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Irish-born comic Dave Nihill draws from his vast international experiences—he’s been to 70 countries, and lived in 12—to reflect on cultural norms, drinking sessions, and his life as a slightly confused US immigrant. Nihill’s unconventional rise to comedy fame began when he crashed festivals and comedy clubs, pretending to be a successful comic named “Irish Dave.” I’m hoping to see more of Nihill’s enterprising spirit, and hear that cool accent, in this performance. LC
Helium Comedy Club, Hosford-Abernethy (Mar 1–2)
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Despite being nominated for seven Grammys, Jim Gaffigan still feels like an everyman—like, I think I could talk to him about my landlord’s refusal to replace my broken dishwasher, and he’d at least attempt to understand it. I’m probably completely wrong, but you know what I mean, right? Anyway, the relatively family-friendly dude will crack some jokes about his impressive food consumption and the trials and tribulations of daily life on this tour. (Promotional materials report that he lives in Manhattan with his wife and five “loud and expensive” children, so prepare for anecdotes about their antics.) LC
Keller Auditorium, Downtown (Mar 1–3)
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Tim Heidecker, the legendary weirdo behind Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and On Cinema at the Cinema, is nothing if not polarizing—Vice describes his work as “failure-centric”—but if you “get” him, you’re probably a huge fan. Heidecker will blend his distinctive brand of absurdist meta-humor with original music (yes, he makes music) for this extra-special, two-day “Tim Fest,” where he’ll be joined by fellow freak Neil Hamburger. Segments include Office Hours, in which Tim will take calls from around the world, and On Cinema Live, in which Tim and film expert Gregg Turkington will discuss the greatest movies of all time. LC
Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn (Mar 16–17)
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To know Ian Karmel is to love him: The former Mercury columnist, beloved Beavertonian, Emmy Award-winning comic, and onetime co-head writer for The Late Late Show with James Corden writer (he’s fancy these days) played a key role in our humble city’s comedy renaissance. He’ll drop by his old stomping grounds with more of the lighthearted comedy that’s earned him a loyal fanbase ’round these parts. LC
Revolution Hall, Buckman (Sat Mar 23)
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Portland will celebrate three days of vibrant Irish culture across multiple locations: Kells Brewery, Kells Downtown, and Tom McCall Waterfront Park. You can kick off the festivities with a night of Ireland vs USA amateur boxing on Friday, or head to Saturday’s family day for live music, dancing, traditional foods, and appearances from some majestic Irish wolfhounds! Pace yourself, because the Shamrock Run (and after party) will take over the park Sunday morning. I’ll admit it, I kind of love the kitsch of green-dyed beer. SL
Various locations (Mar 15–17)
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Based on its name alone, it seems like Paddy’s is the place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Lucky for us, they back up the title with traditional music (yes, there will be bagpipers), classic foods like corned beef and cabbage, and libations including Guinness (duh) and Kilbeggan Irish whiskey. You can feel extra good about the revelry as Paddy’s continues its 15-year-and-counting tradition of donating a portion of proceeds to Children’s Cancer Association. SL
Paddy’s Bar & Grill, Downtown (Mar 16–17)
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After a particularly grueling 2023 season (atmospheric rivers to start and a heatwave to finish), the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm promises to come back better than ever this year for their 40th annual fest. Make sure you snag tickets in advance—they’re only available online. We recommend a weekday visit to beat the crowds and boost your mood—after all, who doesn’t love playing hooky to dance in 40 acres of flowers against the majestic backdrop of Mount Hood? SL
Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, Woodburn (Mar 22–May 5)
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Returning for its 13th year to reaffirm that any event can be a -palooza if the mood is right, Smallpresspalooza will offer up a marathon reading by a dozen small press-published authors. Hosted by Future Tense Books publisher (and Powell’s small press champion) Kevin Sampsell, the event will include words by Cee Chávez, Shilo Niziolek, Juleen Eun Sun Johnson, Hope Amico, Libby Rice, Jessica Wadleigh, and others. LC
Powell’s City of Books, Pearl District (Sat Mar 23)
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From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! This Palestinian film festival was co-programmed by 5th Avenue Cinema, La Casa Latina Student Center, Disarm PSU, and several other local organizations. If you haven’t stopped by the state’s only student-run cinema, now’s the time. Among the four screenings planned is 5 Broken Cameras, which was shot almost exclusively by the Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat and tracks nonviolent resistance efforts in Bil’in, a West Bank village threatened by Israeli military occupation and encroaching settlements. LC
