"Despite the chaos caused by last year's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) funding cuts, The Price of the Ticket-Oregon Contemporary Artists' Biennial exhibition-opened on schedule. Crowds of art lovers-spectators, neighborhood residents, and working artists, et al.-cycled through the Kenton gallery's three room layout to see how Oregon-tied artists responded to curator TK Smith's prompt about the United States' 250th anniversary. The biennial's programming, on view through July 4, tells a richly multicultural story about the cost of claiming the US as home, especially when this country's dominant culture does not value all American dreams equally."
"The Price of the Ticket deserves to exist outside a Trump administration funding fiasco, but the relationship does feel resonant. After the National Endowment for the Arts pulled back $30,000 already guaranteed to Oregon Contemporary, supporters like the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology stepped in to bridge the gap. Oregon Contemporary remains the anchor for the exhibit's citywide programming, with Portland Art Museum (PAM), Ori Gallery, KSMoCA, Hand2Mouth Theatre, and Collins Gallery at the Multnomah County Central Library hosting performances, installations, and other programming to continue the conversations Smith's curatorial prompts started."
""This exhibition is so important right now," says Blake Shell, Oregon Contemporary's executive director. "[It's] so really of the moment and of the artists responding to the moment, and TK saw a great opportunity for us to reflect on this moment in time in America.""
"The biennial's centerpiece is Todd McGrain's Bust of York, which anonymously assumed the former pedestal of a toppled statue of Oregonian founder Harvey W. Scott in Mt. Tabor Park, in 2021, and which was itself toppled approximately five months later. Oregon Contemporary displays the to-scale wood and plaster prototype- the actual piece installed in the park-and PAM temporarily houses the"
The Oregon Contemporary Artists' Biennial opened on schedule despite funding cuts tied to DOGE. Crowds moved through a three-room Kenton gallery to view how Oregon-tied artists responded to a prompt about the United States’ 250th anniversary. Programming ran through July 4 and presented a multicultural account of the cost of claiming the country as home, especially when dominant culture does not value all American dreams equally. After the National Endowment for the Arts reduced $30,000 already guaranteed to Oregon Contemporary, supporters such as the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology helped bridge the gap. Oregon Contemporary anchored citywide programming with multiple Portland venues hosting performances, installations, and related events. The biennial’s centerpiece includes Todd McGrain’s Bust of York, connected to a toppled statue and later toppled again.
#oregon-contemporary #artists-biennial #united-states-250th-anniversary #public-art-and-monuments #arts-funding
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