Sketch and Release

Black Artists in Rural Oregon.

Sketch and Release is a touring multimedia poetry/storytelling performance and docu-series centered on Black creatives living and working in rural Oregon. Created and led by multidisciplinary artist Jason McNeal Graham (MOsley WOtta), the project blends filmed interviews, poetry, storytelling, and guided conversation into a 60-minute experience for campuses, libraries, theaters, and community spaces.

Touring from Spring 2026 through Spring 2027, Sketch and Release will visit venues across Central and rural Oregon, with each stop featuring new docu-series episodes, a poetry/storytelling performance, and a locally tailored community dialogue. Host sites can choose daytime campus presentations, evening public events, or hybrid options using a secure streaming platform.

Supported by major Oregon foundations and cultural partners, Sketch and Release is part of a broader effort to build sustainable, equity-focused cultural infrastructure in rural regions. “This project is about making room for Black artists in small towns and for complex stories about who we are becoming,” says Graham.

About Jason Graham:

Jason McNeal Graham, known professionally as MOsley WOtta, is a Chicago-born, Oregon-based multidisciplinary artist, writer, performer, painter, educator, and cultural organizer. Working across spoken word, music, visual art, film, and community-based programming, his practice examines identity, belonging, racial equity, imagination, and the transformative potential of human connection.

A longtime presence in Central Oregon’s arts community, MOsley WOtta has built a career that bridges creative expression and civic engagement. He is a former Oregon slam poetry champion and served as Creative Laureate for the City of Bend. His performances, exhibitions, talks, and workshops have reached audiences in schools, galleries, theaters, libraries, and community spaces, inviting people into meaningful conversations about difference, empathy, and shared responsibility.

MOsley WOtta’s work is rooted in a belief that art can make room for complexity while bringing people together. Whether through a poem, a painting, a live performance, or a facilitated community gathering, he uses storytelling to challenge assumptions and create space for reflection, curiosity, and connection. His artistic work has been featured regionally and nationally through public programs, media, and cultural institutions.

He is also the creator and director of Sketch and Release, a documentary project centering Black artists living and working in rural Oregon. Through interviews, film, public programs, and artist-led storytelling, the project expands understanding of Black creative life beyond urban centers while documenting the artists, histories, and communities shaping Oregon’s cultural landscape.

MOsley WOtta continues to create work across disciplines while collaborating with artists, educators, nonprofits, and communities throughout Oregon and beyond.

Questions? Contact lizg@deschuteslibrary.org