Arts and culture in Portland are at the heart of the city’s identity, offering an incredible mix of museums, theaters, galleries, and live performances. Whether you’re moving to Portland, visiting, or already a longtime resident, the city’s vibrant arts scene has something for everyone. From the historic venues of the downtown cultural district to the contemporary spaces in the Pearl District, Portland provides endless opportunities to experience creativity. The Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) supports a thriving arts community, helping to bring world-class performances, exhibitions, and public art to the metro area.
Portland is home to an array of family-friendly art experiences and activities for budding artists. The Oregon Children’s Theatre hosts captivating productions featuring young performers, while Mimosa Studios offers ceramics workshops for all ages. Whether you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking theater production, a classical symphony, or an immersive art walk, Portland’s arts and culture scene makes it easy to live a life enriched by creativity.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 SW Broadway
Portland OR 97205
503-248-4335
www.portland5.com/arlene-schnitzer-concert-hall
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall opened as the Portland Public Theater in 1928 before becoming the Paramount in 1930 and “The Schnitz” in 1984. The grand Italian rococo theater is a historic building and performing arts center whose Broadway marquee is crowned by a 65-foot-high “Portland” sign illuminated with 6000 lights. In addition to being home to the Oregon Symphony, it also welcomes big-name touring acts and other events.
Artists Repertory Theatre
1515 SW Morrison Street
Portland OR 97205
503-241-1278
www.artistsrep.org
Founded in 1982 Artists Repertory Theatre is the longest-running professional theatre company in Portland. Artists Rep’s mission is to engage diverse audiences in fresh thought-provoking and intimate theatre. Artists Rep productions feature the work of a core group of accomplished Resident Artists each with a shared history and a shorthand for collaboration working alongside guest artists from Portland and beyond. We are committed to world-class acting directing design and stagecraft that support new playwriting and aspire to embody great literature moving audiences to truly feel — to experience — storytelling in a way that only the best live theater can.
BodyVox Dance Company
1201 NW 17th Avenue
Portland OR 97209
503-229-0627
www.bodyvox.com
Dance troupe BodyVox takes a wildly imaginative and often hilarious approach to physicality. The company’s engaging visceral work has been featured at the Academy Awards and in music videos for U2 and Sting. However, the best experience is up close in the 150-seat studio at BodyVox’s dance center. Season: October-May.
Chamber Music Northwest
522 SW Fifth Avenue
Portland OR 97204
503-223-3202
www.cmnw.org
Arts and culture in Portland would not be the same without diverse musical experiences from world-class concerts. Art collaborations, educational lectures, and master classes are all held in the relaxed casual atmosphere that only Chamber Music Northwest provides. Chamber Music Northwest performs in venues throughout Portland for its Summer Festival June 22 – July 26 featuring exceptional artists renowned ensembles masterpieces from the chamber repertoire brand-new pieces being premiered and more.
Keller Auditorium
222 SW Clay Street
Portland OR 97201
503-248-4335
www.portland5.com/keller-auditorium
The spacious Keller Auditorium formerly known as the Portland Municipal Auditorium the Portland Public Auditorium and the Portland Civic Auditorium was built in 1917 and is part of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. The venue hosts performing arts events of all kinds ranging from Broadway productions to ballet and opera. For events the auditorium has its own box office concessions stand and the Keller Cafe and Martini Bar.
Lakewood Center for the Arts
368 South State Street
Lake Oswego OR 97034
503-635-3901
www.lakewood-center.org
Established in 1952 Lakewood Theatre Company is the oldest continuously operating theatre company in the Portland metro area. Performances are on the Headlee Mainstage a 220-seat intimate theatre at Lakewood Center for the Arts in Lake Oswego.
Monthly Art Walks
Various Portland locations
First Thursday www.padaoregon.org
Last Thursday www.lastthurspdx.org
First Friday www.facebook.com/1FPDX
First Thursday
First Thursday in the Pearl District and downtown has been going strong since 1986. On the first Thursday of each month, galleries and businesses including the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Craft debut new exhibitions stay open late and throw a soiree complete with free wine and snacks and great people-watching. Of course, it’s also serious business for local galleries like the Elizabeth Leach Gallery one of the celebration’s pioneers.
