The Latest in Portland Arts News—Tove Lo and Jen Kirkman Ahoy!
Tove Lo, Portland-bound in October
Sure, it’s the height of summer, but what happens when the temperatures cool and you find yourself without tickets to the hottest shows in town? That's why we're here for you, distracted summer partiers, to let you know that this Friday (June 26) tickets go on sale for a range of fall concerts that cater to all manner of musical tastes. Swedish pop-rocker Tove Lo hits the Crystal Ballroom on October 5, while later that month Welsh indie popster Marina and the Diamonds play the Roseland (Oct 23). Bluegrass fans should watch out for Hot Buttered Rum at Revolution Hall on November 20, while Seattle EMD duo Odesza bring their electro-dance delights to the Roseland on December 3 and 4. Tickets for all of the above and more—Blonde Redhead, Old 97s, and Beth Hart among them—are all on sale this Friday.
Portland’s annual week-long mural-painting extravaganza Forest for the Trees has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for this year’s event (Aug 24–30). With lots of plum goodies on offer as incentive, this non-profit public art project is aiming to raise $10,000 in the next three weeks to help pay for equipment, paint and lodging for visiting artists.
FFTT2015 Kickstarter 3 from Gage Hamilton on Vimeo.
It’s inspired a beer, yoga pants and uncountable Instagrams; now the old PDX carpet is getting its own art show. For the month of July, One Grand Gallery will be paying homage to the airport's original threads, with twenty artists showing work inspired by the carpet, airport culture, or the carpet’s demise. And it's all in collaboration with The PDX Project, one of the recipients of the vanishing carpet.
Miniature Raven Headdress, 1991. Tsungani (Fearon Smith)
In other gallery news, Quintana Galleries will close its doors after 42 years of business. The announcement came this week that the longest running art gallery in Portland, which specializes in Native American art, is shutting its doors on August 15 this year. The silver lining? All their remaining inventory is on sale, with discounts of up to 50 percent.
"Though we will miss our valued friends, clients and artists, the reason the we chose to close the gallery is simple: after 40 plus years of running a small business, we are looking forward to retirement," said Cecily Quintana.
Given the conversations currently taking place in this country about race and history, now is the time to catch the Gordon Parks show at Blue Sky Gallery, which closes this Saturday. The first African-American staff photographer and writer for LIFE magazine, Parks documented everyday life for African-Americans in the south during Jim Crow segregation. For a glimpse of the history that brought us from there to here, and a reminder of how much, and how little, has changed, go see Segregation Story.
Bonus funnies for this week? Jen Kirkman, who plays the Hollywood Theater on Saturday, on tour behind her new Netflix comedy special "I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine)." Here's a taster . . .
