ART
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909 N. Hayden Island Dr.« Portland, OR 97209
risty Edmunds wants to push your but
streams itself.” PICA seeks artists who “are push
tons. Attend something she’s curated or
ing against the traditional canons of what art
organized, and she probably will.
practice is” and offers an avenue for those whose
In 1990 Edmunds moved to the Rose
work is “beyond the means of commercial gal
City and landed the position of performance art
leries, usually because it’s not about selling
curator at Portland Art Museum. She was
objects, it’s about expressing ideas."
employed simultaneously at the Northwest Film
Calling PICA “curator driven,” Edmunds her
Center and after a few years began to see a void.
self does about 200 studio visits a year locally,
The National Endowment for the Arts had
nationally and internationally. That’s a lot of trav
been deflated since the right-wing attacks of
el, but she finds it imperative for the organization.
the early ’90s, and the Portland nonprofits that
“That’s our job.. .to go out, look at what’s
provided access to contemporary art were gone.
going on, talk with other curators, talk with
Edmunds saw a need for a local organization
many, many artists, figure out where these pockets
that would connect regional artists and audi
of influence to new ideas are happening. Then
ences with national and international art con
you develop the projects around a sensibility.”
cepts and movements.
One recent project left the exhibition hall
So she left her jobs in 1995 and founded the
and went straight to the street. Artists Nan
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. Since Curtis and Martin Houston created the 12th
then, PICA has become a national leader in pro Avenue Project as part of PICA’s Counter C an
moting and helping produce
vas series. Many Southeast
provocative artistic work.
Portlanders will remember
“The city is urbanizing,”
this street sign installation
Edmunds tells me in the airy
that last year ran along
space that serves as the Re
Southeast 12th Avenue
source Room, “and we deserve
between Division and Bum-
to he able to have a nonprofit
side streets.
art center that is going to con
The 52 signs, followed
nect us to other aesthetic
continuously, told a story
ideas in other cities so that we
about a girl on a journey. This
don’t have to just read about
was a collaboration with the
them ...through the filter of
Regional Arts and Culture
somebody else’s words. Direct
Council, and Edmunds says
exposure to this kind of art is
they will continue to work
by
L
isa
B
radshaw
really critical.”
together to create more tem
“This kind of art” includes
porary work in public spaces.
nearly anything that pushes
And then there’s the
boundaries or introduces challenging ideas.
Dada Ball. “Yeah, whew!” Edmunds responds,
PICA plays host to ongoing visual exhibitions
starting to laugh. Although its actual purpose is
in its Pearl District location and sponsors
to raise money for PICA, “It now has a life all
unlimited types of performance art in various
unto itself.”
venues: dance, film, music, spoken word, the
This camivalesque Portland tradition has
ater. Often different media intersect in the
become synonymous with cutting-edge cos
exhibition hall or on stage, offering a fresh
tume and decor, spectacle and, yes, debauchery.
approach to the expression of ideas.
“They’re given permission,” Edmunds muses,
PICA also offers an artist residency program.
“to create, innovate, have some irreverence,
“Essentially, we buy artists’ creative time to make
have some radicalism and have a great time.”
new work in an uninhibited environment,”
It clearly is working— last year’s hall attract
Edmunds explains. They find the residents an
ed 3,500 revelers. O f course, that included
appropriate space in which to work and connect
more than a few drag queens. “The queer com
them with other artists and community resources.
munity has been tremendously supportive of
Being an interdisciplinary artist herself,
PICA,” Edmunds smiles.
Edmunds realizes not only have individual grants
The 35-year-old Washington native moved
decreased significantly, hut “the work of artists in
around constantly as a kid. She was bom an
this country is becoming more and more margin
artist, she admits, “constantly having an urge
alized and more and more economically starved
to make something out of nothing— peach pits,
unless it feeds a decorative purpose or main
whatever— I’d make sculptures.”
APt (OP
art's sake
PICA’S leader
is on a mission
to open your eyes
to new ideas
WINNER!
TONY AWARD
BEST 'o f BROADWAY
¡y £ j
September
4 -9
Keller Auditorium
SW 3rd & Clay
Call (503) 241-1802 M-F 9a 5p or (503) 790-ARTS
Tickets available at all ticttetrrtn*tor locations including Portland Opera
^ Delta
K1U3
G ro u p s (20 or more): (503) 241-1407 • w w w portlandopera org • w w w broadw ayseries com
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