Fifth Avenue Cinema, Downtown (Mar 1–3)
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Dan Savage’s pioneering erotic film fest will premiere an all-new lineup of sexy films featuring all genders and orientations at Revolution Hall this year. Since 2005, HUMP! has brought inclusive, creative, and kinky films to the big screen—scope out the sex-positive fest in person for a tantalizing treat. This year’s fest features not one but two feature-length lineups—part one includes a feast of “24 brand-spanking-new films” for your eyeballs. It’s worth a venture outside of your sex dungeon, but you can still wear the latex catsuit. LC
Revolution Hall, Buckman (Mar 1–15)
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Happy Women’s History Month! Hollywood Theatre’s Feminist March program will once again offer up a full month of screenings celebrating women in film. Programmed by Hollywood Theatre community programmer Anthony Hudson and Hollywood staff members Destynee Norwood and Cable Wells, this year’s lineup “delves unflinchingly into the dark and seedy depths of female experience” (oOoO!) with 19 films. The wide-reaching festival kicks off with Crossroads, which hits different now that Britney is finally free, followed by Jumana Manna’s A Magical Substance Flows Into Me, which “explores the diverse musical traditions of Palestine via the archives of Robert Lachmann, a gay German-Jewish ethnomusicologist.” Grey Gardens, Bring It On, and the Lily Gladstone-fronted film Certain Women will follow later in the month. LC
Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District (Mar 1–31)
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Ruth E. Carter, the Afrofuturism-inspired costume designer who helped create the stunning fictional worlds of Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, Selma, and Coming 2 America (as well as Black Panther, for which she became the first African American to win an Oscar in the Costume Design category) will head to Portland for one night to chat with Amy Dotson, director of PAM CUT and the Portland Art Museum’s curator of film and new media. Talk attendees can grab a copy of Carter’s new book, The Art of Ruth Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the Right Thing to Black Panther; Carter’s visit will also be celebrated with a weekend of screenings of Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Sundance sensation Bravo, Burkina! LC
Tomorrow Theater, Richmond (Fri Mar 8)
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Cary Elwes, who played farmhand-turned-adventurer Westley in The Princess Bride, will join the audience for a screening of the iconic flick (you know the drill—a mythical kingdom, a kidnapping, a love that transcends all evils, and so on) and offer a rare glimpse at all of the antics and secrets behind the scenes. VIP tickets will land you the best seats in the house, plus a meet-and-greet session with Elwes and a copy of his book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. LC
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, South Park Blocks (Fri Mar 8)
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Jeanie Finlay’s Your Fat Friend documents the rise of writer and self-described “very fat person” Aubrey Gordon, who cut her teeth as an anonymous blogger and has since become a bestselling author. I’m a big fan of the loud-laughing, Portland-based fat acceptance activist, whose podcast Maintenance Phase pokes fun at Goop-driven garbaggio and widens my perspective on what it means to be healthy. “It is a real paradigm shift to look at someone my size and think…that person may have put in a great deal of effort, and that may have been what got them here,” says Gordon in the film. LC
Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District (Mar 8–21)
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Once described by the Mercury as “the P.T. Barnum of Cinema,” the beloved Portland film archivist Dennis Nyback passed in 2022. Nyback’s kooky screenings became storied over the course of his career—if there’s such a thing as a “legend” in the film archivist and historian community, Dennis Nyback was that man. He screened original film programs worldwide while operating Seattle’s Rosebud Movie Palace and Pike St. Cinema, and also renovated Portland’s historic Clinton Street Theater in the ’90s. This 16mm tribute to a true PNW force of nature spotlights selections by two programming teams (Darkroom Associates and Astral Projections), who will “trade cinematic jabs” by screening selections from the world-famous Dennis Nyback 16mm film archive, which includes “thousands of titles assembled over 40 years of personal curation” and spans 120 years of movie history. LC
Clinton Street Theater, Hosford-Abernethy (Tues Mar 12)
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Kelly Reichardt, deft creator of Oregon misfit characters and “master of the non-event,” returned in 2022 with Showing Up, which was partially shot at the tragically shuttered Oregon College of Art and Craft. (That’s my alma mater, and yes, I’m still upset about it.) The unabashedly arty flick, which serves as a quiet ode to Portland’s creative community, features work by the brilliant sculptor Cynthia Lahti and stars heavy hitters Michelle Williams, Hong Chau, and André 3000. Lahti will chat about her work with Grace Kook-Anderson, the curator of Northwest art at the Portland Art Museum, after this screening. LC
