Public Art

The region’s public art enlivens urban and rural landscapes and promotes dialogue among people of all ages and backgrounds. Through a variety of public-private partnerships, RACC helps acquire and maintain community-owned artworks in public places. A Public Art Advisory Committee oversees RACC’s public art program, which is among the oldest and most highly regarded public art programs in the country.

Team Members to Contact

Kristin Law Calhoun
Director of Partnerships and Programs
kcalhoun@racc.org

Salvador Mayoral IV
Deputy Director of Public Art
smayoral@racc.org

Sophie May
Public Art Project Manager
shook@racc.org

News

December 2018 Night Lights: Three Moons/Tres Lunas/3つの月

Our outdoor public art event series, Night Lights, will feature Roland Dahwen and Stephanie Adams-Santos in December! Happening on December 6 at 5pm, Dahwen and Adams-Santos will present Three Moons/Tres Lunas/3つの月, a two-channel video installation and altar, dedicated to, and made alongside, our elders. In conjunction with the video and text projections, the artists will build several temporary altars. […]

New mural materializing now on NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard

Artists Andrea de la Vega and Damien Dawahare have their backs turned towards the camera. Damien is holding a brush with his right hand, raised, and Andrea is looking to where Damien is pointing on the wall.

Local artists channel Día de Muertos in next installment of Fresh Paint, a temporary murals program October 17, 2018 — PORTLAND, OR – Passersby can now see the newest work-in-progress from Fresh Paint, a temporary murals program, on the exterior wall of Open Signal: Portland Community Media Center on NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard […]

November 2018 Night Lights: Windows 11

Image of a person projected onto RACC's office building. Their hands are stretched upwards and clasped. while their face looks downward. They're wearing black framed glasses, a black, white, and grey sweater, and grey pants.

Night Lights, RACC’s outdoor public art event series continues with local artists Roesing Ape and Beth Whelan. Following a successful kickoff to the series with Laura Median’s Flying in October, the next Night Lights event will take place on November 1st at 6PM. Titled Windows 11, Ape and Whelan’s work involves a minimalist dance piece inside an architectural projection of […]

Essex Park Gets New ‘Mindfulness’ Mural

Volulnteers painting the walls of the Essex Park public restroom

If you’re around the Foster Powell Neighborhood in Portland, you may have caught a new mural going up at Essex Park on SE 76th and Center St. during the weekend of September 22 and 23. Artist team Rather Severe (Travis Czekalski and Jon Stommel) is heading the mural painting, with design and painting help provided […]

Meet the artists showcasing their work for 2018-19 Night Lights!

Photo of artist Laura Medina standing in front of a wall, with her artwork projected onto her and the wall.

Night Lights, RACC’s outdoor public art event series, is back for five months with local artists/collectives projecting their digital media works onto RACC’s building for several hours starting at dusk. Now in its fourth year, Night Lights is a unique event series that celebrates and highlights the intersections of digital technology, art, and place. Laura […]

Fresh Paint with Molly Mendoza

In a city known for murals, how do you get your foot (or art) through a door when you’re an emerging artist of color? Fresh Paint, a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, offers that door to have artists work in the public space. Last May, Molly Mendoza kicked off the […]

Fresh Paint with Alex Chiu

Alex Chiu's mural featuring 6 frames of his daughter jumping up and down a bed

In a city known for murals, how do you get your foot (or art) through a door when you’re an emerging artist of color? Fresh Paint, a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, offers that door to have artist work in the public realm. In our 2017 pilot year, Fresh Paint […]

New Mural Imagines the Process of Choosing a Non-Partial Jury

Working with King School students, Ralph Pugay’s installation is up on the pedestrian walkway to Hawthorne Bridge A Long Line of Non-Partial Jurors is now installed in the temporary pedestrian walkway along the SW Main Street entrance to the Hawthorne Bridge. This public art mural was created collaboratively between Ralph Pugay as the lead artist and […]