Friday, May 26, 2017

May 27 ¡Never Not Baila, Canta, Toca!

Artists as curators is beautiful. Artists think deeply and critically as they are making personal work. They expand the possibilities creatively, then they eliminate most as they test and refine. That experience: the knowledge of possibility and the experience of paring down, is the modus of the curator.

Portland artist Midori Hirose has curated Never Not Here, visual work by Natalie Anne Howard and Shawn Creeden, Rainen Knecht and Dino Matt accompanied by performance with Mia Ferm, Michael Reinsch and The Tenses.

Never Not Here www.facebook.com/events/1041845215945829/ at OV Project Space 7604 SE Washington 6:00PM-9 Free



La Peña: ¡Baila, canta, toca! is an evening of flamenco. Brenna McDonald dances with guitarist Jed Miley, cantaor Pepe Raphael, Christina Lorentz, Lillie Last and Nick Hutcheson. More: www.facebook.com/events/1464816210237538/. At Artichoke Music
3130 SE Hawthorne 8PM $20

Thursday, May 25, 2017

May 26-28 Be Here Now

You Are Here is an artist-organized exploration of immersive media, like virtual, augmented or mixed reality. Yes, you get to put on the glasses. It takes place at Pioneer Square and is free and open to the public as part of the Houseguest program.

The schedule:
Friday

4PM-6 TGIF VR Spa treatments for Portland’s hard working folk

8PM-9 Commencement ceremony featuring music by Golden Retriever and movement artists exploring motion capture.

8PM-10 Experience Pioneer Courthouse Square in High Fidelity VR

Saturday

3PM-4 Tech Talk by Kent Bye - The Ultimate Potential of Virtual Reality

4PM-5 Workshop: Metafesto: Refiguring Social Media, Preparing for the Metaverse with Matt Henderson

6PM-7 Performance: EMA + EMS with movement artists exploring motion capture.

7PM-8 Live DJs + VR lounge

8PM-10 - Google Earth + Pioneer Courthouse Square in High Fidelity VR

Sunday

1PM-4 Pioneer Courthouse Square in High Fidelity VR

2PM-3 Tech Talk: Calm Technology with cyborg anthropologist Amber Case

3PM-4 Workshop: Adventures in Anyland

7PM-8 Down tempo dance party in virtual & real Pioneer Courthouse Square.


Houseguest at Pioneer Square. Afternoon-evening Free

Saturday, May 20, 2017

May 21 Animal Laughter

Philadelphia artist William Matheson opens paintings this afternoon in his Animal Laughter show. At Nationale www.nationale.us 3360 SE Division Map 3PM-5 Free

Thursday, May 18, 2017

May 19-21 Self Assembly

Assembly is an event and an invitation. It's organized by the social practice artists at Portland State University, one of the top programs for social practice art in the world. It is an open invitation for you and anyone you know to stop by and participate in anything you think interesting.

Here is the full schedule:

Friday, May 19 in collaboration with Oregon Food Bank & Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI)
5:00–6:00PM Mural Kick-Off and Garden Happy Hour

6:00–7:00PM Assembly Potluck (please RSVP to shoshana@shoshanagugenheim.com)

7:00-8:00 PM Presentation and Dialogue by Roz Crews, Oregon Food Bank, Anke Schüttler, Emma Colburn, and Eliot Feenstra

8:00–10:00PM After Food Comes Dance

Saturday, May 20 in collaboration with Creek College, NAYA & Columbia Slough Watershed Council
9:00AM–5:00PM Experimental Family Project Space with PLAT

9:00–9:30AM Opening Ceremony with NAYA

9:30–10:30AM Creek College Class 1: Whispering Soil with Anupam Singh

10:45–11:30AM Morning Barter with Yoko Silk

11:45AM–12:45PM Creek College Class 2: Writing Together and Alone In Public with Roz Crews