Last Thursday
During Northeast Alberta Street’s Last Thursday, the art openings at spaces like the Guardino Gallery set the scene for a boisterous street fair that attracts independent artists and performers from local bands to troupes of acrobats. Held year-round the event is biggest from May through September when the street is closed to traffic during the festivities.
First Friday
First Friday hosted by Central Eastside galleries studios and alternative art spaces brings visitors up close with working artists in this burgeoning district. ADX a shared workshop for everything from metal to textiles is a good place to begin a tour.
Milagro – Miracle Theatre Group
425 SE Sixth Avenue
Portland OR 97214
503-236-7253
www.milagro.org
Since 1985 Milagro has provided extraordinary Latino theatre culture and arts education experiences for the enrichment of all communities and continues to thrive at its home El Centro Milagro located in the vibrant Southeast Industrial District. Performances at Milagro Theatre always showcase the best of local and international Latino playwrights musicians dancers actors and more. Milagro’s event space includes the theater which has a capacity for 121 people. The community space El Zócalo accommodates 80 people seated and 120 standing.
Museum of Contemporary Craft
724 NW Davis Street
Portland OR 97209
503-223-2654
www.museumofcontemporarycraft.org
Portland has a long craft tradition — the production of handmade pots and bowls jewelry and glass finely turned wood objects and hand-woven fiber art — and one of its centers since 1937 has been the Museum of Contemporary Craft (MoCC). In fact, the museum is the oldest continuously running craft institution in the country. But from the beginning when it was known as the Oregon Ceramic Studio its spirit was restless; searching out craft artists who were exploring the edges of their fields changing our ideas about what is possible with clay or fiber or glass and blurring the line between craft and art in the process.
That spirit continues as the museum has partnered with the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) which recently joined the museum on the North Park Blocks. Expanding its focus to include design the museum continues to mount major exhibitions on Northwest historical figures as well as groundbreaking reconsiderations of what “craft” is.
Northwest Children’s Theater
1819 NW Everett Street
Portland OR 97209
503-222-4480
www.nwcts.org
Formed in 1993 NWCT is a healthy nonprofit and one of the largest children’s theater companies on the West Coast. The theater company and school produce five major shows a year and the 450-seat theater and classrooms are located in the historic Northwest Neighborhood Cultural Center.
Oregon Ballet Theatre
1037 SW Broadway Street
Portland OR 97205
503-222-5538
www.obt.org
Oregon Ballet Theatre has thrilled audiences — and wowed critics nationwide — with revered classics its own original works and scintillating collaborations with the country’s edgiest choreographers. Established in 1989 OBT’s celebrated company of dancers performs an annual five-program season at the Portland’5 Centers for the Arts. Season: October-April.
Oregon Children’s Theatre
Oregon Children’s Theatre is Portland’s largest nonprofit children’s theater company. Its goal is to create exceptional and memorable theater experiences for children and families. Each season five professionally-produced plays in the Newmark and Winningstad Theatres in the heart of downtown Portland are presented. The plays feature local professional actors as well as child actors from its year-round Acting Academy for students ages 3-18 and its Young Professionals Company a mentoring program for teens. A resident company of Portland’5 Centers for the Arts Oregon Children’s Theatre has been entertaining Portland-area audiences for over 25 years.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
15 South Pioneer Street
Ashland OR 97520
800-219-8161
www.osfashland.org
Enjoy Ashland Oregon’s cultural gem and home of the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) the nation’s largest repertory theatre company. Eleven plays annually on three stages February-October.
Oregon Symphony
921 SW Washington Street
Portland OR 97205
503-228-4294
www.orsymphony.org
The Oregon Symphony Portland’s oldest and largest arts organization brings many of the world’s finest musicians to Portland each year to perform alongside the 76-member orchestra. Led by Music Director Carlos Kalmar the Oregon Symphony presents a full calendar of performances from September through May each year at downtown Portland’s 2780-seat Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Its season encompasses the breadth and depth of orchestral music today from classical and pops subscription series concerts to kids’ programs and a broad range of special performances.
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Avenue
Portland OR 97205
503-226-2811
www.portlandartmuseum.org
The Portland Art Museum, established in 1892, is Oregon’s largest art museum and one of the oldest in the United States. Its inaugural exhibition featured magnificent plaster casts of Greek and Roman sculptures, some of which still adorn the museum today, serving as a testament to its rich history and the origins of Western art.
