Here and there Portland artists are donating their work to fund organizations that benefit the arts communities in Portland and beyond. There’s a conundrum in that, which is neither here nor there, but the beneficiary in this case is you. Where else would you have the opportunity to buy a t-shirt designed by Miranda July with a picture of you both against the word PEACE? Or have the opportunity to buy a work from a current Oregon Biennial artist for 100 smackers?

If money is tight, relief from your bidding bill is in sight. The New York Times has reported a new grants opportunity with no strings attached. So, if you get yourself into loads of debt after your buying binge, apply for a $50,000 grant from the new charity United States Artists.

In other news….I’ve spent the last few hours trolling around the internet looking for something-anything to post that’s noteworthy and I think I’ve found it. Someone’s been messing with the Portland Art Scene Wikipedia page. Unless I was looking at a different page earlier in the summer, which I don’t think I was, this one is much different. With less than 20 artists/curators/critics this doesn’t even come close to the list I saw before. What the…..?

Looking at the history for that page, it looks like most of the changes were done by "CrazyRussian."

Here's his wiki-page, in case anyone wants to drop him a line to discuss the edits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Crzrussian

yes. it appears that he's been recalled til october 7th. a lot of things seemed to have happened on july 12 that have no reference to a particular person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_artists_and_art_institutions_in_Portland%2C_Oregon&offset=20060712185220&action=history

Yes, that wiki is really paltry compared to what it used to be. Contrary to the beliefs of some, I didnt create the original version.... an artist that has moved away did and I had a lot of misgivings about putting a lot of effort into an open forum, ask 50 histoians about a so called fact and you will get 500 answers .

Still, I think this new format is a bit better structurally, despite the fact it has laughably little content.

One problem is the sheer # of people doing good things, 500 names would just scratch the surface if one takes individual artists into account.

Historicaly there is something going on here, and it's rare that the arts suddenly transform a city as much as they have been in portland during the last 10+ years.

Aas I understand it to really keep things in Wikipedia you need encylopedia-style articles (content) on each of people/things you really want to keep around. So just a list will likely quickly get edited down. ...but maybe some Wiki experts reading this blog know more...