Tomorrow Theater, Richmond (Thurs Mar 28)
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It’s time once again to gorge yourself on fruits de mer and glug lots of vino at this annual culinary extravaganza, which just so happens to fall during peak Dungeness crab season. Look forward to attractions like over 40 wineries, live music, and an appearance from Deadliest Catch star Capt. Keith Colburn. Plus, the festival will showcase wines deemed the best from a state-wide competition. JB
Portland Expo Center, North Portland (Mar 1–3)
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What if your sixth-grade museum field trip grew up to be the boozy evening of your dreams? Such is the premise behind this geeked-out cider fest presented by OMSI in collaboration with 2 Towns Cider House. Quaff boozy apple-based libations, learn about cidermaking, check out hands-on science demos that would make Bill Nye proud, and traipse through OMSI’s featured “Staying Alive: Defenses of the Animal Kingdom” exhibit with no kids around. Local food vendors like Clarklewis, Mudge Fudge, and Sinful Confections will also sling tasty snacks. JB
OMSI, Central Eastside (Wed Mar 6)
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Love it or hate it, tartare holds a special place in the culinary pantheon, beloved for its rich umami flavor. Westward Whiskey will spotlight the meaty, savory delicacy with bespoke tartare specials and whiskey-based cocktail pairings at five of Portland’s favorite dining destinations, including Olympia Provisions, Fools & Horses, Scotch Lodge, Bellwether Bar, and Lechon. A portion of proceeds from the sale of each cocktail will support a charity of each restaurant’s choice. JB
Various locations (Mar 18–24)
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Former Stranger contributor Kathy Fennessy writes: “To judge by Dan Bejar’s (aka Destroyer’s) singing style, the equivalent of a stranger whispering in your ear to be heard over a crowd, it’s easy to picture the Vancouver musician as a cross between Joel Grey and Space Oddity-era David Bowie, except he’s neither a dapper song-and-dance man nor a starry-eyed glam rocker. It’s just that he italicizes every lyric like an alien struggling to emulate the human concept of sincerity—and failing spectacularly. Even as a member of power-pop collective the New Pornographers, Bejar’s songs stand alone, sounding as if they drifted over from one of his 13 studio albums, such as the excellent, NYC-inspired Poison Season. If you don’t get it, don’t worry. Bejar is a Brechtian device disguised as a chamber-pop troubadour.” He will return to Portland for a solo set with support from Canadian indie rockers Lightning Dust. AV
Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn (Wed Mar 6)
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We’ve all seen a lot of Bad Bunny over the last few years—he’s become ubiquitous with his Latin-trap earworms, high-fashion style, famous flings, and controversial stage antics. And, as Spotify’s most streamed artist of 2021 and 2022 (and the second most streamed in 2023), it looks like he’s here to stay! The Latin trap star is bringing his Most Wanted tour to Portland to support his fifth album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, which, despite leaning into cowboy aesthetics, is not a country album. Rather, he explores various EDM genres like house, drill, and Jersey club. AV
Moda Center, Lloyd District (Thurs Mar 7)
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With inspirations ranging from Radiohead to Joni Mitchell, British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks crafts emotionally stirring indie pop songs with poetic lyrics such as “Cardamom and jade as your eyes screamed / On the night you showed your volcanic side / And I’m afraid to need validation / Waiting for the day when you finally try” (“Pegasus”). Parks will support her critically acclaimed sophomore album, My Soft Machine, which features collaborations with Phoebe Bridgers, Lous and the Yakuza, and redveil. Pop singer-songwriter Chloe George—who has penned songs for Dua Lipa and Normani—will open. AV
Crystal Ballroom, West End (Sat Mar 9)
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I first became acquainted with Texan singer-songwriter Jess Williamson through Plains, her collaborative country-folk project with Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield. My love of Crutchfield’s songwriting compelled me to pick up their debut album, I Walked with You a Ways, but I stayed for Williamson’s Emmylou Harris-esque vocal delivery and the duo’s jaw-dropping blended harmonies (evocative of legendary supergroup Trio). After overplaying Plains’ single “Abilene” to death, I moved on to Williamson’s psychedelic indie-folk album, Sorceress, with delight. She will stop by in support of her fifth solo album, Time Ain’t Accidental, (my favorite of hers thus far!) which touches on themes of “endless prairies and ocean waves; long drives and highway expanse; dancing, smoke, sex, and physical desire.” Nashville-born folk-pop gem Erin Ray will open. AV
The Get Down, Buckman (Sat Mar 9)