12:45–1:45PM Cafeteria Staff Exchange Program: Lunch at NAYA with Spencer Byrne-Seres, Xi Jie Ng (Salty) in collaboration with cafeteria staff at NAYA
and MLK Jr. School

1:45–2:45PM Creek College Class 3: Creek Stories with
Eliot Feenstra, Lauren Moran and collaborators

3:00–3:45PM Afternoon Barter with Yoko Silk

4:00–5:00PM Creek College Class 4: Canoe the Slough

5:15–6:15PM Panel Discussion: Placemaking, Community & Environment

8:00–11:00PM Karaoke at Chopsticks III on Columbia Blvd.

Sunday, May 21 in collaboration with
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary & Middle School
10:00AM–5:00PM Experimental Family Project Space with PLAT

10:00–11:00AM Place Based Knowing in a Branded World with Alissa Hartman & Shoshana Gugenheim

11:15AM–12:15PM Helen Reed and Hannah Jickling

12:30–1:30PM Cafeteria Staff Exchange Program: Lunch at MLK Jr. School with Spencer Byrne-Seres,
Xi Jie Ng (Salty) in collaboration with cafeteria staff at NAYA and MLK Jr. School

1:45–2:45PM KSMoCA Tour & All The Feelings (Sculpture Garden) with Anke Schüttler and collaborators

3:00–4:00PM What We Make Together with Eliot Feenstra

4:15–5:15PM Whispering Soil Story Circle Part 2 with Anupam Singh

5:30–6:30PM The New Jim Crow Experiential Research Workshop with Anke Schüttler, Emma Colburn, Lauren Moran, Lisa Jarrett and Renee Sills

7:00–9:00PM Closing Conversation with Ariana Jacob at the Bye and Bye

All free, many child friendly events, free child care, and as good as you make it Assembly 2017 www.psusocialpractice.org/assembly/ various locations in NE Portland. Free

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

May 19 Illustrating Weather Walked In

Illustrator Jason Sturgill speaks this morning on his creative journey. It is part of the Creative Mornings series, and the event was fully subscribed in advance. Creative Mornings www.creativemornings.com/talks/jason-sturgill at Instrument 3529 N Williams 8:30AM-10 Free



A Weather Walked In is a show of photographs made in 1968 and 1969 in Vietnam. Infantry person Charlie Haughey captured intimate candid portraits of fellow soldiers there. The photos remained untouched for 45 years. For the last few years, Charlie has made fine woodworks at ADX, who encouraged him to reveal his work.

A Weather Walked In https://www.facebook.com/events/761344294026309/ at adxportland.com in the new building at 1015 SE Stark 5PM-10PM Free

Saturday, May 13, 2017

May 13 Watercolor Flamenco Knob Twiddling

Just as watercolor style tattoo is gaining over hard line, Portland graphic novel illustrator Arnold Pander shows water colors in a break from his hard line work and paintings on velvet. It has a Japanese sumi style feel with Japanese oddness. At Alchemy Jeweler 1022 NW Lovejoy noon-3 Free



Feria de Portland is a festival of Spanish culture, including Flamenco. Details https://www.facebook.com/events/1494849170526250/. At AudioCinema 226 SE Madison 5PM-midnight $10-15



Tonight modular synth performers Paul barker + Josh holley from Malekko, Terror Apart, Juli Amore, Angela Johnson (Die Robot) + jeph nor, E*t My Shit, SunFalls, Darcy Neal, Astrowarrior + Gina, Zündfolge + William Hart perform. Visuals by Cysmic! Volt Divers is all hardware synths, no computers. Volt Divers at Lovecraft Bar 421 SE Grand 7PM Sharp-10 $5 for the ACLU

May 12-21 Art School Thesis Shows

Portland-Oregon art schools PSU, PNCA, OCAC, UO, L&C show graduating artist thesis shows. It is an opportunity to perceive a pulse in art. I bought my first work from a thesis show. You can find the details on the respective websites.

