Portland Art Museum Celebrates Art Museum Day with Free Admission on May 25

Portland, Ore.—To celebrate the 9th annual Art Museum Day, the Portland Art Museum will offer free admission on Friday, May 25, 2018. An initiative of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), Art Museum Day gathers hundreds of institutions from across North America to recognize the arts and the important role that art museums play in their communities.

The Museum also invites visitors to share their experiences on Art Museum Day via social media, with the hashtag #ArtMuseumDay.

The theme for Art Museum Day 2018 is Hyperconnected Museums, a recognition of the many ways in which museums serve as central points of connectivity within their communities, both online and in person. Art museums are often anchors for public spaces and neighborhoods, and they partner with school systems and civic organizations in ways that make their towns, cities, and regions better places for everyone who lives and works there. Hyperconnected Museums also serve as engines for the creative economy, tapping the human creativity embedded in works of art—whether thousands of years old or as recent as 2018—to inspire new ideas and ways of thinking.

“Participating in Art Museum Day is important,” said Brian Ferriso, The Marilyn H. and Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Director and Chief Curator. “The goals and themes resonate deeply with our museum and I am grateful for the advocacy and support that AAMD provides. The concept of Hyperconnected Museums is something that we strive for on a daily basis.

"Our intention is to be a museum of our community, not just in the community.”

AAMD’s Art Museum Day is an opportunity to focus attention on the role of art museums in North America, an extension of the International Council of Museums’s (ICOM) International Museum Day. AAMD represents 240 art museums across the United States, Canada, and Mexico—from regional museums in small towns to large museums in major urban centers. 

“I am thrilled that the Portland Art Museum is again participating in Art Museum Day, an opportunity to bring communities together to experience great art and special programs, both in Portland and across North America” said Christine Anagnos, Executive Director of AAMD.

“Art is vital to our lives, a reflection of both the incredible diversity of humanity and the many common elements that unite us.”

About the Portland Art Museum

The seventh oldest museum in the United States, the Portland Art Museum is internationally recognized for its permanent collection and ambitious special exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s holdings and the world’s finest public and private collections. The Museum’s collection of more than 45,000 objects, displayed in 112,000 square feet of galleries, reflects the history of art from ancient times to today. The collection is distinguished for its holdings of arts of the native peoples of North America, English silver, and the graphic arts. An active collecting institution dedicated to preserving great art for the enrichment of future generations, the Museum devotes 90 percent of its galleries to its permanent collection.

The Museum’s campus of buildings includes the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, the Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts, the Schnitzer Center for Northwest Art, the Northwest Film Center, and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Center for Native American Art. For information on exhibitions and programs, call 503-226-2811 or visit portlandartmuseum.org.

The Portland Art Museum welcomes all visitors and affirms its commitment to making its programs and collections accessible to everyone. The Museum offers a variety of programs and services to ensure a quality experience and a safe, inclusive environment for every member of our diverse community. Learn more at portlandartmuseum.org/access.