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 The Office of Arts & Culture is pleased to announce a new exhibition from Alex Chiu: “Faces of the Future: Hopes and Dreams Through a Parent’s Eyes.” This new exhibition of paintings at the City Gallery will open on Wednesday, June 3, 4 p.m., and will be up through August 14, 2026.
Interviewed family members Mill Park Elementary connected Alex, who was commissioned to create a public artwork for East Portland’s Mill Park, with the families of six current students. He then interviewed family members to learn more about their histories, and their hopes and dreams for their children.
Alex Chiu is a Portland-based artist and Mill Park neighborhood resident. His work often captures the stories, people, and culture of the neighborhood he is working in. Presenting the original paintings in the City Gallery allows viewers access to the creation process and to the care and detail of Chiu’s compositions.
“Faces of the Future: Hopes and Dreams Through a Parent’s Eyes” is part of Portland’s public art collection and was commissioned through the City’s Percent for Art program. The commission was managed by the nonprofit Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) in partnership with the City of Portland’s Office of Arts & Culture.
The City Gallery is a dedicated space for revolving exhibitions on the second floor of the Portland Building, managed by the Office of Arts & Culture.
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 The Office of Arts & Culture welcomes Hanifah Abioto to the City of Portland Design Commission, where she will serve as the designated arts and culture representative.
Abioto is an artist, arts advisor, and civic practitioner working at the intersection of public art, design, and community engagement in Portland. She currently leads grants and communications programs for the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods and co-runs an arts production and consulting studio with her family.
“Moving to Portland in 2010, I have witnessed profound change in a city shaped by the constant intersection of nature and development,” says Abioto. “As an artist who returns to sound, writing, and printmaking as primary architects of my work, I am trained to notice scale, material, rhythm, and absence, and how these elements shape how people experience themselves in space and place. This way of seeing is why I am both equipped and invested in contributing to Portland through the Design Commission, where there is an opportunity to uplift lived, collective, and diverse experience through public art and design.”
Abioto was appointed to a four-year term on the Commission by a unanimous vote of Council on May 6, 2026,. Council also appointed landscape architect Tommy Solomon to the Design Commission, with a term beginning December 1. The Design Commission provides leadership and expertise on urban design and architecture to the City.
 The Office of Arts & Culture is pleased to partner with the Portland Art Museum, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and City Repair Project on a new Cultural District Plaza at Southwest Madison Street in front of the Museum’s Mark Rothko Pavilion.
Made possible through Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative, the plaza will feature "Mountains Full of Blessings," a large-scale asphalt mural by internationally acclaimed British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori, MBE.
Yinka is known for his colorful, joy-led design philosophy, Ilori’s work brings together community storytelling, contemporary design, and traditional Nigerian parables. The mural was shaped in part by a community workshop hosted by the Museum earlier this year and reflects themes of nature, momentum, and Portlanders’ connection to the landscape and one another.
Community members are invited to help paint the mural during a family-friendly painting party on July 11, led by City Repair Project. The new plaza will officially open with a free community celebration on Saturday, August 8.
 Chief Warrant Officer Joseph G. Brown, Army pilot and resident of Portland, died in Vietnam in 1971
The memorial walls at Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum honor local military members who died while serving our country. The City’s Digital Veterans Memorial helps make those names more accessible by sharing brief biographies that highlight the lives, service, and sacrifices of the veterans honored there.
Because many of these veterans served long ago, we only know a small number of their stories. The Digital Veterans Memorial is an opportunity to help preserve and share more of them.
Do you know the story of a local veteran who died in service to this country? Share details for a biography to be included in the City of Portland’s Digital Veterans Memorial.
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 Photo and credit: “Bucket Chair” by Jennifer Rabin
Join us in celebrating Jennifer Rabin, a Portland-based mixed-media sculptor, who was named one of the Oregon Arts Commission’s 2026 Individual Artist Fellows.
