April 30-May 5 PDX Fest of Experimental Film

Capturing a unique facet of Portland's film culture, the PDX Fest is in its 5th year. The festival has select longer works, shorts programs and special events. One highlight is the world championship of experimental film on Saturday night. Invited filmmakers Roger Beebe, Bryan Boyce, Marianna Ellenberg, Jalal Jemison, Zak Margolis, Anne McGuire, Shana Moulton, Orland Nutt, Michael Robinson, Jeremy Rossen, and Ben Russell show short films. The audience - you vote on whether one of them will displace George Andrus, last year's winner, back with a new film, as the world champion experimental filmmaker! Another great event should be the experimental karaoke night in which filmmakers Roger Beebe, Bryan Boyce, Bill Brown & Sabine Gruffat, Grace Carter & Holly Andres, Carl Diehl, Dr. Murry & William Skullmaster, Jesse England, Sarah Halpern, Hooliganship, Karl Lind, Mack McFarland, Zak Margolis, Anne McGuire, Mike Olenick, Michael Robinson, Stephen Slappe, Melissa Tvetan and Cat Tyc have made karaoke videos for your viewing, and possibly singing, pleasure! There is also a show of video installation at Gallery Homeland corresponding to the opening party.

Check the whole schedule here for times, admission and details. Many events are 21 and over as noted on the schedule and events are at the Hollywood Theater or at Gallery Homeland

April 28 Journeys to the East

Travel writers come in generations. Early travelers leaving philosophical writings include the Buddha and Lao Tzu. Marco Polo left more detailed descriptions of unknown veracity later inspiring Calvino's Invisible Cities. The great English travelers were intimately tied to empire building. Pico Iyer followed writers like returned Peace Corps volunteer Paul Theroux, who never returned, and Bruce Chatwin, who abandoned his career at Sothebys to head out on the road. Iyer has immersed himself in the hybrid culture of developing countries, attempting to tell the story of the lives of their postmodern residents. Iyer has also developed a friendship with the Dalai Lama, a fellow global itinerant, and that is the subject of The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, from which he reads tonight.

Iyer met the Dalai Lama through his father and has maintained his friendship for 30 years. This relationship has allowed Iyer to tell the story of a man in all his complexity, not just the story of a great spiritual leader.

At Powell's Burnside 7:30PM Free


The contemporary art world is global. Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries. Principals Marc Voge and Young-Hae Chang produce Flash art from their base in Seoul, much in the manner of some work at Born Magazine. Lucky for you, the work of Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries is available to you over the Internet. But you can see them in person at the PSU lecture series. At the PSU 5th Ave Cinemas 510 SW Hall Room 92 7:30PM Free

April 16-20 Northwest Solar Expo

10 to the power 17 Watts (that is 17 zeros) of energy reaches us here from the sun - it drives the weather, photosynthesis, agriculture, wave energy, ocean plankton, everything. We consume 1.5 times 10 to the power 13 Watts, almost 90% from fossil fuels (1). That's not sustainable. It could be argued that tectonic energy and geothermal energy (1) were historically derived from the sun. So let's get with the program!

The Northwest Solar Expo is where you can learn about making the sun more of a friend on a practical basis from businesses primarily based right here. Part of the conference is for professionals: people who need training to create a solar business - that is April 16-20. If you are curious about using the sun to improve your life, April 19-20 is for you.

All the details are at www.nwsolarexpo.com. Go by Train! (for now, most of our MAX light rail Portland electricity comes from hydro - driven by gravity of earth's mass spun out from the sun and the hydrological cycle - rain - driven by.... the sun! Or bike, your energy derived from eating plants and more, driven by.... the sun!)

Also there is a big Earth Day celebration Saturday April 19. cityrepair.org/wiki.php/projects/earthday 10AM-10PM Overlook Park, N Portland.

April 18 Milepost 5 (Self )Projection(s)

Milepost 5 is not so far away. It's a short walk from the 82nd Avenue MAX stop. Before the Pearl was the Pearl, all doubted artists could colonize it. So maybe 82nd Avenue is the next frontier. Milepost 5 is a legal(!) live-work space, with the potential for artist-owners to accumulate equity(!). They have hired the director of the Portland Art Center to activate it.

This show is themed self projection. Artists include Gordon Barnes, Katrina Boemig, Maggie Casey, Terry Chatkupt, Philip Cheaney, Alicia Eggert, Jesse England, Ephemeral Temple Ltd, Eliza Fernand, Anna Gray, Jessica Hirsch, Chris Hudson, Edward Jeffrey Kriksciun, Mammalian Diving Reflex, Melanie Nakaue, Ashley Neese, Seth Nehil, Ryan Wilson Paulsen, Jen Delos Reyes, Lucien Samaha, Amy Steel, Anni Tracy and curator Gary Wiseman.

