Tre Borden - TEDxSacramento Changemaker Fellow

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By: Chris Brune

Who is Tre?

The Sacramento region’s creative class has been fast at work, opening doors to new ways of thinking about community and public space. By now you may have heard about, or participated (played) at, the community focused art installation known as PORTAL. This month-long activation lived on R Street in front of the iconic Crystal Ice Building in Midtown Sacramento from late August to mid-September. One of the project’s creators, Tre Borden, was named a TEDxSacramento Changemaker at the "This Changes Everything" event on June 12, 2015.

Take a peek at Tre’s talk from This Changes Everything

[Excerpt from the This Changes Everything program]

PORTAL - from concept to activation

In Tre’s talk he laid out his vision for the PORTAL experience that just culminated it’s 6-week run. Tre and PORTAL co-creator Kim Garza created a temporary venue to showcase the many expressions of what makers/creators have in store for the Sacramento community.

With this vision in mind, Tre and Kim enlisted the talents of local ‘makers’ Matt Porr, Trent Dean, and Nile Mittow to see PORTAL through fabrication and installation. The team built the structure at Hackerlab — home to many local makers, programmers, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses.

[Tre Borden, Project Manager of PORTAL, and Kimberly Garza, Designer of PORTAL, standing in the structure.]

(photo courtesy of City Scout Magazine)

[The PORTAL activation on R Street]

(photo courtesy of PORTAL Sacramento)

The programming for PORTAL showcased some of the region’s best creative offerings. It served as a meeting place for several community gatherings through its two month run: Instagram meet ups, sunrise yoga, a local fashion showcase, movie night, disco brunch, and a food truck meet up are just a few of the events that occurred at the R Street installation. The common thread through all these events was the idea of community building. The project asked participants to catalog their experiences under the #PortalSac hashtag so that they could weave their experiences into the larger tapestry of the PORTAL experience.

[photos from participants on Instagram]

The PORTAL activation was transplanted to West Sacramento for the final three days of its month-long run. What better place to leave a sense of community than the region’s largest art and music festival, TBD Fest.

The festival, envisioned by another TEDxSacramento Changemaker, Clay Nutting, started as a one-day hotel party (then “LAUNCH”) eight years ago. Since then it has evolved into a multi-day festival that embraces creativity through music, art, design, food and ideas. The festival and PORTAL share much of the same creative DNA and ethos — both elevate the creative class and citizens of the city, both look ahead to the potential of Sacramento’s future.

[The PORTAL activation at TBD, September 2015]

(photo courtesy of TBD Fest)

A fitting finale to the first chapter an inspired idea. For more information on Tre’s upcoming projects visit his portfolio site.

The PORTAL Team:

Tre Borden, co-producer and program manager

Kim Garza, co-producer and head designer

Matt Porr and Trent Dean, fabrication and construction

Nile Mittow, electrical programming

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