Skip to main content
Does something about this winter feel…wrong?
Spring Arts 2026
The ski slopes of Mount Hood are bare of snow, and some flowering plants around town have been in bloom since December. The arts scene, too, feels off. Portland Chamber Orchestra unexpectedly dissolved earlier this month, drag clown Carla Rossi is retired after more than 15 years of hosting horror movies, and the beginning of the end is nigh for Lloyd Center and its indie shopping district fostered by rents too low to last.
But new and exciting work is happening in this city. You just have to look in the right places.
The Kenton photography studio Forgotten Works repurposed 5,000 square feet of creative space adjacent to art galleries and music venues, mostly benefiting other creatives. The Russian absurdist theater company FoolHouse had to pivot plans when one of its stars was detained by ICE, but it found a replacement—a puppet show the Kremlin would find even more objectionable. The Milwaukie art hall Toolbox Gallery prioritizes the work of tradespeople whose creative spirits are too often overlooked. The Pearl District listening room Mono Space has a state-of-the-art, high-fidelity speaker system that turns music into “sonic sculptures,” with free hours scheduled throughout its seasons.
What all four of these artistic blossomings have in common is that they were tended in very specific environments. The four spaces you’ll visit in the following pages are like greenhouses: rooms where creative visions can bud and bloom. May flowers need more than April showers—they must be tended, especially when the conditions are unforgiving.
And yes, they need money. Patrons support the people who work hard to help the rest of us play hard at concerts, plays, art shows, readings, movies and other ways to enjoy Portland. But while cold, hard cash is important, it’s not the only support artists need. Bodies in seats packing in the heat gives performers, creators and culinary experts the energy and live feedback they need to keep going as well. Every creative sector’s calendar is bursting with potential, so we picked out a little something from March through May.
As the weather warms up, consider how important you are in the equation to keep Portland’s artistic world alive. Go to a show. Get to work. —Andrew Jankowski, Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