Friday, May 05, 2017

May 5 Eastside Art Openings+

The last show at White Box, which also had a dedicated video space is tonight. The UO used the space to colonize Portland and dominate the indigenous PSU.

Academic galleries are unique - they don't have a commercial aim, and they have a budget. In that category, Reed & PNCA still bring out of town artists. PSU, Marylhurst, OCAC and PCC Sylvania have good curatorial programs. This one had some good shows including contemporary Chinese artists. So sad to see White Box go.

Chris Moss has been curating White Box. He received his BFA from PNCA. He curated a series of shows, the Donut Shop in Portland, including a show consuming a house off gentrifying Alberta Street which included a rocket. He later gained an MFA from NYU.

Functionally United, opens tonight and is highly recommended. The artists are a beautiful sample of many years of contemporary work: Intisar Abioto, Holly Andres, Corey Arnold, Avantika Bawa, Carla Bengston, Pat Boas, John Brodie, Karl Burkheimer, Peter Campus, Bruce Conkle, Shelby Davis, Modou Dieng, David Eckard, Kristy Edmunds, Damien Gilly, MK Guth, Jesse Hayward, Sean Healy, Daniel Heffernan, Daniel Heyman, Craig Hickman, Laura Hughes, Malia Jensen, Todd Johnson, Kristan Kennedy, James Lavadour, Elizabeth Malaska, Christopher Michlig, Jenene Nagy, Liz Obert, Julia Oldham, Suzanne Opton, Melody Owen, Pat Boas, Wendy Red Star, Patrick Rock, Crystal Schenk, Heidi Schwegler and Storm Tharp.

At the University of Oregon White Stag Building, whitebox.uoregon.edu 70 NW Couch Talk doors 5PM Free, Art opening 5PM-6 Free



Stephanie Chefas Gallery has a group show inspired by the work of Ryan Bubnis. At Stephanie Chefas Projects www.stephaniechefas.com 305 SE 3rd Ave #202 - the City Sign Building, formerly a low cost artist space Map. 7PM-10 Free

Wednesday, May 03, 2017

May 4 Westside Art Openings

Aleksey Kondratyev has Ice Fishers, photographs on the Ishim River in Kazakhstan of improvised fishing shelters. Seiya Bowen has Nadachi, portraits of the town in Japan of her grandparents. Many rural Japanese town are becoming ghost towns as the birthrate declines and city living attracts. At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 6PM-9 Free



Quiet Until Something Falls is a collaborative installation between Maggie Heath and Emily Wobb. They are known for their Bronco Gallery project. At Erickson Gallery 9 NW 2nd 6PM-8 Free



Gregg Renfrow has minimal translucent washes on acrylic panels and Amanda Wojick has 2d collages and sculptures. At Elizabeth Leach Gallery www.elizabethleach.com 417 NW 9th Map 6PM-9 Free



Williamson Knight is a new gallery birthed from the respected Cherry & Lucic. Social Learning Theory is Sheida Soleimani's work commenting on women executed by the government of Iran. At Williamson|Knight williamsonknight.com 916 NW Flanders 6pm-8 Free



Sasha Barr has bright graphic work. He was the graphics director for Sub Pop back in the day. At gallery 135, 135 NW Park 6PM-8 Free



Yoonhee Choi has Sift, her trademark pinned wall sculptures along with abstract oil and beeswax paintings by Roya Motamedi. At Blackfish Gallery 420 NW 9th 6PM-9 Free



Everett Lofts are recommended as always. It's easier for you to see them all than for me to write suggestions. Some close as early as 9PM. At the Everett Lofts 625 NW Everett. Bounded by NW Everett, Broadway, Flanders and 6th Map closing ranges from 9PM-10:30ish



PNCA is recommended to stop in. They have long time cycle shows and pop ups distributed throughout the building. PNCA www.pnca.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 6PM-9 Free