Stage & Studio: Vanport Mosaic turns 10!

May 12, 2025Dmae Lo Roberts

The "memory activism" festival, established to tell stories of the lasting cultural effects of the 1948 Vanport Flood, continues with a rich tapestry of music and theater. Dmae Lo Roberts talks with the Mosaic's leaders and co-founders.

Grand entrance: Rogue Valley Symphony brings home The Raven

May 12, 2025Jim Flint

The symphony needed a truly grand piano. A stunning Steinway D in a New York high-rise needed to spread its wings. Now in Oregon, the big bird prepares for its debut at Medford’s Craterian Theater in a week-long "Pianopalooza."

‘Kauaʻi Storm,’ Tori Eldridge’s new mystery, is also a story about Hawaiian culture and family

May 11, 2025Amy Wang

The Beaverton author says she hopes readers will come away with an appreciation of what Native Hawaiians — the Kanaka Maoli — are facing today.

PuzzleWatch: Mother-Inspired Art

May 11, 2025Daryl Browne

In honor of Mother's Day, here's a crossword puzzle that celebrates the theme of motherhood in the arts.

Oregon Writing Festival: Nurturing the voices of young writers for 40 years

May 9, 2025David Bates

The pandemic put the daylong workshop into rebuilding mode, but students at this year’s event at Woodburn High School emerged jazzed by the power of story.

Believe the HYPE: Bag&Baggage’s new youth performance group exemplifies a company that looks to theater’s future

May 9, 2025Brett Campbell

The Hillsboro Youth Performance Ensemble offers youth hands-on experience in theater craft and management through a paid workforce development program.

FilmWatch Weekly: Under-the-radar action in ‘Fight or Flight’ and ‘Sharp Corner,’ plus ‘Secret Mall Apartment,’ Log Lady doc, and more

May 8, 2025Marc Mohan

Two modest releases from Vertical Entertainment offer a welcome break from the standard big-budget studio fare.

MusicPortland and the potential closure of Portland Community College’s Music and Sonic Arts program

May 8, 2025Charles Rose

The local musicians advocacy group has started a survey to help with students and instructors opposing PCC's proposal to end their MSA program.

A brilliant ‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’ at Portland Playhouse (even with its NEA grant pulled)

May 8, 2025Darleen Ortega

As its grant goes on the chopping block, August Wilson's American classic gets a transcendent performance in a tale of people wrestling with profound human questions.

Love and joy to the little ones: The Lullaby Project continues

May 8, 2025Daryl Browne

The long-running program connects new mothers with local songwriters, Oregon Symphony musicians, and social service organizations.

Portland Center Stage launches $9 million emergency campaign

May 8, 2025Bob Hicks

The city's biggest theater company aims to shore up its finances by June 2026 – and needs $2.5 million by the end of August to keep its doors open and begin its next season.

Dance Review: Grupo Corpo thrills with precise and dizzying energy

May 7, 2025Beth Sorensen

The Brazilian dance company, renowned for its precise synchronized dancing and Afro-Brazilian movement, provided a joyful night that transfixed and transported its Portland audience.

Fully reflective of life: PSU Opera’s Puccini double-header

May 7, 2025Lorin Wilkerson

Portland State University’s opera program presented a pair of strikingly different productions of “Suor Angelica” and “Gianni Schicchi.”

Emergency Alert: Six action steps if your NEA grant was just canceled

May 6, 2025Claire Willett

Arts organizations can learn how to still appeal the cancellations, and find free resources and support on what steps to take.

DramaWatch:  ‘The Other Place’; Portland Playhouse campaigns to aid Oregon arts groups; Fuse’s OUTwright Festival

May 6, 2025Linda Ferguson

Plus: More openings and continuing shows; Native Theater Project awards; a look ahead as theaters begin to announce their 2025-26 seasons.

The same yet different: The reunion of David Friesen and John Stowell

May 6, 2025Lynn Darroch

The bassist and guitarist renew a partnership that helped shape Portland’s jazz in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Oregon Department of Education launches new, virtual arts education program

May 6, 2025Amanda Waldroupe

There are high hopes that the Arts, Care & Connection program will expose elementary school students to art. But will it be successful?

‘Solito’ author Javier Zamora will speak Wednesday at Linfield University on migration, identity, and memory

May 5, 2025David Bates

The appearance by the poet and memoirist is part of the school's “Learning Across Boundaries” program, which also includes a literary and visual art display.

Identities and paper at The Reser

May 5, 2025Shannon M. Lieberman

The artists in the group show 'Infinite Possibilities' use paper as a medium to explore complex ideas around family, memory, and history. The resulting works are as poignant as they are beautiful.

Ashland Independent Film Festival roars back

May 4, 2025Jim Flint

With robust audiences and several hit films, this year's lively festival climbed out of the pandemic-years slump. Coming in 2026: AIFF's 25th anniversary celebration.

NEA Funding Cuts Hit Oregon Arts Organizations

May 3, 2025Claire Willett

Grant recipients scramble as promised funding is withdrawn for programs already in motion.

The Cultural Landscape: Part 21

May 3, 2025K.B. Dixon

Photographer K.B. Dixon continues his series of cultural profiles with portraits of actor & acting teacher Brooke Totman, glass artist Andy Paiko, poet Jennifer Perrine, writer Ferris Jabr, and musician Naomi LaViolette.

Peter Gallo: Divine sense and madness

May 2, 2025Hannah Krafcik

The artist's West Coast debut, "Peter Gallo: Gods, Sluts & Martyrs" on view at Adams and Ollman, incorporates found materials, thickly painted impasto, and juxtaposed text to explore creativity and art's social framing.

Soundscapes and mindscapes: Fear No Music’s evening of electroacoustic music

May 2, 2025Lorin Wilkerson

The fourth in FNM’s season-long commitment to Oregon composers showcased music for piano, strings, and electronics by William Campbell, Ravi Kittappa, Caroline L. Miller, Kirsten Volness, and Anwyn Willette.

‘The Storyteller’: Starlight and stories

May 2, 2025Linda Ferguson

Premiering at Artists Repertory Theatre, Sara Jean Accuardi’s play explores the complexities of life and of storytelling, which is both dangerous and delightful.

MusicWatch Monthly: Your friends and neighbors

May 1, 2025Matthew Neil Andrews

Ringdown with Third Angle, Young Composers Project, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and a whole lot more of the finest in Oregon springtime music.

FilmWatch Weekly: Seaside settings in Nicolas Cage’s ‘The Surfer,’ a remade ‘Bonjour Tristesse,’ and the sequel ‘Another Simple Favor’

May 1, 2025Marc Mohan

Also this week: the 1960 B-movie "College Confidential" on Blu-ray, bloody folk horror, trippy animation, and more.

‘The Brothers Size’: Heartbreak, erasure, resilience and connection

May 1, 2025Darleen Ortega

Tarell Alvin McCraney's poetical play at Portland Center Stage embodies memories of prison and mystical characters from the Yoruba traditions of West Africa.

VizArts Monthly: Exploring balance

May 1, 2025Raylee Heiden

Exhibitions on view in May tackle everything from past selves to Taiwanese snack logos. Whether you're in the mood for something contemplative, funky, or just plain mysterious - maybe all three? - VizArts Monthly has got you covered.

May DanceWatch: Springing into action

May 1, 2025Jamuna Chiarini

Oregon's busy May dance calendar ranges from world premieres to personal solo work, rock operas, Indian dance, African dance, Shakespearean remixes and more.