In late 2025, the museum is set to unveil a transformative expansion and renovation project, adding nearly 100,000 square feet of new or upgraded public and gallery space. Central to this development is the Mark Rothko Pavilion, a 24,000-square-foot glass structure designed by Vinci Hamp Architects in collaboration with Hennebery Eddy Architects. This pavilion will seamlessly connect the museum’s two historic buildings, enhancing accessibility and providing a welcoming “front door” to visitors. The expansion also includes a complete reinstallation of the permanent collection, featuring nearly 300 new acquisitions by artists such as Simone Leigh, Ugo Rondinone, Marie Watt, and Carrie Mae Weems. Notably, one-third of the exhibited works will be displayed for the first time, offering fresh perspectives on the museum’s diverse holdings.
The museum’s extensive collections include prints and drawings, photography, Asian art, Native American art—particularly from the Pacific Coast—and Northwest art. Its European and American collections feature exceptional pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries. The prints and drawings collection, significantly expanded by the late Gordon Gilkey, includes works by Old Master printmakers such as Dürer and Rembrandt, as well as contemporary artists.
Throughout the construction phase, the Portland Art Museum remains open, presenting a series of special exhibitions. Select permanent collection galleries in the Main Building are reopening on a rolling basis, ensuring that visitors continue to engage with the museum’s offerings. For the most current information on exhibitions, events, and the ongoing campus transformation, visit the official website
Portland’5 Centers for the Arts
1111 SW Broadway
Portland OR 97205
503-248-4335
www.portland5.com
Portland’5 Centers for the Arts is the premier arts and entertainment venue in the Pacific Northwest. Nationally recognized as one of the top 10 performing arts centers in the nation the Portland’5 Centers for the Arts hosts every type of event imaginable — more than 1000 performances every year.
Portland Center Stage (PCS)
128 NW 11th Avenue
Portland OR 97209
503-445-3700
www.pcs.org
Portland’s premier professional theater company Portland Center Stage presents classic and contemporary plays in the Gerding Theater at the Armory a sustainably renovated historic building. Drop-in visitors can check out the historic building and grab a bite at the Armory Café inside. PCS season: September-June. JAW a developmental festival of new work takes place in July.
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)
415 SW 10th Avenue Ste. 300
Portland OR 97205
503-242-1419
www.pica.org
Through performances, exhibitions, lectures, and workshops, the annual Time-Based Art Festival PICA constructs a citywide platform for the creation and discovery of contemporary art. For current information on artists and events visit PICA.org.
Portland Opera
211 SE Caruthers Street
Portland OR 97214
503-241-1407
www.portlandopera.org
One of the country’s top opera companies Portland Opera inspires challenges and uplifts audiences by creating productions of high artistic quality that celebrate the beauty and breadth of opera. Portland Opera has established itself as a vibrant and vital part of the region’s cultural activity and identity. With its commitment to producing operas that invigorate the future of the art form and are dramatically and vocally compelling Portland Opera has earned a devoted public following throughout the Northwest.
Third Rail Repertory Theatre
121 SW Salmon Street
Portland OR 97204
503-235-1101
www.thirdrailrep.org
Third Rail Repertory Theatre a permanent ensemble of highly skilled theatre artists is dedicated to pushing its audiences to the edge of the comfort zone the zone of the tickle the chuckle the gasp and the ache. Third Rail’s goal is to produce plays that are rides through mysterious but familiar lands from which the audience and players all return changed surprised and a bit more alive than when the performance started.
White Bird Dance Series
PO Box 99
Portland OR 97207
503-245-1600
www.whitebird.org
White Bird Dance is committed to bringing the best Portland-based regional national and international dance companies to Portland and to fostering the growth of dance in the region. To complement the city’s resident talent White Bird regularly brings the world’s most innovative choreographers to Portland. Season: September-March.
Discovering Arts and Culture in Portland
Whether you’re attending a Broadway show at Keller Auditorium, exploring contemporary masterpieces at the Portland Art Museum, or enjoying an open-air concert, arts and culture in Portland offer something for everyone. The city’s diverse venues and events make it easy to experience both classic and cutting-edge performances. For newcomers moving to Portland, the local arts scene provides the perfect way to connect with the community and experience the city’s creative energy.
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