February 6 Eastside Art Openings+

For your +1 on the Westside After | Time opens Whispering Flight, a group show.

At After/Time Collective https://www.aftertimecollective 735 SW 9th Ave #110 6PM-9 Free


All the Eastside events are at http://firstfridaypdx.org/ and their socials which list many shows and their times.

February 6 - 14 Lights On Sky Off

The Portland Winter Light festival is light art, concentrated downtown, and near OMSI. It is also throughout the city. It is popular with all ages, including families, and it is free! It is all explained at https://pdxwlf.com/.

February 5 Westside Art Openings+

Illy2, Industry One, Fine Art Fruit, The Black Gallery, Elizabeth Leach, and Adams and Ollman, who posted a nice interview, https://adamsandollman.com/Lynne-Woods-Turner-and-Sidony-O-Neal, continue.


For your +1, there is a timely online talk, Lessons from Minneapolis: Legal, safety and ethical considerations for photographers. It is organized by Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle. The panelists are solid. It is free online to view.

Lessons from Minneapolis. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lessons-from-minneapolis-tickets-1982249035225?aff=oddtdtcreator 6PM - 7 Free.


For your +2, The Portland Art Museum free all day. There is programming all day in collaboration of the Cascade Festival of African Films which begins tomorrow in full. Https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/free-first-thursday-feb2026/ at the Portland Art Museum 1219 SW Park 10AM-7 Free


For your +3, in the North. Paragon Gallery has Thanatopsis: A Meditation on Grief, Death, and Transition by Shelly Chamberlin, Dardinelle Troen, and Marne Lucas. There are workshops in January and a closing reception and talk February 14. At the PCC Cascade Paragon Gallery https://www.pcc.edu/galleries/cascade/ 815 N. Killingsworth Noon - 7 Free


For your +4 in Northeast. You can experience Flamenco music with guitarist Brenna McDonald and guitarist/vocalist Yeshe Wingerd. A project of Espacio Flamenco, it repeats on first Thursdays. At Bar Botellón 606 NE Davis 7PM-9 Free


Native artist Don Bailey brings paintings Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance. Signs of Dissent is a group show by gallery artists Mae Al-Jiboori, Justin Auld, Don Bailey, Carol Benson, Clint Brown, Paula Bullwinkel, Myra Clark, Jana Demartini, Angennette Escobar, Ellen Goldschmidt, Anastasiya Gutnik, Aaron Johanson, Michael Knutson, Dede Lucia, Benjamin Mefford, Christa Nye, Pomegranate Doyle, Eddie Reed, Ruri, Robert Shepard, Christopher Shotola-Hardt, Noah Alexander Isaac Stein, and Philip Stork. Ellen Goldschmidt has paintings Pardon My Paradoxes.

Check their socials for Signs of Dissent events this month.

All at Blackfish Gallery https://www.blackfish.com/ 938 NW Everett Map 5PM-8 Early Close Free



Blue Sky has 1985 - 1995: The Third Decade is a show. They have work from 78 of the 215 shows of that era, new work paired with the historic images.

Just the Essentials, abstracts by Scott Malbaurn and Petra Sairanen, is in the Nine Gallery.

At Blue Sky Gallery www.blueskygallery.org Map 122 NW 8th 5PM-9 Free


Fans Only shows its residents. That is along with a large group curated from PSU departments, Lola Hayes, Anya Talbert, Ella Peterson, Rain Le, Anders Larson, Jovan Lagrotta, Zoe Lodahl, James Brady, Adalia Rendon, Lucy Asadorian-Myers, Keller Armour, Yakelin Echeverria, Mila Russell, and Mia Potenza-Parsons.

At Fans Only https://www.fansonly.studio/ 1010 SW 11th 5PM-8 Free


Augen has a show by the late Tony Fitzpatrick, https://www.augengallery.com/exhibitions/tony-fitzpatrick-1958-2025-in-memoriam-prints-and-drawings/.

At Augen Gallery www.augengallery.com 716 NW Davis 5PM-7:45 Free


Laura Vincent Design has Treelines, abstract landscape paintings by Alexandra Boyden https://www.alexandraboyden.com/.

