The Office of Arts & Culture is committed to supporting public arts in all of its diverse forms and formats—from massive sculptures installed at parks to original paintings that line walls of the Portland Building. Our public art priorities include engaging the public in conversations about Portland's monuments, stewarding the City's public art collection, paving the way for the installation of additional public artworks, and more.
Portland Monuments Project
The Portland Monuments Project is a City of Portland-led national dialogue about public art, history, monuments, and memorials. With support from the Mellon Foundation, the project is a multi-year, inclusive public engagement and policy initiative driven by racial justice with a focus on fostering educational discussions, community engagement, and public participation.
Learn more about the Portland Monuments Project
Percent for Art
Public art enriches our lives through experiences that extend into our social, physical, and cultural environments, and it promotes dialogue between friends, neighbors, and strangers alike—folks of all ages and backgrounds. Portland City Code specifies that 2% of the City's qualifying infrastructure projects be dedicated to public art. Funds may be used to commission, purchase, and/or maintain public artworks, fund artists-in-residence programs, and/or fund creative space.
Learn more about Percent for Art
Public art collection
Over the last thirty years, nearly 1,800 pieces of art have been added to the City's public art collection and placed across Portland, from City buildings downtown to neighborhood installations. Today, the program places special emphasis on purchasing art from underrepresented artists and adding art in historically undeserved communities. The Office of Arts & Culture contracts with the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) to provide public art collection management services.
Explore Portland's public art collection
Murals
Do you want to install a mural? There are two options: RACC's public art murals program, which provides up to $5,000 in matching funds for murals that become part of the city's public art collection, and the City's original art mural program issues permits for other murals.
Learn more about RACC's public art murals program
Learn more about the City of Portland's original art mural program