Portland Museum of ArtPartner Story

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) has been and remains committed to a vision of inclusivity at its institution. Their exhibitions and programming strive to provide “art for all” and a voice for their community in the workings of their museum.

Art Bridges supported PMA as a venue for the historic exhibition, Walker Evans American Photographs, during a time when our country was reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. PMA staff stated, “This exhibition came to the PMA at a time of national turmoil and economic instability.Its images of the hardships of the Great Depression provided a powerful historical context for our audiences to reflect on contemporary challenges.”

The timing awarded PMA with the unique opportunity to engage their community in an important discussion about where the country has been and where it stood at that moment while ensuring to involve multiple viewpoints.

With their Learning & Engagement award from Art Bridges, PMA implemented an Advisory Committee that included six community members from outside the art field. According to PMA staff, “The goal of the Advisory Committee was to bring individuals from different fields together to create programs where the museum can feature diverse voices and disciplines to address the exhibition.”

This multivocal approach was important in disrupting notions of museum ownership and authority, involving communities of color and diverse perspectives, and contextualizing historic work in a contemporary context. Another program involved a partnership with the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and further contextualized the exhibition through a class project for students.

The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies program offered a graduate-level online course in collaboration with PMA. Students in this course created audio responses to the exhibition that addressed contemporary issues from Walker Evans’ photographs. These responses were used to create an audio guide for the exhibition and were introduced at a virtual public launch event hosted by the museum. The course both provided a means for exploring Evans’ work and an opportunity for students to explore photography as a social tool. PMA is excited to continue this collaboration with the institute for other exhibitions and programs in the future.

PMA was effective in commenting on the present by examining the past. Their Art Bridges funded programs activated Walker Evans and made room for people who previously felt excluded to take ownership of their local art museum.

We love this project because Portland Art Museum leveraged Walker Evans’ photographs of 1930s America to create a safe space for the discussion of class and race today and to foster ongoing partnerships that will continue to strengthen their relationships with the Portland community in the future.