At Laura Vincent Design and Gallery www.lvdesignandgallery.com/ 824 NW Davis 5PM-8 Free



Russo-Lee Gallery has paintings and ceramics Magnificent Malaise by Dirk Staschke. In Search of Cascadia is paintings by late career regional artist Michael Paul Miller. Think dark landscapes and portraits to disturb.

At Laura Russo Lee Gallery www.russoleegallery.com 805 NW 21st 5PM-7 Early Close Free


Waterstone has a group show Layered Surfaces by James Alby, Paul Gadsden, Leonard Harmon, Yuji Hiratsuka, Marcel M. Johansen, Kanani Miyamoto, and Kyra Watkins.

At Waterstone Gallery www.waterstonegallery.com 124 NW 9th 5PM-8 Free


Life Lessons is a group show by gallery artists listed on their website https://froelickgallery.com/exhibitions/143-life-lessons-winter-2026-group-show/overview/.

At Froelick Gallery www.froelickgallery.com 714 NW Davis early close 5PM-8 Free


PNCA Willamette has many visual shows tonight.

At PNCA | Willamette University www.pnca.willamette.edu 511 NW Broadway Map 5PM-8 Free

February 5 Lessons from Minneapolis

Photographer-videographer journalists, professional or doing it because they love it are artists. They can and do change the world.

Lessons from Minneapolis: Legal, safety and ethical considerations for photographers is a free online talk today. It is organized by Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle. The panelists are solid. It is free online to view.

Lessons from Minneapolis. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lessons-from-minneapolis-tickets-1982249035225?aff=oddtdtcreator 6PM - 7 Pacific Time Free.

February 5 - 26 Botanical Superfund

It has been said "the solution to pollution is dilution." And for eons that included throwing it into rivers and the ocean.

While the ocean is big, humans are not immune to ocean pollution as demonstrated by Minamata Disease and mercury bioaccumulation in seafood. An estimated 45% of mercury pollution is caused by burning coal. Then, of course, plastics, dramatized by Seattle artist https://www.chrisjordan.com/ including his film Alabatros. Micro- and nano-plastics are in our bodies.

I worked in a laboratory studying sewage and I can guarantee poop flows downhill.

Once upon a time, as little Portland grew, we dumped many bad things into the Willamette River. President Nixon famously created the EPA in the long arc from Walden, to Silent Spring, and Earth Day.

We owe a lot to Silent Spring, which influenced the thinking of President Kennedy. The author was a force of nature and her life story fascinating.

In 1976 toxic waste was discovered at the Love Canal in Niagra Falls.

In response at the end of 1980, President Carter signed into law the Superfund Program as a result of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. That was passed in the House 351–23, and the Senate by a voice vote.

Of course today the EPA is under corrupt top management. Their bad decisions are only starting https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/epa-will-no-longer-consider-health-related-monetary-benefits-of-reducing-air-pollution/.

The Superfund program cleans up severely polluted places. The Willamette River is a Superfund site https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=1002155#:~:text=We%20selected%20Alternative%20F%20Modified,Part%203%20of%20the%20ROD.&text=Note:%20This%20is%20a%20special,from%20the%20larger%20Administrative%20Record. The sedements are polluted.

One of those spots is the former McCormick & Baxter plant that treated utility poles and railroad ties with wood preservatives. They went bankrupt leaving their problems for us.

That location has a Superfund cleanup plan and will now be transformed into a garden park by the river.

There is an exhibit open throughout the month and many public talks about the project. https://portlandbg.org/2026/01/14/design-portland-2026/

Talks are on February 4, 8, & 15. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/pdx-design-collaborative-105537641091

Visioning the Portland Botanical Gardens at the JK Gill Building at 426 SW Harvey Milk. The month open hours are yet unknown. Opening party First Thursday 5:30PM - 8:30 Free

February 4-6 Sifting Sand

Maitripa College invites you to observe and process the creation of a Tibetan sand mandala over 3 days. It is a Buddha of Medicine (Menla) mandala created by the Gaden Shartse Monks. It is created as part of their Sacred Harmony 2026 World Peace Tour.

Portland is home to many Tibetan families from the Tibetan Resettlement Project enabled by 1000 visas set aside in the Immigration Act of 1990 signed by President George H W Bush. Each Tibetan had a host family and a job in Portland or 22 other US cities.

