The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) is a contemporary performance and visual arts organization in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. PICA was founded in 1995 by Kristy Edmunds. Since 2003, it has presented the annual Time-Based Art Festival (TBA) every September in Portland, featuring contemporary and experimental visual art, dance, theatre, film/video, music, and educational and public programs from local, national, and international artists. As of November 2017, it is led by Executive Director Victoria Frey and Artistic Directors Roya Amirsoleymani, Erin Boberg Doughton, and Kristan Kennedy.
The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significant urban renewal since the mid-1980s when it was reclassified as mixed use from industrial, including the arrival of artists, the removal of a viaduct and construction of the Portland Streetcar. It now consists of industrial building conversion to offices, high-rise condominiums and warehouse-to-loft conversions.
The Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is an art school of Willamette University and is located in Portland, Oregon. Established in 1909, the art school grants Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and graduate degrees including the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Master of Arts (MA) degrees. It has an enrollment of about 500 students. The college merged with Willamette University in 2021.
Plazm magazine has been published since 1991 by a collective of designers, writers, and others in Portland, Oregon, United States. The complete catalog of Plazm magazine is included in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Princeton University, and the Denver Art Museum.
PDXS was a biweekly tabloid newspaper in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon from 1991 to 1998. It was founded by Jim Redden, previously a reporter with Willamette Week and subsequently with the Portland Tribune, and his brother Bill Redden, who went on to become a public defender. PDXS focused on arts and culture, as well as news coverage
Hallie Brown Ford was an American business person and philanthropist. A native of Oklahoma, she acquired her wealth in Oregon through the timber industry. As a philanthropist she made donations to many institutions in Oklahoma and Oregon to support education and the arts. Shortly before her death in 2007, she made a donation of $15 million to the Pacific Northwest College of Art, the largest single donation to any cultural group in Oregon history.
Rhys Thomas, born 1963 is a juggler, comedian and entertainer in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He has been performing publicly since 1987. His performance style is one characterized by jokes and puns accompanied by visual tricks and stunts. He performs at schools, churches, libraries and pirate festivals.
Laura Ross-Paul is a contemporary painter of oil and wax in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In 2010 The Oregonian's OregonLive.com referred to her as a "venerable [figure] from Portland's long established vanguard" of art.
Mary Jane Haake is an American tattoo artist and authority on medical tattooing and permanent makeup. She was instrumental in bringing topical anesthetics to the tattooing and body modification industries.
Harriet Fasenfest is an American writer, urban gardener, and food preservation educator in Portland, Oregon. A former owner/operator of several restaurants and cafes, she uses the term "householding" when referring to the practice of home food growing, canning and storage. She published her first book, A Householder's Guide to the Universe, in 2010.
Kvinneakt is an abstract bronze sculpture located on the Transit Mall of downtown Portland, Oregon. Designed and created by Norman J. Taylor between 1973 and 1975, the work was funded by TriMet and the United States Department of Transportation and was installed on the Transit Mall in 1977. The following year Kvinneakt appeared in the "Expose Yourself to Art" poster which featured future Mayor of Portland Bud Clark flashing the sculpture. It remained in place until November 2006 when it was removed temporarily during renovation of the Transit Mall and the installation of the MAX Light Rail on the mall.
Vera Katz, also known as Mayor, Vera Katz, is an outdoor bronze sculpture depicting Vera Katz created by American artist Bill Bane. Unveiled in 2006, it is located along the Eastbank Esplanade in Portland, Oregon. Katz, a former mayor of the city between 1993 and 2005, supported arts and culture during her tenure and established Oregon's Percent for Art program. She was also instrumental in developing the Eastbank Esplanade, which is named after her. The sculpture has received a mostly positive reception and has inspired people to adorn it with clothing, flowers and makeup.
The Frank E. Beach Memorial Fountain, officially titled Water Sculpture, is an abstract 1975 stainless steel fountain and sculpture by artist Lee Kelly and architect James Howell, installed in Washington Park's International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon. The memorial commemorates Frank E. Beach, who christened Portland the "City of Roses" and proposed the Rose Festival. It was commissioned by the Beach family and cost approximately $15,000. Previously administered by the Metropolitan Arts Commission, the work is now part of the City of Portland and Multnomah County Public Art Collection courtesy of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
Lidia Yuknavitch is an American writer, teacher and editor based in Oregon. She is the author of the memoir The Chronology of Water, and the novels The Small Backs of Children,Dora: A Headcase, and The Book of Joan. She is also known for her TED talk "The Beauty of Being a Misfit", which has been viewed over 3.2 million times, and her follow-up book The Misfit's Manifesto.
Julia Christiansen Hoffman was an American artist and arts patron who fostered the Portland Arts and Crafts movement in the state of Oregon, through exhibitions and art classes. In 1907 she led the establishment of the Arts and Crafts Society of Portland, a forerunner of the Oregon College of Art and Craft.
The Portland Winter Light Festival is an annual winter light festival in Portland, Oregon. Each year has been presented by the local nonprofit Willamette Light Brigade. The festival is open to the public and free to attend.
A 4 foot bust of York, the only African American on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was installed in Portland, Oregon's Mount Tabor Park, in the United States, from February to July 2021. The artist stayed anonymous at first, but after the bust was removed he revealed himself as Todd McGrain. McGrain was a student of Darrell Millner, Portland State University professor of history and Black Studies. The bust appeared on February 20, replacing the statue of Harvey W. Scott, which had been toppled on October 20, 2020. McGrain did not seek city permission to install the bust, which McGrain expected to be temporary; on June 11 the city announced that it would remove the bust.
Kevin Cook, known by the stage name Poison Waters, is an American drag performer. Since the 1980s, she has been an emcee, entertainer, and community activist. She is a longtime hostess at Darcelle XV Showplace and has participated in fundraisers, LGBT events, public service announcements, and other community activities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Cook has also taught at Portland Community College.
Miss Mona Superhero, real name unknown, is an American artist, activist, and Northwestern United States personality.