For the opening event Double Dragon, Kele Goodwin, The M.O.S.T, Sabertooth, and Matt Sheehy perform.

The show is open 1PM-6 April 18-27.

The closing event will be April 26 with video by Gordon Barnes, Marc Moscato, Julie Perini, and Gary Wiseman.

At Milepost5 www.milepostfive.com 900 NE 81st Ave Opening April 18 8PM-12. Showing April 18-27 1PM-6. Closing April 27 8PM-11 - videos 8:30PM-10. Free

April 15 Ustad Zakir Hussain Plays Tabla and The Garden in the Machine

Zakir Hussain began performing in the West in 1970, at age 19, bridging traditional Indian music to Western pop, with Ravi Shankar, as did his famous tabla playing father, Ustad Allarakha. He is considered the founder of the world music movement. He has collaborated with the Beatles, George Harrison, electronic composer Bill Laswell, Joe Henderson, Tito Puente, Jack Bruce, Pharoah Sanders, John McLaughlin and Mickey Hart as well as with the leading classical Indian musicians of several generations. Tonight he graces Portland with an ensemble of 10 including Fazal Qureshi, tabla and kanjira; Taufiq Qureshi, percussion; Niladri Kumar, sitar; Abbos Kosimov, doyra; Ram Kishan, nagada; Dilshad Khan, sarangi; Vijay Chauhan, folk drums; and the Meitei Pung Cholom Performing Troupe from Manipur. His performances are that of a true virtuoso, his stage presence shows his true joy in playing. This is the big concert of the year for a revived Kalakendra. www.kalakendra.org At the Schnitzer Concert Hall. 8PM $23-53


Also this evening Valentines shows films curated by Jeremy Rossen of the Cinema Project. This program, The Garden in the Machine, combines films by Rossen, Heather Lane and Jackie Davis with a live soundtrack by Bird Costumes, J.P. Jenkins, and DJ Eric Issacson. At Valentines, 232 SW Ankeny, 9:30PM sharp, free!

April 11-13 Filmed By Bike!

This is a beautiful thing, in a beautiful town. Filmed By Bike is the annual film festival which sounds like what it is. You can get all of the info at their website. Bring a long lock. Last year every bike spot was connected and there were zoobomber-style bike-locked-to-bike piles. 21 and over except 5PM shows. Arrive super early for Friday. At Clinton Street Theater, SE 26 and Clinton. 7 and 9 Friday, 5,7,9 Saturday and Sunday $8-15 Friday, $6 Saturday and Sunday

April 11-12 Buckman Thingie

Kids, schools, art. In our messy democracy-mediaocracy, that combination has been neglected for reading and math. How sad we have not realized that they are all one. Buckman has. Buckman elementary school, K-5, is an unofficial arts magnet school in inner SE. Like my school system high school, they have realized that it is up to them to raise funds for kid-parent-centered programs. (Note that school funds are part of a state-wide distribution of income tax, the state legislature, representing all of Oregon, distributes money primarily collected in Portland, statewide. In other words, little money to Buckman.)

This weekend is their big art fundraiser to make art happen for the kids. Friday and Saturday, at the school, many known Portland artists show their work. Buckman students show their work alongside. Those kids are the next generation!

Also Friday is the Buckman Bash at the Jupiter Hotel. That involves artists, musicians and much carrying on.

The Buckman school art show, at the school, 320 SE 16th is Friday 5PM-9; Saturday 10AM-9PM. Friday $5; Saturday $2 donation.

The bash is Friday at the Jupiter Hotel 800 E Burnside 7PM-on. $50. That includes admission to the school art show event.

April 10 PSU MFA Shows Part I

PSU has been kicking out some great MFA grads the last few years. There have been many sublime installations and we are about to be taken by storm by the social practice krew.

Showing April 7-18 are the thesis works of Kate Simmons and Amy Steel.

Simmons' "Household Predictions and Fanciful Remedies" is in the Autzen Gallery, second floor Neuberger. Steel's "Good Morning" is in the out of the way art building, 2000 SW 5th Room 210. Both are open 9-5 weekdays. The grand opening confab is Thursday April 10, 6-8PM

April 9 Matt McCormick at the Film Center

Portland filmmaker Matt McCormick is known for quiet films that unfold unexpectedly. He started a film distribution project for independent films that wouldn't see the screen otherwise: Peripheral Produce; he started a film festival for films that would not fit into the big budget titles, credits formula: the Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival. He was an early proponent of the films of Miranda July who narrated his film The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal.

McCormick's work is an example of the same imagery presented in the sit down theater, in a museum, in an art gallery, in a nightclub, paired with McCormick's live music, broadcast, photo-vidblogged and even as still art prints.


