Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Editor’s note: “Keep Portland Weird” is a 10-day series of concerts in France featuring Portland musicians. Barbara Steinfeld is sharing her experiences as she represents Travel Portland at the events.

Departing in two days for the Keep Portland Weird festival in Paris. Do I have everything I need? Pins, bumper stickers, CDs, brochures, maps, fliers, umbrella contact info, functioning iPad and iPhone with international programs installed, USB stick loaded with Portland photos … the list goes on.

Will the bands from Portland playing each night let me join them after the shows for a night out in Paris or will my old clock kick in and send me back to the Best Western to bed? Met with Kristan Kennedy (of PICA) today for lunch at Kenny and Zuke’s to talk about the trip. She has almost as many questions as I do about how it will all turn out. Comforting somehow. We’ll be in it together. Can’t wait to hear the Portland bands in Paris. Stay tuned for the next edition of “An Americanne in Paris.”

For 10 days (Sept. 8-18), Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s TBA:11 brings cutting-edge dance, performance and visual art to the city. The action centers on the east side’s Washington High School, and happens in performance spaces, non-traditional venues and the streets throughout Portland. This year’s schedule features an international roster of emerging and established artists, including some from France, Korea, Brazil and Japan, alongside a handful of Portland-based artists.

Here are some of the highlights:

Jesse Sugarmann, "Red Storm Rising (live in LA)," photo courtesy of the artist

Visual Arts Opening – Thursday, Sept. 8
Washington High School, Southeast Stark and 13th

Centered on ideas of building up and tearing down, TBA:11 On Sight features smart works by international art stars such as the Parisian collective Claire Fontaine and Korea’s YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES, as well as regional artists like Jesse Sugarmann, whose “Lido (The Pride is Back)” is a slow-motion car wreck involving stacks of blow-up air beds and Chrysler minivans. (more…)