Travels with the Chairman: Portland, Oregon
Recently, Chairman Carter spent a whirlwind day with the Oregon Arts Commission and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, exploring several highlight's of Portland's vibrant arts community.
Chairman Carter started her visit at CymaSpace's Woodstock Cafe. CymaSpace is working to make the performing arts more accessible and inclusive to Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. Known as the "sign language cafe," their Woodstock Cafe is both a cafe and events space, offering special ASL social, arts, and technology events. In 2026, CymaSpace received a Research Grants in the Arts award from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the development and testing of a music-focused STEAM curriculum for K-12 youth who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
Next, Chairman Carter visited All Classical Radio, where she participated in an interview with president and CEO Fred Child (interview coming soon!), and joined Congresswoman Bonamici and Jason Holland, chair of the Oregon Arts Commission, for a roundtable discussion. Moderated by Oregon Arts Commission director Amy Lewin, the discussion highlighted the importance of making arts opportunities available for all people, no matter their location, and the growing recognition of the importance of the arts to education, health, and disaster recovery and prevention.
Following the discussion, Congresswoman Bonamici joined Chairman Carter for a visit to National Endowment for the Arts' grantee North Pole Studio. This nonprofit organization works to increase opportunities for artists with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities. An FY 2026 grant from the Arts Endowment is supporting a touring exhibition of works by Oregon artists with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities.
To close her day in Portland, Chairman Carter toured the Portland Art Museum, seeing the newly opened Mark Rothko Pavilion that connects the museum's two historic buildings and serves as a new entrance to the museum. The tour also included a tour of the Harriet Tubman Center Museum exhibition, which includes pieces from the museum collection, curated by artist, educator, and curator Lisa Jarrett alongside students from the Harriet Tubman Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice. This program works with 4th and 5th grade students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to design a concept, select pieces, and install an exhibition.
Thank you to the Oregon Arts Commission and the artists and arts leaders who welcomed Chairman Carter to Portland this month and for sharing these examples of how the arts are enriching the city.
Visit the Travels with the Chairman section for more stories as Chairman Carter explores our country’s vibrant arts communities.
