Portland, Oregon is famous for its vibrant murals, which adorn the sides of nearly every building in the city. Zach Yarrington is the artist behind some of the city’s most iconic murals. He is most well-known for his messages of affirmation, inclusivity, and hope, such as “Keep Your Chin Up,” and “You Belong Here.”

In 2017, MHAAO commissioned Zach to create a mural that captured the essence of peer support. What he came up with has become a phrase that our staff and peers have rallied around. When people enter the office, they are immediately greeted with Zach’s bold and beautiful lettering, which spells out “In This Together.”

Amidst the pandemic, this phrase is truer than ever for our Peer Support Specialists who have been out in the community, providing essential support and connection, and demonstrating that recovery is possible, even during the most trying times. We caught up with Zach to talk about the mural, which has taken on new meaning during the pandemic. Below, Zach discusses why MHAAO’s work resonated with him, and why he chose this phrase to represent that.

The quote below was transcribed from an interview with Zach Yarrington on May 7th, 2020.

I’ve been painting murals for about 7 years now. In 2015, a friend and colleague of mine, Gage Hamilton, wanted to have an art initiative called Forest for the Trees and asked me to paint a mural the first year. They pair international artists with people from Portland. I got my start doing that. We knew each other in art school and he knew I had interest in large scale work. The “Keep Your Chin Up” mural on NE 21st and Alberta was the first big public piece that I did, and it snowballed from there.
Sunny Briscoe reached out to me to see if it would be something I’d be interested in doing. I thought it was a great cause and I think that mental health is super important and I was happy to help out any way that I could. I was honored to be asked.
I believe I pitched a couple different phrases and sketches when I took the project on. They really wanted to paint both of those walls so that you could read it either way: “In This Together” or “Together In This.” That’s the one that everyone seemed to really gravitate to.
I think sometimes, you can do more with less. It’s easier to be a little more illustrative with the lettering if the language is simpler. My objective was to create a message of positivity with a composition that was strong and bold. Hopefully, it serves as a rallying phrase for those involved with MHAAO.
I painted this before the pandemic happened. In general, when dealing with depression or anxiety, personally speaking, it’s comforting to know that you’re not in it alone. It’s a thing that a lot of people deal with, and with the right support system it’s manageable. That’s kind of what I was trying to get at with the phrasing. I wanted to write something that was a nod to not feeling alone and a reminder that there’s help out there.
In hindsight, related to the pandemic, everyone’s having their own internal battles with not knowing what the state of the future will be like. There’s just a lot up in the air and no one really knows what it’s going to look like 3 months or a year from now. One cool thing is that I feel like I’ve experienced a lot of people looking out for each other. In Detroit, we have a lot of mutual aid in different neighborhoods for the elderly, or people with eating disorders who may not feel comfortable going to the grocery store right now. It’s been cool to see people come together on that level. It’s nice to see that there’s some help out there.

"In This Together" Mural with Zach Yarrington