2022: A Year in Review

Oregon ArtsWatch’s writers and editors look at the big events, offbeat discoveries, significant changes, and just plain good stories in ’22, from visual arts to books to theater, dance, music, movies, arts education, Indigenous arts, and more.

The year that was: Looking back on ’22

The opening of the Reser Center in Beaverton and the cautious return to post-pandemic "normal" top a vigorous year of arts events in Oregon.

Memorial: Those we lost in 2022

Remembering the many Oregon arts and cultural figures who died in 2022, from music to dance to stage to screen to literary figures and more.

2022: Dance in the rear view mirror

Jamuna Chiarini considers the resilience, grit, and transcendence of Portland's dance community in 2022.

MusicWatch Annual: My name is Janus

Listening backwards and forwards to the trends and traditions which (we hope) will continue into the next year.

Here’s looking at you: Visual arts in 2022

From Frida Kahlo to Banksy to Arvie Smith to Elizabeth Leach's 40 years to Michelangelo vs. the dinosaurs, a year of invigorating things to see.

Screening Room: Behind the camera in ’22

From the glories of Movie Madness to a flock of festivals to the tale of Will Vinton's lost dreams, it was a very good film year in Oregon.

FilmWatch Yearly: The Top Ten Movies of the Year

Marc Mohan picks his best movies of the year. To find out which ones make the list – and which is No. 1 – read on.

2022: The year at the theater

Oregon's theater scene took the year literally in stages, from Covid caution to something resembling (but not quite) full speed ahead.

The cultural and hot wars of 2022

From Putin's invasion of Ukraine to vaccine wars to street protests and racial reckonings, the art world responds to the world at large.

In the arts world, a year of new faces

Around Oregon, a fresh crop of arts leaders move into top spots. In part, it's a generational shift.

2022: A Literary Year in Review

Amy Leona Havin looks back at a year of book releases, events, interviews, and inspirations from Oregon’s literary bounty.