When the Portland Art Museum unveiled its new Mark Rothko Pavilion in late 2025, it marked a massive shift for the city’s Downtown Cultural District. But the museum’s ambitious, campus-wide expansion was always meant to connect to its surrounding environment. This summer, the stunning renovation reaches its final milestone by spilling directly into the neighborhood, transforming a section of Southwest Madison Street from a standard city street into a vibrant, car-free plaza.

To activate this new open-air extension of the museum’s galleries, PAM has commissioned London-based British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori, MBE. Renowned for his colorful, narrative-driven design philosophy, Ilori’s work frequently bridges contemporary global design with traditional Nigerian parables. His canvas for this project is a large-scale work of asphalt art, designed to break down the traditional Museum boundaries and help create an even more joyous, unified, and accessible cultural campus that belongs to the entire city.

The project’s design is deeply rooted in the local community. In February, the museum hosted a collaborative workshop where Park Block neighbors and other Portlanders shared stories and inspiration directly with Ilori. Nearly 500 people gathered alongside the City Repair Project on July 11 for a painting party to bring this dynamic vision to life. The final reveal is scheduled for August 8, when the community is invited to celebrate this new downtown space and enjoy free admission to the Museum all day.

August 8 Celebration Details:

• 12 p.m. – Grand Opening: Be there for the big reveal of the Cultural District Plaza and celebrate the collaborative community effort that brought this vision to life.
• 12:20 p.m.– Special Performance by Heidi Duckler Dance/Northwest: Experience a breathtaking, site-specific movement performance that interacts beautifully with the newly painted asphalt art.
• 2 p.m. – Conversation with Yinka Ilori, MBE and the 1803 Fund’s CEO, Rukaiyah Adams: Hear directly from the artist about his design philosophy and the power of using joy, color, and traditional parables to beautify civic spaces.

  

Admission is free all day. Bring family, friends, and neighbors to experience art, connection, and community pride at the new Cultural District Plaza!

The project is a partnership with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), the City Repair Project, and the City of Portland Office of Arts and Culture, and is made possible by funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative and the City of Portland Office of Arts and Culture.