About PICA

Learn more about Portland's leading contemporary art presenter

ASUNA (2022) by ASUNA, 2022, PICA, Photo Credit Princess BoutonPortland Institute for Contemporary Art

What we do

Based in Portland, Oregon, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) acknowledges and advances new developments in contemporary art while fostering the creative explorations of artists and audiences. 

"ENCHIRIDION: aisle, spline, resort" by sidony o'nealPortland Institute for Contemporary Art

PICA stands with artists

PICA believes that artists tell us about our time and our place. Artists show us what is possible. Artists offer us new languages and forms. PICA creates a sanctuary for their ambitious ideas by transforming the energy of individuals into the strength of a community.

More than just an arts organization

From performances to exhibitions to lectures to the annual Time-Based Art Festival, our programs catalyze conversations about contemporary culture.

TBA:21 "Conviction" by Jennie MaryTai Liu & Simon Liu with Andrew Gilbert by Photos by Tojo AndrianarivoPortland Institute for Contemporary Art

Current and visionary

We explore the current moment and support the artists, audiences, and visionaries who will shape the future.

Remembering to Remember: Performance Night Three - Sholeh Asgary and Nyokabi Kariũki (2023) by Arists include Sholeh Asgary and Nyokabi Kariũki, photo credit Tojo AndrianarivoPortland Institute for Contemporary Art

We provide a multidisciplinary platform for artists to engage with peers around the world and foster ideas that shape the field.

UwU Collective, UwU & Friends at TBA:22 by UwU & Friends, Photo by Tojo AndrianarivoPortland Institute for Contemporary Art

We collaborate with our diverse community to encourage belonging, share resources, and acknowledge interdependence. We honor where we came from and work together to get where we’re going.

TBA:19 CONVERSATION: Ahamefule J. Oluo with Darrell Grant by photo by Sarah CabbellPortland Institute for Contemporary Art

We invite curiosity, investigation, and participation

PICA is unique among institutions for working right alongside artists at the increasingly blurry boundaries between forms and at the edge of new ideas.

TBA:21 Mia Imani GOOD MORNING: RITUALS FOR DISPLACEMENT by photo credit Tojo AndrianarivoPortland Institute for Contemporary Art

Don't be shy!

Learn more about all of PICA's programs at pica.org. 

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The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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