Free First Thursday

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When

Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

10 a.m.

Where

Portland Art Museum

1219 SW Park Ave Portland
OR

Portland Art Museum invites the community to Free First Thursday, featuring screenings and programs from the Cascade Festival of African Films. This event kicks off the festival’s month-long celebration across Portland and honors its 36th anniversary as the longest-running African film festival in the Pacific Northwest. Experience powerful storytelling, artist voices, and community dialogue across multiple museum spaces.

Free Day Highlights:

• Finley Studio: A painting activity with artist Jeremy Okai Davis, who was included in the previous PAM exhibition Black Artists of Oregon and has a piece on view now in Prints by Black Artists.
• Finley Studio: An African (Mali) sculpture activity facilitated by the organization Ko Falen, making butterflies, dragonflies and flowers out of recycled aluminum cans.
• 4th floor Northwest Gallery: Community conversation and storytelling sessions with members of the African diaspora, held in To Gather Your Leaving .
• Black Art and Experiences Galleries: Music by DJ Reese Bowes.
• Whitsell Auditorium: Short films curated by the Cascade Festival of African Films.