Tonight he shows recent work. Included are music videos for The Shins, YACHT, and Sleater-Kinney; experimental public service announcements; two longer works: The Problem of Machines That Communicate and Future So Bright. Worldwide people want to live together in cities, leaving behind abandoned places. Future So Bright captures the West's abandoned ghost towns. Sometimes they were built on unsustainable natural resources mined out. They can be viewed with sadness or as a triumph of the land. The Problem of Machines that Communicate follows 3 characters' alienation and the unexpected results of their attempt to communicate.

At the NW Film Center Whitsel Auditorium in the Museum 8PM $7/6/4 Adult/Museum/Film Center Member

April 6 Ten Tiny Dances

Portland is a DIY town. As an alternative to galleries or expensive stage shows with lighting and sound, Portland artists have pioneered venues which can reach a larger audience. Examples would be the Music Population Orchestra, SoWa public art projects, guerrilla art projects like Scott Wayne Indiana's horses, tailgating by Sincerely John Head and Ten Tiny Dances.

Dances occur on a stage 4x4 feet, 2 feet off the ground. That allows the stage to move to find the audience, rather than the reverse. Each program has several short pieces by a variety of performers. You will not be bored. Tonight it is Mike Barber, Cydney Wilkes, Lane Hunter, Anne Egan, Lauren Edson, Jim McGinn, Lizzie Carr, Rachel Fachner, Key Turn Project, Wooley Mammoth Comes to Dinner.

At Clyde Common. 1014 SW Stark. Doors 6:30PM, show 7:30. Presales sold out. $15? at the door.

April 5 Circuit Bending Broadcast and Portland Art Confab

Tonight the Video Gentlemen host an evening of circuit bending and secret broadcasts from the Bring Your Own TV(.pdf) video installation at the New American Art Union. Circuit bending is the DIY craft of modifying consumer electronic devices to experimental creative ends. Sound making and speaking toys can be placed into the unexpected service of art and performance. It is the same with video. See and hear it tonight at the New American Art Union www.newamericanartunion 922 SE Ankeny 7PM Free



The Cascade AIDS Project has been in operation since 1983. Focus has shifted to Africa as epidemic reservoir, CAP is concentrated on local. So in the spirit of "think global, act local", the Cascade AIDS Project has a large art auction to raise funds yearly. For artists, being involved means their work will be seen by the guest curator and by Portland art collectors. Thus the selection represents the curator view, especially for the live patron auction, and the inertia of historical participating galleries and artists. The curator this year is the curator of the Lewis and Clark gallery. It is also a social event for the artists, an opportunity to dress up.