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Along with being a prolific songwriter in her own right, Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) has the ability to transform an existing song, breathing new life into old classics (as evidenced by her wildly popular cover of Phil Phillips’ “Sea of Love”). On her latest release, Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert, Marshall recreates Bob Dylan’s famously bootlegged Manchester Free Trade Hall performance (frequently mislabeled as the “Royal Albert Hall Concert”), complete with the exact setlist and infamous crowd heckles. Don’t miss the opportunity to see this faithful tribute with songs like “She Belongs To Me,” “Mr. Tamborine Man,” and “Like a Rolling Stone”—lord knows you won’t be hearing these at an actual Dylan concert (he’s too cool, he will never give the people what they want.) AV
Revolution Hall, Buckman (Mon Mar 11)
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If you don’t follow Tacoma-born treasure Neko Case on Instagram, then do yourself a favor and click the “follow” button. She documents her life in rural Vermont with a sincerity and rawness that few prominent people display. On there, you can expect to find a casual snap of her dinner, a blurry photo of her hair, and a trove of pet photos. Because of this delightfully accessible presence, I was not surprised to see that she was skipping major cities on this tour. In true Neko fashion, she will play an intimate show in Astoria to support no particular album at all. I love to see it! AV
Liberty Theatre, Astoria (Fri Mar 22)
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Best described by Carrie Brownstein as “Mary Shelley with a guitar,” indie rock innovator Mary Timony has made an undeniable mark on rock music as a member of bands like Helium, Ex Hex, Autoclave, and Wild Flag. Now, Timony is back with her first solo album in 19 years, Untame the Tiger. The album is a perfect encapsulation of her 30+ year career with melodic guitar riffs, melancholic lyrics, and signature deadpan vocals. It simultaneously sounds like it was recorded in 1998 while finding pockets of fresh experimentation—a true feat if you ask me! Don’t miss an opening set from Philadelphia-based folk rock artist Rosali. AV
Mississippi Studios, Boise (Sun Mar 24)
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At their spring concert, the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus (one of the longest-running gay men’s choruses in the country!) will explore the tangible ways that our thoughts, words, and actions have the potential to combat violence, racism, and oppression. The program will be centered around Joel Thompson’s compelling choral masterwork, “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,” which honors Black lives lost to police brutality. AV
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, South Park Blocks (Sun Mar 24)
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Just in time for Women’s History Month, pioneering electronic musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson is bringing her groundbreaking works to the Keller Auditorium. Her latest show, Let X = X, revisits songs from her 42-year-long music career with a reinvigorated perspective, spirit, and sound—thanks to her backing band, New York jazz ensemble Sexmob. Anderson is known for her ’80s art pop albums full of electronic experiments and spoken-work quips. Some of my favorite Laurieisms include “I don’t know about your brain, but mine is really…bossy” (“Babydoll”) and “I met this guy / And he looked like might have been a hat check clerk at an ice rink / Which, in fact, he turned out to be” (“Let X=X”). AV
Keller Auditorium, Downtown (Fri Mar 29)
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Live Wire’s spring offerings will continue with another edition of the honest and funny conversational show hosted by Luke Burbank. This time around, featured guests will include New York Times bestselling writer Bianca Bosker, whose tome Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See was recently released, and artist-adventurer Tessa Hulls, who has worked on her graphic memoir Feeding Ghosts for the last decade. Portland-based indie-pop outfit Pure Bathing Culture will sling the sparkly tunes that have earned them high acclaim—they’ve toured with Father John Misty, La Luz, Widowspeak, and Tennis. LC
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, Beaverton (Fri Mar 1)
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The newest production by Polish-born playwright Martyna Majok, whose play Cost of Living received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was a New York Times critic’s pick. Sanctuary City is staged in post-9/11 Newark, where two pre-DACA “Dreamers” meet up on a fire escape to share their worries and hopes as undocumented teens. They plan to marry, but time shifts their relationship and brings up questions about sacrifice, love, and belonging. LC
CoHo Theater, Northwest Portland (Mar 1–17)
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Cervantes’s hero Don Quixote gains new life in this modern, Tejano-inspired twist on the 17th-century tale, set in the fictional town of La Plancha, Texas and infused with Spanish music. Quixote Nuevo follows a professor with dementia who imagines himself as Don Quixote and embarks on a love-driven journey while encountering border patrol drones. The Seattle Times described Quixote Nuevo as “deftly and efficiently lead[ing] viewers from reality to fantasy and into the murky borderlands that lie in between.” LC
Portland Center Stage, Pearl District (Mar 2–31)
