—that have left an indelible mark on the city’s design.

#orelhão #ChuMingSilveira #saopaulo #designbrasileiro #braziliandesign by @helliongallery

3

0

3 days ago

@dugworld in the Lucky barn. @pickathon 2026

No rest for the wicked.
We are already working on 2027.

#pickathon taken in Pendarvis Farm by @helliongallery

3

0

7 days ago

Come hang with the @pickathon and @creativeneighborhoods crew this Tuesday September 22nd at @deschutesbreweryportland.

The lovely folks at Deschutes are donating a dollar to Creative Neighborhoods for every pint purchased at their downtown Portland tap room.

We will be hanging out between 5 and 8pm. Come say hello.

If you can't make this Tuesday, there is always the next Tuesday.

#creativeneighborhoods #pickathon #nonprofit #deschutesbrewery by @helliongallery

3

4

13 days ago

Colectivos, the vintage buses of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Each one hand-painted in fileteado, still darting through the streets after more than a century.

New on the site.

#colectivos #buenosaires #fileteado #argentina by @helliongallery

3

5

17 days ago

From the farm to Alberta Street. A downstream story from Creative Neighborhoods.

After this year's Pickathon, elements from the Windmill neighborhood got a second life with Sabin CDC. Sabin CDC is a steward of long-term, affordable housing options for renters. They are dedicated to promoting social equity by enhancing the livability of culturally diverse neighborhoods in Portland.

The stage transforms into planter boxes. Vendor booths become picnic tables and display boxes become information kiosks in the Alberta neighborhood.

It’s Creative Neighborhoods mission to divert construction materials from the dumpster to a new home and use after the festival.

Follow along for more downstream stories from this year’s Pickathon and check out all the great things that Sabin CDC are up to.

#creativeneighborhoods #pickathon taken in Portland, Oregon by @helliongallery

3

2

17 days ago

We are a discovery festival......... Before the hype, before the fame. They played Pickathon.

My crystal ball says tickets for 2027 will go on sale in the near future and when asked if you should buy them, my magic 8 ball says "signs point to yes".

Did I mention that the stages and neighborhood materials are designed to benefit non-profit partners after the festival and used to develop trade education programs through our sister nonprofit Creative Neighborhoods?

#pickathon #creativeneighborhoods #geese #portland #happyvalley taken in Pickathon by @helliongallery

3

0

22 days ago

Another Labor day weekend at Lost Lake. Rain, wood stoves, bacon, tall trees and dogs. taken in Lost Lake, Mt. Hood by @helliongallery

3

0

a month ago

I love family food traditions. We have quite the list in our house. We make sushi together, flat bread production before dinner, assembling nacho and taco bars to name a few. Nothing fancy, just family comfort food. It's 100% my love language. (I can't believe I just used the phrase "love language," ick but accurate) I think this is the first time we have all made manti together. Armenian comfort food.

"We Malo" by Warda Al-Jazairia playing on the turntable in the background. I had made the dough and manti filling earlier in the day. We sit at the table stuffing little dough canoes with ground lamb and spices while chatting about all the things in our lives that only matter to us. Rebecca is talking about how her Armenian grandmother didn't work so she had time to cook for the family and make all of these dishes. This food takes time. I love this time. I live for this time.

#armenia #armenianfood #mantı taken in Portland, Oregon by @helliongallery

3

3

a month ago

Details - Leonora Carrington at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris.

#leonoracarrington #paris taken in Musée du Luxembourg by @helliongallery

3

0

a month ago

Good times in Northern California with friends and family. Alameda - Santa Cruz - San Francisco taken in Alameda, California by @helliongallery

3

1

a month ago

High desert orphan to becoming a Bedrossian-Wagner. Every day is national dog day at our house.

#nationaldogday by @helliongallery

3

0

a month ago

We started planning the second life for all of the donated wood for Pickathon a year ago. Matchmaking architects with builders and nonprofits to ensure the wood did not go to waste and that it would be utilized for hands-on trade education. 2026 is our most successful year to date. The proof is in the list below. These organizations received materials from each of the neighborhoods and stages at Pickathon.

Parrot Creek, Girls that Build, Sabin-Schellenberg Technical Professional Center, PSU Iteck Center, P:ear Mentor, Oasis Day Center, Dream Big City, Sabin CDC, PSU Oak Savanna, Blackbird Public Arts, Q-Side Skatepark, Menucha Retreat and Conference Center, Cedarwood Waldorf School, and the Waterside Renewal Foundation.

For all the folks that didn't quite understand why we started the nonprofit, I hope this helps and excites you about helping out in the future. There were a lot of doors shut in our face this year. We applied for and were denied an OCF grant to develop an Afro Futurist Neighborhood at Pickathon 2027. It would have featured African American vendors, architects, sound engineers, performers, and students learning new skills. We also applied for a Nike grant to start a summer dance program in partnership with Bodyvox for underserved kids that would have culminated in a performance at Pickathon 2027. Sadly, we didn't get funding, but our hopes are high in seeing these plans come to fruition in the future with the help of our community.

Looking forward to getting started on partnerships and programs for 2027.

See you on the farm.

Matt Wagner
Executive director

**I will be posting about each individual project I've the month or so. taken in Pickathon by @helliongallery

3

2

a month ago