The Cellist, Arts on Alberta Ave., Portland, Oregon

The Cellist, Arts on Alberta Ave., Portland, Oregon
Originally uploaded by rllayman.

This is an old photo from last year's Portland National Trust conference, the Arts Walk on Alberta Avenue in early October. I never played with the contrast, so the photo wasn't very legible. This should be better.

The Arts Walk there was a blast. A cellist on the street, kids selling stuff they made to support their going on a class trip to Washington, artists (often not very good) hanging their art on abandoned buildings, button makers, mobile kinetic sculptures, and some weird performance art with sculptures in welding gear, and welding guns shooting fire.

A couple days later I had a conversation with Kennedy Smith about it, and she used the word "stodgy" to describe our fair city here...
Using all your resources, even vacant structures, Arts on Alberta Ave., Portland, Oregon.

How come we don't have stuff going on outside during the arts walks in DC?

Alberta Avenue in Portland, let's see, what would I compare it to in DC in terms of where it is revitalization wise. I guess Mt. Rainer maybe. But more commercial building stock. Lots of vacancies. But some real vitality and some decent restaurants. We went to a quick service place that specialized in fried fish that was excellent. There were higher end restaurants and galleries too, but also a lot more free form activity.


Index Keywords: arts-culture