Celebrating PNCA artists in this weekend's Portland2019 Biennial

Are you ready? When the Portland2019 Biennial opens at Disjecta this Saturday from 6-9pm, you're going to see a bunch of PNCA family faces because once again, PNCA alumni, faculty, and friends are heavily represented in the list of artists juried into this show that offers a snapshot of Portland art now. The exhibition runs from August 24 – November 3, 2019.

We're so proud of these members of the PNCA community including: Demian DinéYazhi with their project R.I.S.E.: Radical Indigenous Survivance & Empowerment, Ka'ila Farrell-Smith, Anthony Hudson, Garrick Imatani, rubén garcía marrufo, Sara Siestreem, Sharita Towne with Black Life Experimental Research Group, and Lou Watson.

This fifth Biennial is co-curated by Yaelle S. Amir, Elisheba Johnson and Ashley Stull Meyers.

What to expect? From Disjecta:

The Portland2019 Biennial will present a survey of work by Oregon-based artists whose practices are rooted in a rigorous approach to socio-political commentary, presenting diverse perspectives on historical and contemporary narratives unique to the Pacific Northwest. The exhibition will focus on the nuanced thematics of site, diaspora, and the multifaceted histories of the region as told in eighteen projects. These gestures will address the continuous migration and erasure of communities from the Oregon landscape and, in some cases, serve as an act of preservation and remembrance for their stories. The exhibition will also reflect a layered view of Oregon’s current landscape – observing and commenting on some of the structures and landmarks that populate the state to formative ends. Such objects influence perceptions of the state of Oregon (and the city of Portland) within the country’s pop-cultural imagination and lingering fascination with Manifest Destiny. The selected artists were chosen as those whose current studio practices have been influenced by their relationships to community, landscape, and local politics.

Upcoming events as part of the PortlandBiennial

Saturday, September 7, 10am Interstate Avenue, On a Saturday, for Harp Duet and Percussion A performance by biennial artist Lou Watson and collaborators, creating a live musical score of Kenton commuter traffic along N Interstate Avenue.

September, date and time to be announced Northwest prose Biennial artist Demian DinéYazhi in collaboration with R.I.S.E (Radical Indigenous Survivance and Empowerment) will host a performative reading of poetry and prose from Pacific Northwest writers and other urgent voices.

Saturday, October 19, 6:15pm
Requiem for Vaseline Alley
Biennial artist Anthony Hudson (in drag, as Carla Rossi) leading a performative walking tour of downtown Portland’s Harvey Milk corridor, formerly known as “Vaseline Alley”. The tour will be a historical exploration of gentrification and now-vanished spaces for Queer embodiment and culture.
Location - Begins at the corner of SW 10th and SW Stark in front of Living Room Theaters.

Congratulations to all of the artists!

Natalie Ball (Chiloquin, OR); Adam Bateman (Ashland, OR); Jovencio de la Paz (Eugene, OR); Demian DinéYazhi with R.I.S.E (Portland, OR); Dru Donovan (Portland, OR); Ka'ila Farrell-Smith (Modoc Point, OR); Harriet Tubman Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice (Portland, OR); Sabina Haque (Portland, OR); Anthony Hudson (Portland, OR); Garrick Imatani (Portland, OR); Colin Ives (Eugene, OR); rubén garcía marrufo (Portland, OR); Jess Perlitz (Portland, OR); Vanessa Renwick (Portland, OR); Sara Siestreem (Portland, OR); Sharita Towne (Portland, OR); Lou Watson (Portland, OR); Lynn Yarne (Portland, OR).