About Me
Hi, I’m Rachael
I am an artist living in Portland, Oregon with my husband, two young kids, and sweet rescue pup. I moved around a lot as a kid and that may be part of the reason I value a strong community so much. My background is in photography, Neuroscience, and marketing. In addition to working on Sidewalk Joy I also do tiny pottery and photography!
Photo by Erin Fortin Photography
The origins of The Dinorama
In early 2022, I was looking for outdoor, socially-distanced activities to do with my young kids. I decided we’d make an adventure club and explore our city like tourists. I scoured every list of things to do in Portland including the obvious all the way to the random and obscure.
Through those explorations we came across a few amazing installations such as the Morrison Street Mini Gallery, Sidewalk Ducks, The Car Library, and the Tiny Creature Swap. I was absolutely gobsmacked by these installations and filled with questions. Wanting to spark a similar level of delight, I created a dinosaur diorama (called the Dinorama naturally). I made an Instagram half so I could share about any updates to our spot and half so I could interview and spotlight the other spots we had so enjoyed around town.
The Sidewalk Joy Map is made
I made the Dinorama in March 2022 and used the Instagram from it to promote other fun installations around town. Another local artist, Grant Brady, created a Free Little Art Gallery called PDXFLAG and started visiting spots as well!
Dan from the Poetry Pottery Box suggested someone make a map of these installations and PDXFLAG and I took on the challenge! In January 2023 the first iteration of the Sidewalk Joy Map launched to wonderful fanfare! The map has been updated many times since, growing from 26 spots to over 100!
As enthusiasm for the project grew, so did the reach of my social media. Soon I started hearing from folks all over the world who had seen my posts and reels been inspired to create some Sidewalk Joy in their community!
One of the most amazing aspects of Portland’s Sidewalk Joy Community is our connection to each other. We support each other, cheer each other on, and have made some incredible friendships through this project.
Wanting to bring that connection to this burgeoning worldwide scene, I created the Worldwide Sidewalk Joy Map in September of 2024.
The map goes worldwide!
