Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Cascade and Sylvania take the stage in Portland’s Contemporary Art Triennial

Story by Misty Bouse

Portland Community College’s Cascade and Sylvania campuses will participate in “Here, to You, Now,” an exhibition presented by Converge 45, a Portland nonprofit founded in 2016. The organization provides free, collaborative contemporary art programs, including its signature citywide triennial.

The Paragon Arts Gallery at Cascade Campus and the North View Gallery at Sylvania Campus will host PCC exhibitions.

“Converge 45 is an incredibly significant event for Portland,” said PCC art instructor and event co-organizer David Torres, outgoing co-faculty department chair for Cascade’s art department. “It is an opportunity to demonstrate that a community college can be an important cultural partner and a meaningful contributor to the broader contemporary art landscape.”

Torres compared the triennial’s role in Portland to the Whitney Biennial in New York, citing its mix of nationally and internationally recognized artists, curators and institutions.

“Here, to You, Now,” curated by Lumi Tan of New York, opens at 16 venues across Portland with receptions, performances, screenings and talks Aug. 27-30. During the opening weekend of the 2026 Converge 45 Triennial, artist Marcus Fischer will debut “We Are the Confluence of Two Rivers”, an immersive, site-specific sound performance in PCC Sylvania’s rock garden. At PCC’s Paragon, artist Meech Boakye will lead a bioplastics workshop to open the exhibition “Black Pool Party.” Participants will create a translucent, compostable biomaterial using agar, a gelatin-like substance derived from seaweed. All exhibitions will remain open through Oct. 3, with some continuing on staggered schedules into mid-December.

Inspired by the writing of Portland author Ursula K. Le Guin, the triennial features 28 artists and 17 new commissions designed to activate the city as a shared stage for discovery, dialogue and connection.

In homage, Torres also recognized the significant work gallery directors Zeinab Saab of Paragon and Christine Weber of North View have put into Converge 45 and for supporting PCC’s ongoing participation.

“I truly believe PCC has a great deal to contribute to the national conversation around contemporary art,” he said.

PCC has participated in Converge 45 since 2017 through the Paragon. When public access to galleries was restricted throughout the pandemic, the scheduled exhibition was adapted into a window display through a partnership involving Converge 45 and PNCA. This historic, collaborative pivot of Rami George: and one day will tell you so many stories at the Paragon extended into 2021.

Torres said the Converge 45 partnership expands students’ exposure to new media, strengthens pathways to four-year institutions and connects them with Portland’s broader arts community and regional cultural institutions.

For more information, visit converge45.org , or read about PCC’s previous contributions in the college’s Portland Monuments Symposium coverage.