News
Shine A Light October 15 at the Portland Art Museum
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Art Museum and Portland State University present the second edition of Shine a Light, Friday, October 15 from 6 p.m.–midnight. This one-night-only event lets 12 artists from the PSU MFA Art and Social Practice concentration re-imagine the Museum’s gallery spaces and permanent collection objects to offer visitors a non-traditional art experience. This community-based event includes participation from local breweries, musicians, volunteers, Museum staff—from docents to security—and audiences.
“We want people to be open-minded about what can happen in a Museum and find new ways to experience art,” said Tina Olsen, Education Director at the Portland Art Museum. “We are suggesting that visitors view art as something that is happening right now—that isn’t in the past—but that is directly related to their life today.”
Demonstrations, events, and performances will take place inside and outside of the Museum. Outdoors in the sculpture court, attendees can enjoy snacks from local food carts Koi Fusion and Tastebud, and sample specially made beer brewed for the event by Coalition Brewing, Hopworks Urban Brewery, and Rock Bottom Brewery (Art & Beer). Inside the Museum, visitors are invited to turn into objects of “beauty” via a beauty mark (mole) distribution system (Mole Flanders); marry a work of art (Art/Life Partners); view nude wrestling performances that mimic traditional Greco-Roman sculptures (Two Boys, Wresting); and touch art object replicas (You Can Touch This). Objects in the silver gallery will slowly change color as colored lights ranging from blues and purples to red reflect on the pieces and glass display cases (Reflecting in Silver).
Audiences will also have the rare opportunity to see the Museum’s galleries transformed into dance spaces where break dancers will freestyle to a live DJ (B-Boy is for Break Dance) and, in undetermined locations, dancers will spontaneously break into dance (Chance Dance). The evening will also offer three guided tours around the Museum—a music-led tour (Background Music Audio Guide), a voice-led tour of first-person accounts from Museum security (See Me… Hear Me… An Audio Tour), and a community-contributed object tour (A Teaching Collection). Around the Museum visitors can also hear music— jingles with lyrics based on Museum staff job descriptions and experiences (PAM Jingles) or listen to musicians playing in the galleries that correlate culturally to their music (Music from the Milieu). In the Northwest collection, works will be accompanied by music and sounds that punctuate the visual images depicted in the art (Incidental Aural Reinforcement). And in collaboration with the Columbia Orienteering Club, visitors can navigate the Museum’s “terrain” by taking place in this sport that combines visual literacy with creative decision-making, physical endurance, and navigational skills (Portland Orienteering Museum).
The full Shine a Light schedule will be available on September 20. The Museum will have special hours on the day of the event and attendees are encouraged to stay as late as midnight.
Full list of artists and projects:
Katherine Ball – Music from the Milieu
Varithorn Christopher – B-Boy for Break Dance and Chance Dance
Ariana Jacob – Art/Life Partners
Hannah Jickling – Portland Orienteering Museum
Josh Mong – Music from the Milieu, Reflecting in Silver, and Incidental Reinforcement
Helen Reed – Presenting Mole Flanders (a project created by Jen Kovach and Coral Short)
Jen Delos Reyes with Daniel Osborne – Background Music Audio Guide
Sandy Sampson – A Teaching Collection
Eric Steen – Art & Beer
Michelle Swinehart – You Can Touch This and See Me… Hear Me…
Lexa Walsh – PAM Jingles
Jason Zimmerman – Two Boys, Wrestlingand Friends of Graphic Design- Keeping it Light
Additional performances by:
Guidance Counselor
Wampire