Portland's visual arts coming of age this week isn't just about the visual arts, its about how the city conceives of itself and Portland blogger Gretchen wonders if it's still Portland?

My answer is a resounding Yes, our visual arts scene is now more engaged internationally (new museum wing, art fair, and international artists in the galleries... some happen to live here) but there is a sense that Portland has something that other places don't have (from the ground up with lots of small businesses) and the artists are articulating that reality. Yes, there are "shiny people" but there are more funky artists as well and the great thing is how frequently they mix. The new Portland doesn't hide from the world, it engages it. People here seem obsessed with a "better way of life" and a cooler less souless city that is the envy of most people who know much of anything. It is the anti-imperialist but opportunist and forgiving America that Portland celebrates. It generally doesn't matter if you are a republican or democrat here, people feel enfranchised in this city.

It all spills over into the visual arts. The people moving here want something different than New York or LA and so do the artists who keep streaming here. Instead of merely vetting inside jokes, quality of "experience" (often through design quality) is a big deal here. Now instead of Portland "not being like other places" it is really starting to articulate what would work better. Its a shift towards acknowledged civic leadership that is openly discussed elsewhere as a model. Seriously, what other US metropolis of 2.1+ million people is so obsessed with art, bicycling, ecology, neighborhoods full of small businesses and good food?