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She might hate people, but everyone’s favorite twisted doll will still bless us with her presence at her first-ever solo tour. The RuPaul’s Drag Race mommy (spoiler alert: she won season 14) will come to slay and hit the stage to tell the story of her god-fearing childhood and rise to D-list status, bringing her trippy pin-up style and sacrilegious humor along for the ride. #Blessed. LC
Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn (Sat Mar 30)
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Grab your green running gear (or a costume that you can run in) and join “Portland’s longest-running running tradition” to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Races range from a one-mile kids-only leprechaun lap to a half-marathon, all starting and finishing at Waterfront Park with views of the Eastbank, Willamette River, and bridges along the way. The post-race finish line festival will help you kick off the holiday celebrations with a green beer garden, live music, and dancing. SL
Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Downtown (Sun Mar 17)
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There’s no guarantee that March 24 is actually the worst day of the year, but it’s likely to be a gray day between dark winter and false spring. In our very Portland way, we celebrate this bleak time with a 19-mile urban route or 36-mile “hillacious” bike ride with friends and in silly costumes. You’ll be rewarded at the finish-line party at Lucky Labrador with hot soup, treats, and a costume contest. Cyclists under 16 ride free, so bring the whole fam! SL
Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, Buckman (Sun Mar 24)
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Get ready for Women’s March Madness to come to town! Division One regionals are split between Portland and Albany, New York for the second-ever two-site format (and we all know the better site; here). There will be six games across four days, and you can treat yourself to an all-access pass or just grab a single day ticket. Sign up for the NCAA Fan Experience to get your pic with the National Championship Trophy, say hi to a former NCAA player or coach, and more. It’s going to be six years until we host the Final Four again, so we recommend that college basketball fans jump on this opportunity. SL
Moda Center, Lloyd District (Mar 29–Apr 1)
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Guest curated by University of Oregon associate professor Nina Amstutz and local social design artist Cleo Davis, Policing Justice probes Portland’s policing practices and their relationship to “longer local and national histories of oppression.” The exhibition centers Portland artists who have seen and documented police brutality, including the George Floyd protests, and includes commissioned installations by Don’t Shoot Portland, Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr., Cleo Davis, Kayin Talton Davis, and others. Works on loan by Alfredo Jaar, Sandy Rodriguez, and Carrie Mae Weems lend a wider scope to the exhibition, and Forensic Architecture’s video installation details an investigation into PPB’s use of tear gas during the 2020 protests. Show up for abolition and take part in one of the exhibition’s several accompanying programs, including a community conversation symposium, a series of film screenings at the Clinton Street Theater, and an ethical visual storytelling workshop. LC
PICA, Eliot (Mar 1–May 19)
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Lee Materazzi’s inaugural show at Nationale is also a traveling exhibition—it was previously presented at San Francisco’s 1599fdT, and will be shown at San Diego’s Quint Contemporary in the future. ¢a$h&¢arry compiles 250 archival images that chronicle the last five years of Materazzi’s practice, including portraiture and reflections on the precarity of the human body. Materazzi shares her studio space and practice with her children, Mia and Brook, so the works on view in this show were “completed between the ages of 37 and 41 and 3 and 11, respectively.” LC
Nationale, Buckman (Mar 2–31)
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If you’ve lived in Portland for a while, you might remember Content, a site-specific installation in which artists converted hotel room spaces into conceptual or multimedia installations. The event’s original iteration ran from 2009 to 2015 at the Ace Hotel, where artists took over an entire hotel room for the night and transformed it into a conceptual or multimedia installation, forgoing typical product display setups and pop-up shops. Content will return to the Society Hotel, where 37 artists will convert rooms into imaginative spaces for visitors to explore. LC
The Society Hotel, Old Town-Chinatown (Sat Mar 9)
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In celebration of 65 years of Portland’s sister city relationship with Sapporo, Japan, this group exhibition brings together works by Portland photographer Sandra Chandler and Hokkaido-based photographers. Chandler’s minimalist, serene works, which capture Hokkaido’s winter landscapes, will be exhibited in the Jordan Schnitzer Japanese Arts Learning Center’s Calvin and Mayho Tanabe Gallery, while poetic perspectives by the Hokkaido-based group The North Finder will be displayed in the Pavilion Gallery. The North Finder aims to “raise the image of Hokkaido through photography and help people to know Hokkaido more deeply.” Cool! LC
Portland Japanese Garden, Washington Park (Mar 16–June 10)
EverOut Staff
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