Portland Media Kit

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Works in Progress (visual arts)

"Nature, as subject or influence, has infused much of the art and craft of the region with a distinct voice and style."
– AmericanStyle

This is no static destination. With its ever-expanding list of galleries, public artworks and venues, Portland's visual arts scene is definitely a work in progress. It's this continuous infusion of fresh talent, artistic style and creative energy that has landed Portland on AmericanStyle magazine's list of the country's “Top 25 Arts Destinations” every year for nearly a decade.

Portland Art Museum

With a 10-year, $125 million expansion complete, the venerable Portland Art Museum is now considered one of the nation's finest. Masterpieces by Monet, Renoir and Picasso share space with Native American and Asian artwork and major traveling exhibits. The museum encompasses two buildings connected above ground by a sculpture garden and plaza; below ground by a subterranean passage that doubles as a gallery. The complex covers two full blocks in Portland's downtown Cultural District and also includes the NW Film Center, a 33,000-volume Art Study Center and Library, and two historic ballrooms.

1219 S.W. Park Ave.; www.portlandartmuseum.org

First Thursday

One of the best times to explore Portland's galleries is on the first Thursday of every month during the aptly named First Thursday Gallery Walk. On these nights, galleries and shops in Portland's Old Town, Pearl District and downtown neighborhoods stay open late, inviting the public to mingle with the artists and explore the city's rich art scene. The streets are abuzz with performers, sidewalk artists and enthusiastic crowds. Most art dealers use First Thursday to stage new exhibitions and artist receptions.

www.firstthursday.org

Last Thursday

Complementing First Thursday is Northeast Alberta Street's Last Thursday art walk, a more freewheeling affair that occurs on the last Thursday evening of each month. Alberta's growing collection of galleries (see “Street Scene” section) includes Guardino Gallery, Talisman Gallery and Onda Arte Latina. Myriad restaurants, shops and cafés are other assets of this vibrant street.

www.artonalberta.org

Galleries

Art galleries are sprinkled throughout Portland, with the bulk found in Old Town and the Pearl District. Portland's independent spirit truly shines in the wide variety of galleries it is able to successfully support. Standouts include the Butters Gallery, which often exhibits the work of artists from New York and San Francisco; and the Lawrence Gallery, with its beautiful sculpture garden and mix of local and nationally recognized artists. For the decidedly left-of-center, the Mark Woolley Gallery and the Blackfish Gallery are favorites. Bullseye Glass Company offers art glass exhibits and classes. Ethnic exhibits are abundant, including the Native American and Latin American art at Quintana Galleries. Brochures listing Portland's galleries are available at many locations, including the Portland Oregon Information Center at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Blackfish Gallery – www.blackfish.com
Bullseye Glass Company – www.bullseyegallery.com
Butters Gallery – www.buttersgallery.com
Lawrence Gallery – www.lawrencegallery.net
Mark Woolley Gallery – www.markwoolley.com
Old Town/Chinatown – www.oldtownchinatown.net
Pearl District – www.explorethepearl.com
Quintana Galleries – www.quintanagalleries.com

Public Art

Fountains dance, sidewalks talk, and weathervanes trumpet. Public art plays an important role in Portland's urban landscape, from the city's first piece of public art, Skidmore Fountain, to the inspired works displayed at the Westside MAX light rail stations and Kvinneakt, the sculpture featured in the “Expose Yourself to Art” poster. Funding much of this art abundance are city and county ordinances requiring that 2 percent of major capital construction budgets be set aside for public art. Works commissioned through this program, known as “Percent for Public Art,” include Portlandia, a 36-foot (11-meter) hammered copper sculpture set above the entrance to the Portland Building; Pioneer Courthouse Square's Weather Machine, a 25-foot-tall (7.6-meter) kinetic sculpture that predicts each noon whether the day will bring rain, sun or storms; and the “talking sidewalk,” a block of city sidewalk (Southwest Yamhill Street between Third and Fourth avenues) inscribed with famous quotes and colloquialisms.

Pioneer Courthouse Square – www.pioneercourthousesquare.com
Portland municipal fountains – www.portlandonline.com/water
Regional Arts & Culture Council – www.racc.org

Wacky Museums

Portland's quirky nature is perhaps most evident in its unusual museums. Take, for example, Stark's Vacuum Cleaner Museum, which houses the most complete collection of vacuums in the United States. Or stroll down memory lane at Kidd's Toy Museum in southeast Portland. Mr. Kidd's extensive collection, one of the nation's largest, features pre-WWII mechanical toys from banks to automobiles and much more. At the Velveteria: Museum of Velvet Paintings, the 200 or more paintings on display (paintings change periodically) are just the tip of the iceberg. The owners of this weird and wonderful museum have more than 1,000 velvet paintings in their collection. And the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in nearby Hillsboro is one of the area's best-kept secrets. This world-class collection is a hit with all ages. Discover the world's largest cluster of rhodochrosite crystals, an extensive lapidary arts gallery, the 210-pound (95-kilogram) Gibeon Meteorite and much more.

RiceMuseum of Rocks and Minerals – www.ricenwmuseum.org
Stark's Vacuum Cleaner Museum – www.starks.com/aboutus_thevacuummuseum.php
Velveteria – www.velveteria.com

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