At Maitripa College https://maitripa.org 1632 SE 11th 10AM - 4 Free

January 31 Diasporic

Mono Space hosts listening hours with Alisa Wilbon, bringing neo-Soul, alternative, R&B and Afro-diasporic.

At Mono Space https://mono-space.org/ 608 NW 13th Ave Ste 102. Noon-5 Free

January 30 Initial Mundus

International travel is world changing and mind changing. Time slows down. The Jaunt https://www.thejaunt.net/ arranges artist travel fellowships, then the artists produce silk screen prints to support future travelers. They have an art archive of the project.

Stephanie Chefas Gallery guests Jaunt artists Jillian Evelyn, Georgia Hill, Elléna Lourens, and Keya Tama, in show Mundus. Some of the artists may be found in the project archive. https://www.thejaunt.net/printarchive

Mundus https://www.stephaniechefas.com/mundus-group-exhibit at Stephanie Chefas Gallery www.stephaniechefas.com 134 SE Taylor, Ste 203. Map. 5PM-8 Free


Initial is a new publication for Portland art writing launching tonight.

Contributors include Jaydra Johnson, Martha Daghlian, Kaya Noteboom, Edy Guy, Ash Yang-Thompson, Alex Wilson, Stephanie Simek, and Amy Bay.

Mother Foucault Bookshop will be open for the event. If you want to buy a copy of Initial, it is $10-20 cash only. Initial at Mother Foucault's Bookshop 715 SE Grand 7PM Free

January 30 - February 1 CineVox

Portland has two [modern] dance movie festivals. Company BodyVox has collaborated often with moviemakers mixing it in to live performance. And they do this annual CineVox Dance Film Festival.

The entire schedule is https://bodyvox.org/cinevox-2026-film-guide.

The CineVox Dance Film Festival https://bodyvox.org/2025-2026-season/cinevox-film-fest is at BodyVox Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 1201 NW 17th 7:30PM $25

January 29 Mapping Vegetable Love and Bird Outsiders

Mapping Familiar Territories, Charting New Paths is a group show curated by Alexandra Terry from New Mexico. The artists are Michael Boonstra, Enrique Chagoya, Epiphany Couch, Karen Hampton, Colin Ives, Brenda Mallory, Nathalie Miebach, Tatiana Parcero, Rick Silva, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Clarissa Tossin.

At 4PM there is a conversation between the curator and 2 local artists.

The reception is 5PM-7, RSVP requested at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opening-reception-of-mapping-familiar-territories-charting-new-paths-tickets-1976667009235?aff=oddtdtcreator

Mapping Familiar Territories, Charting New Paths https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/jsma-at-psu/mapping-familiar-territories-charting-new-paths?authuser=0 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University https://www.pdx.edu/museum-of-art/ 1855 SW Broadway 4PM-7 Free

January 27 Termites!

Society show Experiment on Yourselves has a talk by the artist Charles Stobbs III entitled Apparitions from the Termite Castle. The Society website has a Zoom.

At https://societysocietysociety.com/ 711 SE Grand upstairs above Mother Foucault’s. 7PM Free

January 25 Haven Rest

Helen's Costume is one of Portland's famed garage galleries. They have very nice tea and snacks in their adjacent backyard. They are getting restless and expanding to show in other Winter-warm cities and now in a Portland teashop. Rest Haven is a show by Shelley Turley, Andy heck Boyd and Noah Greene.

At Bardo Tea 2696 NE Killingsworth 6PM-9 Free

January 24 Winter Movement

Butoh dancers Joan Laage, Stevi Rose Kamphaus Helen Thorsen with Mary Cutrera, Leatha McKenzie, Suzanne Parenteau, Amy Ward, and Kaoru Okumura from Seattle and Carl Annala, Joe McLaughlin, Tess Vanderkin and Nicole Walters from Portland perform.

At the Tacoma Armory 1001 S Yakima Ave 8PM $20

January 24-25 The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Portland is a printmaking town owing to the efforts of Gordon Gilkey and his network. The Portland Art Museum hosts the Print Fair where galleries in Portland, and most importantly beyond, ply their wares. There will be talks and demos. It is a good place to see a lot of art in one place and a natural segue into the upcoming Hockney show opening February 14.

https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/portland-fine-print-fair-2026/ Full details https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/portland-fine-print-fair-2026/. At the Portland Art Museum www.pam.org 1219 SW Park 11AM-5PM Free