Countless businesses throughout Portland have closed their doors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these local businesses, especially coffee shops, bars, and tattoo shops also used to employ independent working artists in our community, which are now laid-off.

PSAA is doing what we can to support working artists during this time. As a very small non-profit, we have taken a pretty significant hit in our commission, tour, and community programs. PSAA’s resources are limited and we too are struggling, but PSAA would like to help support and make connections in the community during this difficult time.

If you are a business or property owner in the Portland Metro Area, with boarded-up windows, we can help connect you with talented artists to paint temporary murals. If you are a business in downtown or NW Portland, PSAA has some support from Neighbors West-Northwest to help make those projects happen.

GET ON-BOARD!

BUSINESSES AND PROPERTY OWNERS

Interested business owners are encouraged to email PSAA at info@pdxstreetart.org. When emailing, please send a photo of the boarded-up windows, the site address, and board dimensions. This program aims to help support struggling artists. There is no city-funding yet for providing these services, so support has to come from the business community to make this happen. Estimating anywhere from $5-$10 per square foot for artwork is suggested. If you can’t afford to make a contribution, please contact your neighborhood or local business association to see if they can help. Some artists are willing to exchange their services for gift certificates, free products, etc, but painting supplies still cost money and PSAA aims to support the artists’ time and labor as well.

ARTISTS

If you are a local artist interested in painting, please sign up on the PSAA Mailing List to receive upcoming open Calls to Artists. Some boarded-up projects will be managed directly by PSAA, others will be posted as open calls where artists can contract the property owner directly to apply.

PSAA highly encourages artists who want to help and participate to take action and just start reaching out (email & calls) to boarded-up businesses in your neighborhood, asking if you can paint. Direct outreach by artists has always and continues to be the best way to secure spaces.

DONATE

A lot of local boarded-up businesses are really struggling right now and don’t have cash on-hand to support the hard work these artists are doing. This special program is a community effort to raise everyone’s spirits during this difficult time. If you are able to make a tax-deductible donation to this emergency PSAA program, it will greatly support the coordination of all this, and go straight into the hands of working artists. All sponsors who are interested, will also be acknowledged by name and/or their logo included at the bottom of this website.

Donate

PSAA BOARDED UP MURAL PROJECTS

QuarterWorld Arcade

Temporary mural production and wheatpaste installation on Tanker Bar & QuarterWorld Arcade, at SE 48th and Hawthorne. Murals by FIBER and EKOSE. Wheatpaste installation by David DaCosta.

Really Big Video

Really Big Video (539 NW 10th Ave) with artists Heysus, VALLE, Daniel Santollo, Scum Co, and LevelHeadedPress.

Communion

Communion (3556 SE Hawthorne Blvd) with artists Emily Kepulis, Alicia Schultz, and Nori Rinaldo. Special thanks to OPB’s Oregon Art Beat for covering these projects!

Treehouse Collective

Murals with a diverse line-up of local artists for Treehouse Collective on Sandy Blvd. Featured artists include Habiba Abdul Rahim, Latoya Lovely, Wetiko, DesignNine, Lawson Arts, Violent Wire, and Case12.

The boards at Treehouse Collective are no longer on display, as the company has opened back up. After artists were provided the opportunity to pick up their pieces, PSAA has saved a few of the smaller murals for future display at other properties.

World Trade Center

Artist Betty Alcaraz in front of their mural advocating for Black Trans Lives in downtown Portland. Photo by JDA Productions.

Mural project with a team of local BIPOC street artists on panels surrounding the massive World Trade Center building in downtown, Portland. Support from NeighborsWest Northwest and wall space provided by Portland General Electric.

Artist line-up on the World Trade Center includes: Natalie Clarise Van Clark, Jamaali Roberts, Nicole Light, Carrissa Carbajal-Baltezore, Apikale Kuli, Betty Alcaraz, Rachele Mosley, Breana Depriest, Quanie, Belevroc, Uter, and Naomi Likayi.

If the boards stay up, we will have more murals coming soon!

Artist Naomi Likayi (@mungala_nao) painting a mural at the World Trade Center in Portland OR, along with other local muralists on-display. Video produced by @lovetshot

Artist Jamaali Roberts in front of their mural on the World Trade Center in downtown Portland.

Artists Carrissa Carbajal-Balttezore and Nicole Light.

“We decided on the to keep the message of this mural vague because everyone has something they’re dealing with; whether it is racism, COVID-19, etc., we felt that this was an awesome umbrella phrase that you could apply to so many situations. In these crazy times, rising above the craziness is almost necessary to stay afloat and sane. - Nicole Light”

For many of the World Trade Center artists, this mural project was their first time painting large scale in public space. Including for Carrissa Carbajal-Balttezore and Nicole Light, with their Rise Above Mural.

Carrissa is an illustrator living in Vancouver, Washington. Nicole Light is a 26 year old Filipino-American graphic designer, born and raised in Portland, Oregon. They started out their design career with printmaking and calligraphy, and later fell in love with graphic design.