A New School Year, and a New Vision for Arts Education in Portland

As a new school year begins, classrooms and campuses across the region are coming back to life. For students, this means new experiences and opportunities to discover what they love. The Performing Arts + Culture Center would be a place for learners of all ages — from PSU students gaining professional experience to K-12 school groups and local arts organizations coming together through the arts.

For Portland State students studying music, theater and film, those opportunities are often limited by something less inspiring: space.

PSU’s current performing arts facilities were not designed to meet the needs of today’s programs. Choral students rehearse in a neighboring academic building because Lincoln Hall doesn’t have enough room to support the program. Jazz ensembles practice in a classroom beneath a stairwell. Film students are creating stop-motion animation studios in conference rooms or wherever they can find the space.

Students are making it work. But they deserve better.

The Performing Arts + Culture Center would create purpose-built spaces where university students can learn, rehearse, perform and prepare for careers in the arts. It would support signature programs, including choral, theater and opera, while creating hands-on opportunities in backstage production, arts management and hospitality.

The Center would also bring professional performers and industry experts closer to students, giving them greater access to national-caliber performances and artists.

More Opportunities for Young People Across the Region:

The Center’s impact would extend well beyond campus.

It would provide much-needed rehearsal and performance venues for small and diverse cultural organizations, with a community theater and two flexible spaces designed to be affordable and accessible.

For K-12 students and families, the Center will be a place to discover the performing arts, experience the work of local organizations and see what’s possible — whether that means becoming an audience member, an artist, or a future arts professional.

As students head back to school this fall, we’re inspired by a simple vision: better spaces for students to learn and perform, and more opportunities for young people throughout the region to experience the arts.

The Performing Arts + Culture Center at PSU can help make that vision a reality.