Rabin’s work transforms discarded and forgotten objects into powerful sculptures that explore resilience, shelter, chronic illness, disability, and estrangement. Using natural fibers, she reimagines cast-aside materials as places of safety and refuge.
The Individual Artist Fellowship program recognizes Oregon artists for outstanding talent, demonstrated ability, and commitment to creating new work.
 by HK, PDX Natural Dye & Pigment
The Multnomah Arts Center welcomes three new exhibitions to its Front & Center Galleries, on view May 22 through June 27, 2026.
In the Front Gallery, "Conjuring Color" features work by more than 15 local artists from the Portland Natural Dye and Pigment Group, who create color from natural materials like rocks, rust, kitchen scraps, fungi, and plants.
In the Center Gallery, solo exhibitions by Pearlyn Tan and Irina Belova explore themes of nature, identity, resilience, and human experience through printmaking, mixed media, and fiber art.
The exhibitions opening reception is this Thursday, May 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Multnomah Arts Center, located at 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. The galleries are free and open to the public.
 Portland Parks & Recreation’s Summer Free For All is back for 2026, bringing free movies, concerts, cultural events, festivals, meals, and activities to parks across Portland.
The season begins with Free Lunch + Play on June 22, offering free meals for youth 18 and under, along with games, arts, crafts, music, and other activities at parks across the city.
This year’s lineup includes nearly 50 free outdoor events for all ages, including park concerts, outdoor movies, multicultural festivals, the East Portland Summer Arts Festival, Washington Park Summer Festival, free open play swim sessions, and Fitness in the Park.
Free summer events begin July 8 with a Bollywood dance party at Gateway Discovery Park.
Call for artists reminder: Apply by June 1
 Artists are invited to respond to an open call for summer public art projects for Portland Street Plazas. The Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with the Portland Bureau of Transportation, invites artists for projects will imagine new possibilities for Portland's public realm and the communities who gather there.
The project budget for each art commission is $10,000, inclusive of all artist fees, project costs, travel, presentation, documentation of the work, and applicable taxes. The application deadline is 2 p.m. on Monday, June 1, and projects will be realized between July and September 2026.
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Add it to your calendar 🗓️
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June 7
Portland Taiko invites the community downtown on Sunday, June 7, for People of the Drum, a free, family-friendly outdoor concert celebrating rhythm, movement, and cultural traditions.
The event will take place on Main Street, next to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall at 1037 SW Broadway.
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April 4 - Jan 31, 2027
"Bust of York" is on display at the Portland Art Museum! Participate in the exhibition and survey to help inform public conversations about history and monuments in Portland.
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April 15 - September 20
The annual HeART of Portland returns to the Portland Art Museum on April 15 with a K–12 exhibition featuring more than 100 works by Portland Public Schools student artists.
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Grant opportunities and open calls 📣
- Miller Foundation 2026 Spark Award | $25,000 per Visual Artist | Applications accepted until June 3, 2026, at 5 p.m.
- Call for Artists: Harrison Community Village Residency| Multnomah County + Do Good Multnomah + RACC | $15,000-$25,000 per grant | Applications due 11:59 p.m., on June 10, 2026
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Uniquely Portland Event Grant (Portland Events & Film Office) | $500-$7,500 | Application deadline: Rolling, but the last day to submit for events taking place by June 30 is May 16, 2026
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Affordable Commercial Tenanting Grant (Prosper Portland) | Up to $300,000 | Application deadline: Ongoing
What we're reading 📰
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Traducción e Interpretación | Biên Dịch và Thông Dịch | अनुवादन तथा व्याख्या
口笔译服务 | Устный и письменный перевод | Turjumaad iyo Fasiraad
Письмовий і усний переклад | Traducere și interpretariat | Chiaku me
Awewen Kapas
Translation and Interpretation: 311
The City of Portland ensures meaningful access and reasonably provides: translation, interpretation, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, auxiliary aids and services. To request these services, call 311 for Relay Service or TTY: 711.
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