 At the intersection of fecundity and cessation, we are confronted by the physicality of what it means to be human. We undeniably exists, reproduce, and die as mater, and yet explanations that end at a materiality also seem to inexplicably miss something essential. The dead linger with us, stories define us, and promises of transcendence motivate us in ways materialism seems unable to. The essence of these things are captured nebulously in words like spirit, and it is in their nature to be intangible in concept as well as form. One thing is clear however; their existence breaths life into the inert, and their symbols light the hidden oceans of the unknown. Likewise, what is inexpressible with concepts may be touched with art, and as we briefly reach out towards the unknown this week, I am excited to highlight shows which likewise feature the intangible essence of spirit. Happy Halloween, see you on Friday! Noah Alexander Isaac Stein First Friday PDX President NOVEMBER ART EVENTS  DIA DE LOS MUERTOS ALTAR SHOWCASE | EAST CREATIVE COLLECTIVE We are very excited to participate in this years Día de los Muertos Altar Walk with Milagro Theater and Ideal PDX! For our November open studios, East Creative will be transformed by decorations and altars created by Yathzi Turcot. Visitors will be invited to bring items to add to the altars as we remember and welcome the spirits of the departed. The event will feature open studios by acclaimed local artists, live karaoke by Community Jams, the International Mural by Mail project, fire dancing by Larissa Kurucz, and more! Also, don’t miss the altar bike tour with Friends of the Green Loop that ends at East Creative and other amazing Día de los Muertos events in the district. 6 PM – 9 PM @ 211 SE Madison St., Portland, OR  THE RETURN | BITE STUDIO Okay, for real this time! Come join us at Bite Studio to celebrate our a First Friday return November 4th! 6 PM – 10 PM @ 2000 SE 7th Ave., Portland, OR  FRUITING BODIES | RADIUS ART STUDIO Our incredible Studio Assistants are approaching the end of their year-long program, and we are hosting an event to show off all their artwork! Come celebrate them and see their cool clay creations from 5-8pm on November 4thfor our First Friday Opening of Fruiting Bodies. We can’t wait to see you all here! 5 PM – 8 PM @ 2324 SE Belmont St. Portland OR  MYTHS AND MONSTERS | SPLENDORPORIUM 7 PM – 9 PM @ 3421 SE 21st Ave., Portland, OR  DEAR DEAD DAYS: BEN MILAM | AFRU GALLERY A History Of All My Dead Pets by Ben Milam The Last Show at the legendary AFRU/ EGG/ Launch Pad space!Sin City Ramblers The Saloon Ensemble Divorcee 7 PM – Close @ 534 SE Oak St., Portland, OR  MASKS MAKING WORKSHOP | ADX PORLTAND Josh Gaines is the best kind of human. He is a multi-potentialite who works in a many mediums. Josh brings magic into the world through his art and helps others to do the same. Join us for an utterly unique art workshop to design and build your own wearable cardboard monster mask! Using cardboard, hot glue, tape, paints and other decorative materials, you’ll walk away from this workshop with a colorful new prop to wear on your head. This workshop will be hosted by Josh Gaines, a multi-faceted local artist whose own mask creations have been spotted at Mt Tabor dance parties, art galleries and throughout Portland this past Summer. This workshop will be a vibrant, playful dive into pure imagination! Materials will be provided with ticket price, but feel free to bring your own additional decorations (suggestions: glitter, glow-in-the-dark paints, beads, interestingly-shaped items from the recycle bin, etc). This workshop is a blast, Josh is rad, and supports creative expression in a beautiful way. •25 person cap, $25 tickets •4hrs but no need to stay whole time Sign up on the adxportland website!!! About Josh: Josh Gaines is an award-winning filmmaker, published author, stopmotion animator and also he paints things sometimes. Lately he’s been playing with cardboard and glue a lot. He grew up around Albuquerque and Denver before moving to Portland in 2020. This workshop is also about freedom, self acceptance and allowing humans to embrace their creative selves. 6 PM – 10 PM @ 417 SE 11th Ave, Portland, OR  GABRIELLE WIDMAN AND SEQUOIA: THE CONCERT | THE HALLOWED HALLS Warm greetings dearest friends and family! I hope everyone is healthy, happy and really doing well as we shift into this new fall season. I am excited to invite you to a very special event taking place on Friday November 4th. Kevin and I are proud (as well as relieved) to announce the completion of “The Concert,” a filmed version of a song cycle based on the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay, with music composed by Kevin and sung by yours truly! ; ) At Hallowed Halls, Nov. 4th at 7pm, the film will premier 1st, followed by a live concert of other works for a full evening of song, piano, harp and even a little bit of theater for your entertainment pleasure. We would love to see you, and also encourage you to spread the word to others who might be interested. If for some reason this date does not work for you, or if you are too far away to be able to attend the concert in person however, there is also the option to stream a recording of the entire evening from Dec. 4th on, so either way, we hope you will be able to support us and fit this evening into your busy schedules. Ticket purchasing information, a 2 minute trailer, as well as a link to Kevin’s website with even more details about this concert are available below. Thank you for all your loving support and we hope to see you there!🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼 Gabrielle Here’s a teaser/trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydykPlWtwW4 You’ll find a description of each song on the program here on Kevin’s website: https://kevinbryantlay.com/event/the-concert/ For those of you too far away and/or unavailable that night, the whole show will be streamed one month later.Here is the LINK FOR TICKETS: https://kevinbryantlay.ticketleap.com/ 7 PM @ 4420 SE 64th Ave., Portland, OR  MACHETE FACTORY X | ONE GRAND GALLERY The exhibition will feature over 30 artists images etched onto machete blades with live music performances BA. It’s gonna be a wild night and month at @onegrandgallery. with live music performances by @sangbylotus and D3M! The lineup of participating artists is staggering in its amount of talent. I’m truly honored to have so many brilliant artists contribute their skill to this dream of a wall of machetes. We can’t wait to show y’all these crazy blades, these artists really flexed! Sale of machetes in the show will be benefitting the creating artists as well as contributing to a fund to support BIPOC tattoo artists through @machetefactory . 6 PM @ 1000 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214  LU LU CADEAUX | POP-UP Mark your calendar for November 4th. @lulucadeaux will be doing a First Friday popup at Raylee! All my pottery will be displayed in the back room, and there will be wine and snacks from 5-9. 5 PM – 9 PM @ 3080 SE Division St., Portland, OR  OPIE FAMILY ART EXHIBIT | SIDESTREET ARTS Amelia Opie | John Opie | Susan Opie | Carol Opie | Helen Opie 5 PM – 7 PM @ 140 SE 28th Ave, Portland, OR Visit the First Friday PDX website for more events and the First Friday map Contact Us We love to promote art events involving our participating galleries and artists, please be sure to send your news and any feedback to: press@firstfridaypdx.org Or use our online event submission form! |