At the Museum

A Bike Path Now Runs Through the Portland Art Museum

PAM’s $111 million expansion is named for Mark Rothko instead of a benefactor and designed for Portlanders over tourists.

10/20/2025 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Michael Novak

things to do

A Posthumous Book from Geek Love Author Katherine Dunn

Also: Demetri Martin, and other events in town this week.

10/02/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

Arts Preview

Art Gallery and Museum Shows to See in Portland This Fall

An Ursula K. Le Guin exhibition, TBA, hagfish slime sculptures, and several very punk-rock women of hybrid identity.

08/06/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

arts preview

5 Art Gallery and Museum Shows to See in Portland This Spring

More Monet at PAM, Dinh Q. Lê’s anti-propaganda, and the Holocaust’s long shadow.

02/11/2025 By Matthew Trueherz

The Art World

Julian Gaines Is Bringing Jet Magazine to the Museum

After a nearby fire shut down the painter’s gallery show, his tribute to the influential Black magazine’s civil rights era moves to PAM.

10/21/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Au Musée

Getting Handsy with Monet’s Water Lilies at PAM

Stripping unwanted varnish gives the Impressionist masterpiece new life, and peels back some of the painting’s intimidating context.

10/14/2024 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Jason Hill

Art Review

A Picture of Fame: Paul McCartney’s Beatlemania Photos at PAM

Recently uncovered snapshots from 1964 give an intimate look at the moment the Beatles became the world’s first global celebrities.

10/08/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

At the Museum

The Portland Art Museum Is Having a Very French Summer

At the center of four shows is a traveling exhibit of fan-favorite Impressionist paintings. There are plenty of dots to connect, Monet to Bonnard.

07/31/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

For Kicks

Back to the Future and into the Metaverse: 100-Plus Years of Sneakers at PAM

Marty McFly’s Nikes, those Big Red Boots, and a few pairs that literally don’t exist have plenty to tell us about ourselves.

04/12/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Director’s Chair

Is HBO's New Tree Documentary about Trees? Portland Filmmaker Says Not Exactly.

Irene Taylor’s new film Trees and Other Entanglements weaves wooded PNW tales, from bonsai art to lumber fortunes.

12/08/2023 By Matthew Trueherz

Fashion Museum

Thrilling Africa Fashion at PAM Models Styles Past and Present, and a Very Queer Future

In the gorgeous, traveling exhibit on at the Portland Art Museum, clothes both reflect and drive culture.

11/22/2023 By Matthew Trueherz

Unrated

In a Former Porn Cinema, PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater Will Screen Everything But

Like live programming from the Talking Heads’ David Byrne, for starters.

10/11/2023 By Matthew Trueherz

Animation

A Behind-the-Scenes Pinocchio Exhibit Lands at Portland Art Museum

Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio at PAM takes patrons behind the scenes of the Oscar-winning, Portland-made stop-motion film.

05/31/2023 By Conner Reed

Visual Art

The Coolest Gallery Shows in Portland Right Now

Food by way of Warhol and Hockney, a dizzying look at German history, autumnal brushes with the occult, and more

09/27/2022 By Conner Reed

Visual Art

Perspectives at PAM Helps Metabolize Portland's 2020 Protests

The new Portland Art Museum exhibition features photographs from six artists that challenge the notion of a fixed takeaway from the city's uneasy moment in the spotlight.

07/20/2022 By Matthew Trueherz

Visual Art

PAM’s Frida Kahlo Exhibit Is More Than a Study in History

To supplement the main exhibition, the museum is tapping a slew of local artists to generate new pieces that nod to Kahlo's legacy.

04/08/2022 By Conner Reed

Arts News

The NW Film Center Is Now PAM CUT. What Does That Mean?

Inside the 51-year-old institution’s rebrand to the Center for an Untold Tomorrow.

03/09/2022 By Conner Reed

Film

NW Film Center Announces 2022 Cinema Unbound Award Honorees

Carrie Brownstein and Shirin Neshat join five other filmmakers and artists in this year's lineup.

02/02/2022 By Conner Reed

Money & Politics

Who Is Donating in Portland City Council Elections?

With contributions capped, big players with names like Goodman, Kafoury, and Jubitz are writing small checks to candidates for city commissioner.

01/25/2022 By Margaret Seiler

Visual Art

Inside the Portland Art Museum’s Aux/Mute Gallery

DJ Ambush of the Numberz has transformed part of PAM’s fourth floor into a platform for BIPOC artists.

12/20/2021 By Conner Reed