By Daniel Perez-Crouse
The burgeoning artistic revival of the Central Eastside Industrial District just got a boost in the form of 10 newly commissioned murals under bridges and a rebranding of the Eastbank Esplanade to SE Second Ave. on Madison St. as the “Avenue of Murals.”
The Central Eastside has seen a lot of artistic transformation in recent years—largely due to initiatives made by the Portland Street Art Alliance (PSAA). As described on their website, since 2018, they have been working to make the Central Eastside a “Mural District.” Tiffany Conklin, Executive Director of PSAA, says the Central Eastside is unique in that there is a lot of site-specific art, meaning interventions in a specific locale, where artists create work that is integrated with the surroundings and that explores the mural’s relationship to the topography of its locale. With the support of local organizations and grants, they’ve made dozens of murals possible, like the “Support Working Artists” mural on SE Clay St. and MLK Blvd. or the Jason Brown Remembrance mural on 66 SE Morrison St.
The Avenue of Murals was made possible through a partnership between the Central Eastside Industrial Council (CEIC), Central Eastside Together (CET) and PSAA. Carolyne Holcomb, Executive Director of CEIC, said that PSAA already commissioned columns in the area. “And so I was on a walkabout with them, and I saw their work, and I thought, ‘wow, we could support this’.” Holcomb and her team quickly got to work applying for grants and secured $90,000 to work on a multi-mural project.
“Our district represents 22 percent of the central city acreage, so we felt it was important to use murals as a welcome mat into our district. You can enter from so many different places, and you never know that you are now entering the Central Eastside. So we wanted to help create some markers so people knew that they were in the Central Eastside,” said Holcomb.
Holcomb says CEIC wants to create a safe community through an active and engaged community. And one way of supporting that vision is by creating more public art for people to enjoy. “There is a lot of data that shows the impact of public art in a community. People come out to see public art. They’re gonna take a photo, get coffee and shop at local stores. It’s a big boost for the economy, and so we view this not only as a way to improve safety, but as a direct line to supporting our business community as well.”
CEIC conducted its own research and community engagement on what people would want to see in these aqueduct murals and included a variety of artistic odes to the neighborhood’s culture and history. One of Holcomb’s favorites is the freight train. “Yeah, people probably love to hate that column, but it tells a part of what everyone experiences in the district, whether you work there every day or you’re visiting for the first time.”
Holcomb says that when CEIC identifies prime locations for murals, they initiate a conversation with the property owner to get permission. Since CEIC is the commissioner and enhancer of the district, it is committed to murals and their maintenance and doesn’t put that responsibility on businesses. “We’ll work with the property or business owner or whoever wants to step in as the lead there to make sure the art represents something they want to see. So we want it to tell the district story, but we also recognize that it’s on someone’s private property,” she said
And when it’s time for the artists to create the murals, PSAA steps in. “They know the process really well, so it has been a real dream to work with them on this,” said Holcomb.
Conklin says artists are selected from their roster of over 250 regional muralists. “Artists painting the columns must not only excel artistically, having done large scale work in the past, but also have a lot of experience operating heavy machinery boom lifts on rough and uneven terrain.” Conklin says it is not an easy job and requires a lot of public-private partnerships and logistics coordination with the City of Portland, RACC and Multnomah County Bridges. “Once an artist is identified, we present them with a full Scope of Work that lists the specific mural content they will need to produce if they take on the job.”
Holcomb says they hope this can be a pilot for future projects to continue to meet CEIC’s vision for a more prosperous district. She also hints at some not-so-distant and ambitious mural projects that will be made soon.
For a more involved introduction to the new murals, there will be a celebration ride Friday, August 2. Cyclists and art enthusiasts will gather to explore the murals and end at Central Eastside’s newest community space, the Bear Blocks, at the south end of the Blumenauer Bridge. The ride begins at 5 pm at the Factor Building, 226 SE Madison St.
Central Eastside “Avenue of Murals.” Photo by Daniel Perez-Crouse.
