Christina Tran is a comics artist and educator living in occupied Kalapuya territory known as current-day Albany, Oregon. Hailing from multiracial immigrant communities in Houston, Texas, the whiteness of Oregon continues to be a culture shock that inspires deep personal inquiry into the ways we engage with place — the ways we are allowed to be and the ways we are expected to be, as well as the ways we resist and the ways we refuse.
Tran’s backgrounds as an educator, designer, and community-steward inform my artwork and workshops. The way I process complexities and give my feelings space to coexist is through writing and drawing as sacred practices of attention and truthtelling. Their work gives breath, voice, and spaciousness for things that are often too hard to put into words. Tran invite us to ask braver questions of each other, together. Themes have included: grief, voice, home, belonging, identity, loss, longing, solidarity economy, and the personal decisions we make amidst systemic forces.