Artists include Katherine Ace, Mary Arp, Dina Avila, Diane Avio-Augee, Adam Bacher, Bill Baily, Marcy Baker, Will Barras, Barbara Bartholomew, London Bellman, Tangie Pape Belmore, Patty Bentley , Stan Beppu, Don Bishop, Barbara Black, Nika Blasser, Jill Bliss, Rebecca Block, Chuck E. Bloom, Jacquelyn Bond, Armine Bozhko, Jason Bradbury, Morning Breath, Troy Briggs, Sharon Bronzan, David Brooks, Mazana Bruggeman, Billie Buford, G. Lewis Clevenger, Molly Cliff-Hilts, Sally Cohen, Liz Cohn, Michelle Colbert, Carolyn Cole, Elaine Coleman, Jeff Condit, Lisa Conway, Nigel Conway, Greg Conyne, Jesse Corning, D. Corwin, Jonnel Covault, Tom Cramer, Mae Crauder-Davis, Ron Cronin, Sarah Cruse, Larry Cwik, Kurt Dahlke, Paul Dahlquist, Linda Daily, Nancy Day, Tatiana deFigueiredo, Ronald DeHerrera, Bradley Delay, Shawn Demarest, Krislyn Dillard, Sara Dochow, Jennifer Doheny, Luke Dolkas, Cary Doucette, Stephanie Doyle, Tallmadge Doyle, Christine Eagon, Leslie Ebert, Jeannine Edelblut, Karen Ehlers, Martin Eichinger, Ellen Emerson, Richard Enger, Andrew Englehorn, Tamara English, Karen Esler, Amy Estrin, Bryce Evans, Kyle Evans, Leiv Fagereng, Jaik Faulk, Judith Fawkes, Michael Feely, Stephan P. Ferreira, Super Hightech Jet Fighters, Sally Finch, Al Flory, Caleb Freese, Mitchell Freifeld, Karen Friedman, Tom Gainer, Marcus Gannuscio, J. Garcia, Terrence Gasca, LeeAnn Gauthier, Ellen George, Gordon Gilkey, Gene GillJoAnn Gilles, Jennifer Gleach, Robert Gleason, Richard Glenn, Justin Gorman, , Kojo Griffin, Bryan Grimes, Bernard Gross,Rhonda Grudenic, Korey Gulbrandson, Jef Gunn, Jennifer Guske, Jun Seo Hahm, Andrew Haley, Mabel Astarloa Haley, Yvonne Hanks, Kris Hargis, Fredric Harwin, Jessica T. Hassler, Ron Hendrick, Maureen Herndon, Yuji Hiratsuka, Brandon Hoffman, Melissa Hogan, Steve Hohenboken, Gillian Holbrook, Jeff Houghtaling, Claudia J. Howell, Cody Hudson, Elizabeth Huey, Arlene Huggett, Israel Hughes, Sam Hull, Katrina Humbert, Terry Hutchinson, William Jamison, Michael A. Jarvis, George Johanson, Barry Johnson, Liza Jones, Alicia Justus, Joni Kabana, Kevin Kadar, Eileen Kane, Rafael Katz, Michael Kenna, Karen Kessler, Joel Kimble, Carley King, Chuck King, Carol Lynn Kirchner, Bernard Kliks, Andre Knaébel, Nicholas Knapton, Rochelle Koivunen, Eileen "Ikie" Nolan Kressel, Amy Kuttab, Cynthia Lahti, Sharri LaPierre, Dale Larson, Carson Legree, Bishop Lennon, David Carmack Lewis, Gabriel Liston, Danny Locke, Kandy LozanoBarry Mack, Morgan Madison, KC Madsen, Mandy Main, Gabriel Manca, Guido Malla Marquez, Gordon Marshall, Wells Stuart Marshall, III, Barbara Mason, Kicki Masthem, Brian Mathus, Hollye Maxwell, Mel McCuddin, , Michelle McKay, Carolina Medina-Dupaix, Dave Meeker, Jennifer Mercede, Chi Meredith, Peter Miller, John Mincks, James Minden, Randy Moe, Ashley Montague, Christopher B. Mooney, Norma Morrell, Lee Musgrave, Danuta Muszynska, Lorna Nakell, Nation, Sarah Wolf Newlands, Allison O'Donoghue, , Edward O'Hare, Dallas Oliver, Darren Orange, Kim OsgoodAndy Paiko, Daniel Papke, Eugenia Pardue, William Park, Lucinda Parker, Michael Parks, Eunice Parsons, Angela Passalacqua, Magdalena Pauna, Scott Peterman, Greg Pfarr, Ben Pink, Claudia Porter, Garrett Price, Tom Prochaska, Julie Rall, R. Keaney Rathbun, Lynn Everett Read, Pat Richards, April Richardson, Qiana Rickabaugh, Rene Rickabagh, Mario Roberts, Daniel Robinson, Brad Rogers, Ron Rogers, Francis X. Rosica, Sandra N. Roumagoux, Arletha Mueller Ryan, Civeq Salerno, Adrian Sanchez, DJ Sandler, Adam Satushek, Ted Sawyer, Bryan E. Schellinger, Richard Schemmerer, Jane Schiffhauer, Bill Schlegel, Hazel Skaling Schlesinger, Michael Schlicting, Aaron Schlosberg, Nancy Schmugge, Jean Schwalbe, Andrea Schwartz Feit, Tony Secolo, Bill Seebert, Evan N. Serrill, Naomi Shigeta, Shelly Shinjo, Michael Sieben, Rachel Siegel, Sara Siestreem, Karen Silve, Carol Sims, Charles Sites, Lee Ann Slawson, Damon Sneed, Camille Solzagua, Michael Southern, Raphael Soyer, Tara Stansberry-Roberts, Kathleen Stephenson, William T.C. Stevens, Marlana Stoddard-Hayes, Eric Stotik, Andy Stout, Ian Sundahl, Angelita Surmon, Nina Sutter, Sara Swink, J Swofford, Rabun Thompson, Terry Thompson, Melinda Thornes, A. Thurston, Joe Thurston, Andrew Totman, Evelyn V. Townsend, David Patrick Trowbridge, Zhanna Tsytsyn, Renee A. Ugrin, Rita Urdaneta, Fran Victor, Judy Lee Vogland, Elise Wagner, Martha Wallulis, Stephen Walter, W W Ward, Brent Wear, Mickey Weaver, McGrath Welker, Alisha Wessler, Grace Weston, Brian White, C. Greg Wilbur, Jennifer Williams, Dane Wilson, Sherrie Wolf, Allison Wonder, Mark Woolley, Wrenn, Rick Wright, Judith Wyss, Carol Yarrow, Reneé Zangara, and Jennifer Zika. I don't know how to digest that, but I'm curious about "Super Hightech Jet Fighters".

It's at the Oregon Convention Center. All the details are here. Patron dinner 5PM Artists' reception 8PM