XRchive: (Hi)stories and Visions of Block 14 at Lone Fir Cemetery

The people buried here were primarily Chinese immigrants and their families—laborers and railroad workers—whose role in building this city remains unacknowledged, whose communities were displaced and stories were erased. In the 1940s, Multnomah County forced the disinterment of the bodies, destroyed their headstones, disturbed the gravesites, and paved over the  land to use for their vehicles. Some of the women and children’s bodies remain at Block 14 with no visible headstones or markers to this day—another forced displacement and family separation.

CETI, in collaboration with a broad and diverse community of participants and partners, will create a series of immersive and interactive experiences using emerging technologies and the creative imagination and fragmented memories of a collective of artists, technologists, storytellers, and community members, to tell the stories of these Chinese communities so integral to the creation of our city; to acknowledge, to remember, and to celebrate their contributions. We will center the voices and stories of the communities involved and collaborate with and draw upon the work done already in planning a potential physical memorial and use these ideas as inspiration. 

Our collective work will be a reflection, a remembrance, an XR (hi)storytelling and a joyful celebration of culture and rituals, launched on the Hungry Ghost Festival (August 24, 2024), the Double Ninth Festival (October 11–12, 2024), and a final experience for Dongzhi Festival (December 14, 2024).

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A preview experience of XRchive: Block 14 was included in The Indelible Spirit: Artists in Situ—Revitalizing Old town, curated by Roberta Wong for Coming Home: Memory Activism in Historic Old Town, a transformative week of reflection, celebration, and community building as we come together to honor the rich history and cultural legacy of Old Town hosted by Vanport Mosaic September 28–October 5, 2024.