Oregon Arts Watch

ArtsWatch is a non-profit organization dedicated to journalism in the arts and culture sector. It focuses on examining the arts and how they connect with the broader cultural landscape in Oregon and the Northwest region.

Local

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#568679

United States

#152007

Arts and Entertainment/Performing Arts

#369

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

A little retro but thoroughly modern: Chamber Music Northwest 2025 pairs Baroque and contemporary composers

5 days ago | orartswatch.org | Angela Allen

Even if you’re a classical music novice, you’ve no doubt heard J.S. Bach’s iconic Brandenburg Concertos. Maybe at a wedding? On the radio? If you’re a classical-music aficionado, you likely appreciate absorbing them again and again especially if played by exceptional musicians like those at this summer’s five-week Chamber Music Northwest’s “Echoes of Bach” Festival June 28 through July 27.
‘Neskowin: A Book of Found Photos’: Artist Michael Schlicting’s quest to uncover the history of his Hawk Creek Gallery building leads to book

1 week ago | orartswatch.org | Lori Tobias

In the summer of 1978, young artist Michael Schlicting stopped by his hometown of Neskowin expecting to stay only long enough to say “hey” to the family. But then, his parents pointed out that his grandparents’ old place — the former two-room Neskowin schoolhouse — was empty and maybe he’d like to stick around a bit?
Bill prohibiting book bans in Oregon school libraries becomes law

1 week ago | orartswatch.org | Amanda Waldroupe

Gov. Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 1098 into law earlier this week, and it will now be harder to remove books from school libraries on the basis of discrimination. The legislation takes effect immediately. The new law prohibits removing and banning books from school libraries for reasons exclusively based on the fact that their content includes a protected class. Protected classes are groups protected by law from illegal discrimination that is rooted in a characteristic of that group.
OSF announces abrupt departure of executive director

1 week ago | orartswatch.org | Holly Dillemuth

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Executive Director Gabriella Calicchio is on leave and will soon officially step down from a leadership role she just assumed in November, according to an email sent by OSF to major donors Thursday.
I can hear it in the wind: “Celilo Falls” with the Oregon Symphony

1 week ago | orartswatch.org | Angela Allen

Celilo Falls, revisited, was more astounding and polished the second time around when the Oregon Symphony performed it June 7-9 at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall than when it premiered three years earlier in northeast Portland’s St. Michael’s Lutheran Church. The story of the loss of Indigenous fishing waters needed to be told – even though composer Nancy Ives said she is descended from a long line of colonists without a drop of Native blood.
The Reser’s 25/26 season: Eliades Ochoa, Portland Cello Project, Versa-Style Street Dance Company and more

2 weeks ago | orartswatch.org | Amy Leona Havin

The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, Beaverton’s large-scale visual arts and performance center that opened in 2022, has announced its 2025/2026 season. The lineup includes globally diverse showcases and workshops from premier performers, filling the space with music, dance, theater arts, and more. “Next season is our most ambitious yet,” Executive Director Chris Ayzoukian said in a press statement.
MusicWatch Monthly: Summer of feasts

3 weeks ago | orartswatch.org | Matthew Neil Andrews

Summer is just about here, dear reader, and that means it’s music festival time. Starting this month we have the usual big ones: Chamber Music Northwest in Portland; Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene; and Britt Music & Arts Festival in Jacksonville. We also have two of the smaller ones: the one-day contemporary music festival Makrokosmos Project, now in its eleventh season, and In A Landscape, which is not so much a festival as it is a summer-long roving musical adventure.
A refreshing something different: Justin Ralls on his new and improved score for “Turkish Rambo”

3 weeks ago | orartswatch.org | Matthew Neil Andrews

If you’ve been in Portland long enough, you’ve probably heard of Turkish Rambo. It’s weird enough that there is such a thing as “Turkish Rambo,” aka Korkusuz, which is exactly what you think it is (a 1986 Turkish remake of Rambo: First Blood Part II). What elevates the matter to Portland levels of Weird is that a decade or so back, a gonzo little DIY group called Filmusik, headed by Galen Huckins, organized a live version and asked local composer Justin Ralls to score it.
It is all one: Joe Cantrell and Nancy Ives’s “Celilo Falls” project and the Oregon Symphony

4 weeks ago | orartswatch.org | Matthew Neil Andrews

Caveat lector: We join our story already in progress. You can read more about the history of this project, from its inception through its 2022 premiere with Portland Chamber Orchestra, with Brett Campbell’s detailed preview and Angela Allen’s enthusiastic review. You can also read Friderike Heuer’s report on the art exhibition at The Reser–that instutition’s inaugural gallery show–right here.
‘Nostalgia Is So Yesterday’: David Hume Kennerly and Charles Jennings talk politics and their collaboration of photos and poetry in advance of June 1 event • Oregon ArtsWatch

4 weeks ago | orartswatch.org | Amy Leona Havin

David Hume Kennerly and Charles Jennings met 40 years ago and the close friends have been creating work together ever since. Both nearly 80 years old, Kennerly, prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and photojournalist, and Jennings, best-selling writer and journalist, have no intention of taking it slow. Their newest book, a captivating collection of photographs and poetry, will be featured this weekend during a special event called Nostalgia Is So Yesterday.