Must-see art exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest this March

Everything you need to know about the Portland art scene this March

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Art Scene Overload? We’ve Curated It. We’re tracking the exhibitions, workshops, and events to share with you, ensuring you won't miss a beat of this month's vibrant creative scene. P.S. Click on an image for more information about anything we’ve featured.

Recent blog posts

Wed, Feb 25

Letter from the Editor: Goodbye for now, Lumber Room

Mon, Feb 16

Mini Interview: Chris Lael Larson

The Sitka Center’s 2026 Workshop Season

Inviting artists, makers, writers, and nature‑curious learners of all backgrounds to immerse themselves in creative practice on the Oregon Coast. With offerings spanning painting, printmaking, woodworking, fiber arts, writing, sculpture, book arts, and nature-based study, the program is designed to spark curiosity, deepen craft, and nurture a meaningful connection to place. Open registration starts March 5, 2026, at 9 am PST.

The Center for Contemporary Art and Culture

What’s happening at The Center for Contemporary Art and Culture at the Pacific Northwest College of Art?

March 5, 5-8 p.m. - First Thursday: Open Studios, MFA Print Media, Small Press Art Book Fair, and Emily Counts Astral Bodies
March 5-7, multiple hours - Portland Small Press & Art Book Fair

Gala / Party/ Happening with Oregon Contemporary and Third Angle

An evening of art, performance, bites, and celebration.⁠ Hosted by the one-and-only Pepper Pepper, featuring performances by Methods Body, Machado Mijiga, and Daniel Reyes Llinás.⁠ Delicious bites from Portland favorites, sip drinks from Merit Badge, and celebrate with our community in a space designed for connection, creativity, and joy.⁠ The 50/50 Art Sale will be on view and available for purchase, with 50% of all proceeds going directly to the artists.

House of Art and Craft

Offering a new month of classes, including enamel on copper, beading circle & bead swap, and Psanky Goose Egg Workshop! Check out the offerings and try something new!

On View

2025: A Logbook Through Darkness, Tad Savinar at PDX Contemporary Art, March 4—28. Opening reception: Saturday, March 7, 3-5 p.m.

sense of place, at Elizabeth Leach Gallery, March 5 - April 30. Opening reception First Thursday: March 5, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Seeing the What: a Pop-Up Art Exhibition by The Lobby @ The Writers' Block, March 5 — May 23. Opening reception First Thursday: March 5, 5-8 p.m.

Beneath the Bark, Kevin Jesequel at Waterstone Gallery, March 4–29. Opening reception: March 5, 5-8 p.m. Artist Talk: March 15, 11 am.

Wesley James Exhibit at River Art Gallery, March 5-31. Opening reception: First Thursday, March 5, free pizza buffet, 5:30- 6:30 p.m.

Death|s|trip, Terri Warpinski
at Blue Sky Gallery, March 5-28.
Opening reception: First Thursday, March 5, 5-8 p.m. In-Person Artist Talk: Sat, Mar 7 at 2 p.m.

Valparaíso, Éléonore Simon
at Blue Sky Gallery, March 5-28.
Opening reception: First Thursday, March 5, 5-8 p.m.In-Person Artist Talk: Sat, Mar 28 at 2 p.m.

Emily Counts, Astral Bodies at CCAC at PNCA, Feb 5 - March 21.

Zac Banik: I’m Just Happy to Be Here at Gallery 114, March 5–28. Opening Reception: First Thursday, March 5, 5–8 p.m.

Thinking Through Mud: Arrangements of Clay + Ikebana, co-curated by Morgan Ritter & Jeffry Mitchell. Featuring work by James Alby, Lisa Conway, Marjorie Dial, Nick Norman, Ben Killen Rosenberg, Ben Skiba and ahuva s. zaslavsky with Renka 蓮華) Ikebana at Artspace, Feb 20-April 10.

