Arts
Galleries, public art, events and avant-garde institutions fill Portland’s vibrant arts scene.
Art gallery wanderers, theater lovers and those with a curious eye will find something to marvel at in Portland. Read on to learn more about the city’s arts offerings, then check out our events calendar to plan your next trip to The Rose City.
Arts Events
Portland's arts calendar is packed with things to do, including festivals and special exhibitions.
Arts Attractions
The city's museums and galleries feature work by renowned local and international artists.
Portland Art Museum
The Portland Art Museum is central to the city's cultural district, housing a large and wide-ranging collection of artworks.
Disjecta Contemporary Art Center
The North Portland art center's offerings range from visual art installations to collaborations with bands like the Shins.
Center for Native American Art
The Portland Art Museum's Center for Contemporary Native Art showcases the work of modern-day Native American artists.
Art Galleries
Discover exciting local artists at these galleries located around town.
Performing Arts
Portland's performing arts include music, dance and theater, often combined in unexpected ways.
Portland Theater
Portland has a well-established network of venues and theater companies and an increasingly dynamic and diverse small theater scene.
Dance in Portland
Portland dance has an inventive spirit that welcomes collaborations and often spills beyond the generally accepted boundaries of “dance.”
Children’s Theater
Portland's children's theater companies introduce kids to live theater and teaches them people in costumes are fun, not scary.
Theater Companies
Kick off your exploration of Portland's theater scene with these stellar local companies.
Local Music Scene
Discover Portland through our talented musical artists in a variety of genres.
The Portland Hip-Hop Scene
Take a deep dive into the past, present and future of Portland's hip-hop scene with our expert guide to the best performers, showcases, stores and more.
Classical Music in Portland
Portland's opera, symphony and other companies offer an ongoing lineup of inspiring performances, from timeless works to modern interpretations.
Portland Jazz
In Portland, it's pretty easy to find small venues hosting intimate combos of world-class talent, or bigger, more boffo live shows.
Upcoming Arts Events
Check out our editor's top picks for visual arts, dance and music events.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
“A rock musical that really rocks, the audacious and affecting “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” tells the tale of a young East German “slip of a girly boy” who has a sex-change operation in order to marry a U.S. soldier and pursue a rock ‘ n’ roll dream in America. Things don’t go smoothly. The…
Indecent
“Two women in love — kissing, even! That was controversial stuff a century ago when the Sholem Asch play “God of Vengeance” made its English-language premiere on Broadway. Paula Vogel’s 2017 Tony nominated play “Indecent” tells the tale of Asch’s iconoclastic approach to the stage, his play’s worldwide success (in the original Yiddish) and the…
Pipeline
“In this 2017 drama by Dominique Morisseau, a MacArthur “genius grant” winner best-known for her play “Skeleton Crew,” the title refers not a conduit for oil but the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline” — educational policies that criminalize minor infractions and disproportionately punish students of color. Addressing the topic through the story of an inner-city teacher who…
The Sleeping Beauty
“In 2010, Oregon Ballet Theatre added to its repertoire of great Tchaikovsky story ballets, with then-artistic director Christopher Stowell choreographing a version of the classic fairytale “The Sleeping Beauty,” modeled after Marius Petipa’s 1890 original. Now, under current artistic director Kevin Irving, the company returns to the land of 19th century classical splendor.” – Oregon…
James X
“Portland’s Corrib Theatre continues its fruitful focus on contemporary Irish plays with writer and Dublin City Councilor Gerard Mannix Flynn’s one-man show about the abuse and neglect of Irish children at the hands of both church and state. Performed here by the reliably remarkable Darius Pierce, with Corrib founder (and former Dubliner) Gemma Whelan directing.”…
Shostakovich’s Eleventh
Concertmaster Sarah Kwak takes center stage in opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti’s sensuous and expressive Violin Concerto. Dmitri Shostakovich’s cinematic Eleventh Symphony depicts the struggle and drama of the Russian Revolution of 1905 in vivid detail. “These concerts feature a pair of mid-century compositions: an American violin concerto and a Russian symphony. Oregon Symphony concertmaster…
Bury the Hatchet: Prayer for My P’ah-Be
Bury the Hatchet is artist John Hitchcock’s mixed-media, cross-disciplinary, multisensory installation. Hitchcock combines his interests in printmaking, rock ’n’ roll, and Kiowa and Comanche history into one visual expression that offers a retelling of the narrative of the American frontier. Bury the Hatchet explores issues of assimilation, acculturation, and indoctrination through oral history and music….
Prohibition Party with the Oregon Symphony
Relive the 1920s in all its decadence. The Oregon Symphony will take you through the dark cabarets and speakeasies of New York, Paris, Berlin, London and Atlantic City, featuring the top hits of the decade, from Rudy Vallée to Josephine Baker and from Kurt Weill to King Oliver. This concert will feature vintage imagery and…