Four Portland women ages 64 to 81 wrote candidly about sex, desire, and aging for the latest issue of The Grandma Reporter, a free tabloid launching July 29, at the Community for Positive Aging (CfPA) in the Hollywood neighborhood.

The 24-page publication is the fourth issue of a social-practice art project founded by Salty Xi Jie Ng, a Singapore-born artist who earned her MFA in Art and Social Practice from Portland State University.

Ng started The Grandma Reporter in Portland in 2016 to spotlight senior women's stories on their own terms. Past issues explored style and intimacy. This one goes further.

"We are having conversations that people don't usually have, in a senior center where, outside of this room, life looks quite different," Ng told Oregon ArtsWatch in a July 16 profile of the project.

The contributors shaped every page. April Burris, 64, a poet and the cohort's youngest member, wrote pieces inspired by a collective altar the group built early in the process.

Participants each brought an object symbolizing "sexual" to them. Jean Briesenick, 77, mined old journals to semi-fictionalize past experiences, including meeting a younger man just before the 2020 lockdowns. Carolyn Brown, 81, contributed a photo essay of erotic imagery she spotted in nature on her daily walks.

And Jacqui Jackson, 80, wrote about vaginal pH, UTI prevention, and senior masturbation. Her custom-designed poster headline reads "Reasons Not to Masturbate," followed by the punchline: "There are no reasons."

Brown's participation also sparked a physical change. After a photoshoot in Ng's living room where she channeled a "goddess" aesthetic, Brown sought out pelvic-floor physical therapy. "I'm a totally different person," she told Oregon ArtsWatch. "If that part is missing in your life, you're missing out on a whole lot."

CfPA executive director Amber Kern Johnson said the project fits the center's mission of honest reflection and pushing back against ageism.

Ng received the 2024 Chamberlain Award from the Headlands Center for the Arts, a fully sponsored residency and $10,000 prize for social-practice artists. Past recipients include interdisciplinary artist Dread Scott.

How to attend and get a copy

The launch event begins at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 29, at CfPA, 1820 NE 40th Ave.

Readings and sharing are open to all. A women-only discussion (including cis, lesbian, bi, queer, and trans women) follows at 1:15 p.m.

Free print copies are available at CfPA and other Portland venues. The full issue is also available as a PDF at thegrandmareporter.com. Donations are welcome.