Group exhibition featuring Alexandra Boyden, Jen Crowe, Mark Dunst, Scott Gellatly, Marilyn Joyce, Clive Knights, Scotty Peek, Erika Warhus, Kirk Weller, at Laura Vincent Design & Gallery, from March 5 - 28, 2026. Opening Reception: First Thursday, March 5, 5-8 p.m.

Finding Figurative: The Human Form, Paula Bullwinkel, Brian Cameron, Jennifer Gillia Cutshall, Richard Cutshall, Helday de la Cruz, Scott Erwert, William Hernandez, Stacy Lovejoy, Karen Wippich, Mitch Wolfsehr, Haelyn Y, and Michelle Yamamoto at the Rental Sales Gallery at the Portland Art Museum. March 6-April 4. Opening reception: Friday, March 6, from 4-7 p.m.

Mapping Familiar Territories, Charting New Paths at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU, Jan 20-April 25.

Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize (2025) Exhibition at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU, Feb 24-April 25.

Outer Voice, All-Time, Claire Barrera, Julia Calabrese, Martha Daghlian, Roland Dahwen, Erin Boberg Doughton, Marcus Fischer, Adia Gibbs, Anne Greenwood, Bridgette Hickey, Leslie Hickey, KT Kusmaul, Emma Lutz-Higgins, Sarah Rushford, Ash Stone, Carolyn Supinka, Ariella Tai, and Qi You at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, March 15, at 5 p.m. one night only.

Jonathan Canady, Carry On at Souvenir, March 7-28.Opening reception: March 7, from 5-8 p.m.

A Land That Remembers, by Erinn Kathryn + M. Earl Williams at Carnation Contemporary, March 7—29. Opening reception: First Sat, March 7, 5-8 p.m.

Affinity, LB Buchan, Erin Hiser & Bear Medina at Well Well Projects, March 7—29. Opening reception: First Sat, March 7, 5-8 p.m.

Memory Palace, Marsha Mack, at Paragon Arts Gallery, March 6—April 11. Opening reception: First Friday, March 6, 5-8 p.m.

The Other Side of Yesterday, Nan Curtis at Archer Gallery, March 5 - May 6. Opening Reception: Thursday, March 5, 12-4 p.m.

Loud and Clear, a group show of 5X5 work by over 130 artists, a self-portrait group show co-curated by Chelsea Stephen & Zachary Rau, at The Purple Door Gallery, Feb 20 - March 22.

Ambient Sundays by Moon Glyph Records at Specks Records, featuring toast & green tea. March 8 at 11 am, The Far Sound and watershrews.

Picnic, by Lisa Onstad at Hoffman Center for the Arts (Manzanita), March 5–28. Opening reception: March 7, 3-5 p.m.

The Thread from Your Head is Connected to the Sun, Anna Fidler at One Wall Gallery (Eugene), March 3-29.

IF, Kristan Kennedy, Sister Corita Kent, and Hilda Morris at Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Feb 21 –May 17.

Will Brown, Layered Environment, at False Front until March 15.

Jaik Faulk, Constant Shaping at Nationale, Feb 21–March 29.

Third Angle

March 6 — Portland-based contemporary music champions Third Angle New Music Releases the first-ever complete recording of Philip Glass' 1000 Airplanes on the Roof on Orange Mountain Music.
March 13-15 — Dies Irae, Desirée, a new chamber opera examining and satirizing cults and fanaticism in the digital age.

Sou’wester Arts Week: the space between, March 13-15

This year marks the seventh annual Arts Week, built around the theme The Space Between. It’s a nod to the parts of the creative process that don’t usually get attention: the early sketches, the half‑formed ideas, the conversations that quietly change the direction of a project. It’s also about connection—how people find one another in the gaps, how collaboration happens in the moments that aren’t planned. Go and experience this inspiring weekend event on the Washington coast in Seaview, in person, the second weekend in March.

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As always, we hope our Newsletter encourages you to explore the vibrant art scene here in Portland and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Thank you for reading! xo

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