In this latest installment of The Cultural Landscape, I continue my ongoing effort to capture the people who give Oregon its cultural pulse — those who shape its art, literature, and creative identity. Through the lens of photography, I aim to portray not just the faces of these individuals but the essence of their character — the quiet strength, imagination, and individuality that fuel their work.
As in previous editions, the portraits are stripped of distractions. Each subject stands alone in the frame, without elaborate backgrounds or props. This simplicity allows character to dominate the image, drawing the viewer into a more intimate exchange. My goal remains to document the living cultural fabric of this state and to honor those who continue to weave it together.
Cheryl Strayed: The Power of Storytelling
Few names resonate in contemporary American literature like Cheryl Strayed. She is best known as the author of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, the #1 New York Times bestseller that became an Oscar-nominated film starring Reese Witherspoon. Strayed’s voice — honest, raw, and deeply human — has inspired millions worldwide.
Also Read
Beyond Wild, her Dear Sugar advice columns were compiled into Tiny Beautiful Things, which later became a Hulu television adaptation and a successful stage play. Her other works, including the novel Torch and the collection Brave Enough, have further solidified her as one of Oregon’s most celebrated literary figures.
Strayed’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, and The Washington Post Magazine, while her podcasts Dear Sugars and Sugar Calling have connected her to audiences in yet another intimate format. Her ability to transform personal experience into universal truth makes her a vital voice in both literature and culture — and an emblem of Oregon’s creative resilience.
Lloyd DeWitt: The Curator of Time
Lloyd DeWitt, the Portland Art Museum’s Richard and Janet Geary Curator of European & American Art Pre-1930, brings decades of scholarship and curatorial expertise to the Pacific Northwest’s premier art institution. With a career spanning more than twenty years and several major museums across North America, DeWitt has dedicated his life to preserving and interpreting the visual history that shapes civilization.
Before joining the Portland Art Museum, DeWitt served as Chief Curator at the Chrysler Museum of Art, where he helped establish the Works on Paper Study Center. He also curated landmark exhibitions on Michelangelo, J.M.W. Turner, and Wilhelm Hammershøi during his tenure at the Art Gallery of Ontario. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and earlier degrees in Art History from the University of Massachusetts and the University of Guelph in Canada.
DeWitt’s curatorial vision connects Oregon’s audiences to the broader world of classical art, ensuring that global masterpieces continue to find context and meaning in today’s cultural landscape.
Laura Domela: The Painter of Emotion
Laura Domela stands as one of Oregon’s most versatile visual artists, merging painting, photography, and mixed-media work into a unique language of color and form. A graduate of the Oregon College of Art & Craft, Domela’s work explores the complexities of human emotion through layered textures and compositions that blend beauty with introspection.
Her art has found homes in notable collections, including the Portland Art Museum, the Meyer Memorial Trust, Schnitzer Investment Corp., and The Neon Museum in Las Vegas. Whether working in oils or in photography, her approach remains deeply personal and human-centered.
Domela’s photographic portraits have graced book and album covers, billboards, and theatrical posters, while her fine art is represented by the Russo Lee Gallery. Having studied under renowned photographers Platon and Max Vadukul, she continues to refine a style that balances vulnerability with power — an unmistakable mark of her creative identity.
Adam Eccleston: A Conductor of Inclusion
Flutist, conductor, educator, and arts leader Adam Eccleston represents a dynamic force in Oregon’s music community. As Executive Director of Orchestra Nova Northwest, Eccleston is redefining classical music through accessibility and inclusion.
Recipient of the prestigious Miller Foundation Spark Award, Eccleston also chairs the Recording Inclusivity Initiative, which works to amplify underrepresented composers and bring their works to the concert stage. His conducting and performing career has taken him across the United States and internationally to Panama, Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Canada.
In addition to his leadership role, Eccleston teaches flute at Reed College and has long been committed to youth development through the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and the Portland Youth Philharmonic. On the airwaves, he connects audiences through All Classical Radio and as a guest host for New York’s WQXR. His work stands as a testament to how music can unite, uplift, and evolve.
Brittney Corrigan: The Voice of the Anthropocene
Brittney Corrigan brings both heart and intellect to her writing as a poet and fiction author. Her body of work explores the intersection of humanity and nature — particularly the emotional realities of the Anthropocene. Her poetry collections, including Daughters, Breaking, Navigation, 40 Weeks, and her latest, Solastalgia, delve into themes of climate change, extinction, and resilience.
In 2025, Corrigan was honored with an Oregon Literary Fellowship and the C. Hamilton Bailey Fellowship. Her short-story collection The Ghost Town Collectives earned the 2023 Osprey Award for Fiction from Middle Creek Publishing, affirming her growing influence in the Pacific Northwest’s literary landscape.
Beyond her writing, Corrigan contributes to Oregon’s arts community as an event planner at Reed College and a former editor with Airlie Press. Her voice — lyrical yet grounded — captures the beauty and urgency of a world in flux.
Capturing Oregon’s Cultural Soul
Across disciplines, these five individuals — a writer, curator, artist, musician, and poet — embody the rich creative diversity of Oregon. Their achievements differ in form but share a common spirit: a deep commitment to art as both expression and service.
Through this ongoing series, The Cultural Landscape, I strive to document that spirit — not as an abstract idea, but as something living and personal. Each portrait becomes a fragment of Oregon’s collective identity, a reminder that culture is built by people who dare to create, to question, and to inspire.
From behind the camera, I see not just subjects, but collaborators in storytelling. Together, we preserve a moment of time — a reflection of Oregon’s enduring artistry, framed not just by light and shadow, but by the passion that continues to shape this place we call home.
