Annie said it best: tomorrow… you’re always a day away. For the Portland Art Museum, a long-awaited tomorrow has arrived.
The museum’s Tomorrow Theater, a new space focused on exploring the boundaries of cinema, art, and multimedia storytelling through fresh programming that doesn’t limit artists to a single medium, opens on Friday, Nov. 3.
The 250-seat theater at 3530 SE Division St. is part of the museum’s film and new media center, PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow. While the Portland Art Museum’s Whitsell Auditorium is offline during construction on the Rothko Pavilion expansion, the Tomorrow Theater will continue providing film and cinematic media — plus a lot more.
Visitors can expect a range of programming that features guest artists and partners, combining film, dance, comedy, sports, music, and more. The point is that it defies labels.
The Tomorrow Theater space has a colorful past that organizers were careful not to wash away during its renovation. Nearly a century ago, it hosted vaudeville entertainment; most recently, it was the home of an X-rated cinema. Andee Hess and Makrai Crecelius of Portland-based and female-owned interior design studio Osmose redesigned the theater to feel accessible, imaginative, and thoughtful.
Artist David Byrne will get things started with an interactive, Portland-themed presentation of “Reasons to be Cheerful,” a nonprofit online magazine encouraging people to stay curious and find ways to improve the world, on Friday, Nov. 3. The live show will kickstart the theater’s “Carte Blanche” series, which will bring Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter to the space in January 2024.
