Oregon Center for Contemporary Art (also known as Oregon Contemporary, formerly Disjecta) is an

art center An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. It is home to the Portland Biennial since 2010, continuing in the tradition of the Portland Art Museum's ended Oregon Biennial.

Programming

Oregon Contemporary's Curator in Residence program began in 2011 and is the first of its kind in the region. Curators include Lucy Cotter (2021–22), Justin Hoover (2019–20), Suzy Halajian (2018-19), Julia Greenway (2017–18), Michele Fiedler (2016-17), Chiara Giovando (2015–16), Rachel Adams (2014-15), Summer Guthery (2013–14), Josephine Zarkovich (2012–13), and Jenene Nagy (2011-12). Visual arts programming highlights include solo exhibitions by

Natalie Ball Natalie Ball (born 1980) is a Klamath/ Modoc interdisciplinary artist based in Chiloquin, Oregon. Background Born in Portland, Oregon, Ball is enrolled in the Klamath Tribes. She is also of African-American, Modoc, and Anglo-American descent ...

Avantika Bawa Avantika Bawa (born 1973) is an Indian American artist, curator, and professor of art. Bawa is a multidisciplinary artist who works primarily in site-specific installation, video, printmaking, and drawing. She is the recipient of the 2018 Crow' ...

, Karl Burkheimer,

Tannaz Farsi Tannaz Farsi (born 1974) is an Iranian-born American multidisciplinary visual artist and educator. Farsi is an Associate Professor of sculpture at the University of Oregon. She lives in Eugene, Oregon. Biography Tannaz Farsi was born in 1974 ...

, Anna Fidler, Chris Fraser, Dan Gilsdorf, Peter Halley, Mark Licari, and

Jenene Nagy Jenene Nagy, a native of New York is a Portland, Oregon, based installation artist and curator. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Oregon in 2004 and has co-curated the noted Tilt Gallery and Project Space in the Everett ...

. In 2010 (then known as Disjecta), Oregon Contemporary launched the first Portland Biennial. The Biennial, which originated at the Portland Art Museum in 1949, is a major survey of Oregon artists who define and advance the state's contemporary arts landscape. The Portland 2019 Biennial was curated by a group of three regional curators–Yaelle S. Amir, Elisheba Johnson, and Ashley Stull-Meyers. The Biennial received positive reviews particularly for including new, diverse voices and a wider curatorial scope than previous biennials. Past curators of the Biennial include

Cris Moss Cris Moss is a curator and multimedia artist based in Portland, Oregon. Currently Cris Moss is the director and Curator of the White Box gallery at the University of Oregon's Portland campus. Initially noted for his ongoing series of itinerant do ...

(2010), Prudence F. Roberts (2012), Amanda Hunt (2014), and

Michelle Grabner Michelle Grabner (born 1962 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin) is an artist, curator, and critic based in Wisconsin. She is the Crown Family Professor of Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she has taught since 1996. She has curated sever ...

(2016).

History

Oregon Contemporary, was founded under the name, 'Disjecta' as a non-profit art organization in 2005 with the goals of moving to an expanded 20,000 sf space in

North Park Blocks The North Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Most of the park is in northwest Portland (north of Burnside), but one block (Ankeny Square) is in southwest Portland (south of Burnside). Description and ...

. The plans were launched with a high profile party. Disjecta then moved to the Templeton Building on what is now known as the

Burnside Bridgehead The Burnside Bridgehead is a development project at the northeast end of the Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon's Kerns neighborhood, in the United States. The site includes: * Yard, a black 21-story apartment building completed in 2017 * Fair- ...

. In 2008, Disjecta announced the public opening of a 20,000 sf facility at 8371 N Interstate in the historic Kenton neighborhood. The center now houses five fully leased artist studios, along with 3,500 square feet of visual exhibition space, a 600 sf performance space, and an open space that houses performances and community events. In 2016, Disjecta announced the departure of founder, Bryan Suereth, amid some mild controversy. The board hired Blake Shell as executive director in April 2017. On June 14, 2021, Disjecta was officially renamed the Oregon Center for Contemporary Art (or Oregon Contemporary, for short).

References

External links

Oregon Center for Contemporary Art
2000 establishments in Oregon American artist groups and collectives Arts centers in Oregon Arts organizations based in Oregon Arts organizations established in 2000 Culture of Portland, Oregon Tourist attractions in Portland, Oregon {{Oregon-org-stub