If you haven’t wandered through the newly transformed Portland Art Museum, consider this your invitation. Since the Museum’s beautifully reimagined campus opened on November 20, 2025, Portland’s art scene hasn’t just grown, it’s blossomed into something that reflects our city’s heart, curiosity, and communal creative spirit.
For Portland, this transformation feels like a long-time coming. The Museum’s expansion isn’t just more square feet or beautiful design (though there’s plenty of both). It’s a reminder that art belongs to all of us, that art can gather us together and open us up to new ways of thinking, seeing, and feeling.
View of the sun by Ugo Rondinone in the Marko Rothko Pavilion’s Tim and Mary Boyle West Plaza of the Portland Art Museum. Photo by Jeremy Bittermann, 2025.
A Cultural Commons in the Heart of Downtown
At its core, the campus transformation brings new life to the Museum as a true cultural commons, a space that feels alive with possibility, conversation, wonder, and rest. The project, part of the Museum’s ambitious Connection Campaign, adds nearly 100,000 square feet of refreshed public and gallery spaces, upgraded amenities, more intuitive pathways, and increased accessibility for all visitors.
Central to this renewed campus is the Mark Rothko Pavilion, a luminous glass gateway that unites the Museum’s historic buildings, literally transforming how you arrive and move through the spaces. Named for the legendary artist who spent his early years in Portland, the Pavilion is more than architecture; it’s a symbol of connection between people, art, and place.
Now that you can see into the Museum from the street, art beckons you forward. And once you step inside, the spaces feel deliberate, welcoming, and full of possibility. The layout invites discovery—not just of artworks, but of conversations, moments of pause, and new favorite corners of this city institution.
Installation view of Mary Henry: A Long Unbroken Line at the Portland Art Museum. Photo by Jeremy Bittermann, 2025.
Art That Holds Space for Us All
One of the most exciting evolutions in the Museum’s reinstallation is the thoughtful curation of its collections. Gone are the strictly chronological cases; instead, artworks are grouped around themes that speak to community, identity, place, and shared experience. This shift lets familiar favorites and rarely seen pieces converse with each other in ways that feel fresh, relevant, and resonant.
Among the treasures now on display are nearly 300 major new acquisitions—including works that have never before been shown on this scale—a newly dedicated gallery focused on Black art and experiences, and enhanced visibility for the Native American collection, which remains one of the Museum’s most visited and deeply engaging displays.
The expanded galleries allow space for storytelling, not just through paintings and sculpture, but through sound, film, and moving images. And with the recent reopening of the renovated Whitsell Auditorium as a hub for film and new media, the Museum now pulses with even more creative energy and diverse artistic expression.
View of the Whitsell Family Gallery in the Mark Rothko Pavilion of the Portland Art Museum, looking Northwest. Photo by Jeremy Bittermann, 2025.
Spaces for Gathering, Rest, and Real Exchange
The transformed campus doesn’t just showcase art; it invites interaction. Terraces and plazas frame glimpses of the city and the South Park Blocks, while airy lounges and gathering areas offer moments of rest between galleries. Cafés and community spaces feel less like retail add-ons and more like places to linger with friends, thoughts, or inspiration.
School tours, date afternoons, solo contemplative visits, they all feel newly possible here. There’s a rhythm and flow that somehow captures what makes Portland . . . Portland: thoughtful, roomy in spirit, and endlessly creative.
Why This Moment Matters
More than bricks and glass, PAM’s campus transformation heralds a renewed moment for the city’s cultural life. It stands as a testament to what Portlanders value about their community—inclusivity, expression, and the power of imaginative connection. If you’ve ever wandered past the Museum and wondered what’s inside, now is the time to claim that curiosity. And if you’re a regular, you know there’s always something new to discover.
Art doesn’t just live within these walls, it lives through us. And at this transformed Museum, that feeling is unmistakable. Here’s to falling in love with the arts all over again in PDX.
About Portland Art Museum
Founded in 1892, the Portland Art Museum (PAM) in Portland, Oregon is the only major art museum between Seattle and San Francisco, showcasing the work of artists from across the Pacific Northwest and the globe. A vital cultural destination and educational resource serving audiences who live, work, and visit the region, PAM is internationally recognized for its special exhibitions and encyclopedic collection. Connecting audiences through the arts and engaging with the stories and ideas shaping our present day, the Museum’s diverse programming reflects the passions, values, and creativity of its community.
Purchase tickets and learn more at portlandartmuseum.org.
Featured Image: View of the Mark Rothko Pavilion, Tim and Mary Boyle West Plaza at the Portland Art Museum. Featured artwork: the sun by Ugo Rondinone. Photo by Jeremy Bittermann, 2025.
