October 2: Join us to celebrate 21 new artworks acquired for City’s public art collection

In partnership with the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), Portland's Office of Arts & Culture invites you to the opening celebration for an exhibition featuring 21 newly acquired works for the City of Portland's Visual Chronicles of Portland collection. Please consider joining us at the City Gallery, on the second floor of the Portland Building, on Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 3 p.m. to recognize the contributions of Portland's artists and creatives, particularly those whose works were recently selected for inclusion in this storied collection.

The artists whose works were selected are Stephanie Buer, Jax Chow, John Cline, Paul Higgins, Hermon Joyner, Kendra Larson,Jim Lommasson, Ivan McClellan, Robert Minervini, David Rice, and Chris Russell.

"We are thrilled to present a new set of works for the Visual Chronicle of Portland," said Eric Fredericksen, Arts & Culture's Public Art Administrator. "We look forward to further collaboration with RACC to create new opportunities for public engagement with this important project that collects' artists response to the city over the past 40 years."

What is the Visual Chronicle of Portland?

The Visual Chronicle of Portland is a City-owned collection of works on paper that offers a dynamic portrayal of artists' views of the city's social and urban landscapes. New additions to the collection occur annually. The collection's intent is to capture "the spirit of the times" and artists' sense of "Portlandness" as the city evolves and changes. It serves as both an eclectic view of life in Portland as well as a record of artists working in the city, dating back to 1985, following the suggestion of artist Henk Pender, whose hometown of Amsterdam has a similar collection.

The artworks in this acquisition were selected through a four-stage review process led by RACC, who is contracted by the Office of Arts & Culture to manage the collection, and included participation from an independent panel of artists, community members, and City employees. Today, the Visual Chronicle of Portland features 463 works by 270 artists that are displayed in City-owned spaces throughout Portland.

Explore the Visual Chronicle of Portland

What is the City Gallery?

Formerly known as the Installation Space, the City Gallery is an open exhibition space on the second floor of the Portland Building, freely accessible to the public. Arts & Culture recently assumed responsibility for programming the space, and will focus on presentations from City collections, including the Visual Chronicle of Portland, while developing longer-range plans for the gallery.