On Nov. 20, 2025, the Portland Art Museum (PAM), located in downtown Portland, will officially open its expanded campus to the public. The museum has reinstalled its existing artwork, acquired 300 new works, and added nearly 100,000 square feet of upgraded public and gallery space. A four-day celebration, free to all, will take place from Nov. 20-23. It will start with a traditional ribbon ceremony and feature gallery talks, art-making activities, and live entertainment.
PAM, founded in 1892, is the oldest art museum in the Pacific Northwest. A long-standing staple of Portland culture and community, it is currently home to over 50,000 works, consisting of sculptures, paintings, and more. Renovations have been ongoing for over three years, while fundraising and planning have been underway for approximately 10 years. Laura Bartroff, the director of communications for PAM, explains that while there have always been interesting collections and beautiful art, the buildings themselves haven’t always been the most welcoming. Bartroff says that with the renovation, “[t]here’s more places to rest and enjoy the outdoors, and it’s just [a] more complete experience. We have a brand new cafe, and a cool new renovated shop, so it enhances every aspect of what you think about going to an art museum.”
The renovation includes the new Mark Rothko Pavilion, which creates an accessible main entry point to the museum and improves the physical connection between the two main buildings. The PAM website states, “The Rothko Pavilion is clad in custom, white-fritted and semi-transparent glass, offering glimpses of the art and activity within during the day, and acting as a glowing beacon for the arts downtown when illuminated at night.”
Mark Rothko was a renowned abstract painter who grew up in Portland. His first solo art exhibition took place in PAM; now, nearly a century later, eight of Rothko’s artworks will be on display. “The decision to name [the pavilion] after an artist rather than a donor is significant,” says Sara Krajewski, the senior curator of modern and contemporary art. “It suggests how committed we are to artists as creative individuals and as folks who can offer us different perspectives on some of the issues that we’re all facing.”
Highlighting all perspectives is a key goal for PAM’s transformation. Krajewski works with the Black Art and Experiences Initiative, which is new to the museum. “We have four galleries devoted to the work of Black artists from Portland, and national figures as well,” Krajewski says. The museum also has a curator of Native American Art, who plans to continue to develop the galleries post-renovation. “In both of those program areas, we are engaging with the community to get some response to the collections and to the exhibition programs, making sure that community voices are listened to, heard, and evaluated, and brought into the conversation about what’s shown,” Krajewski explains.
Krajewski is excited to share the renovation and expansion with residents of Portland and anyone visiting the city. “The downtown area has been hit hard over the last several years, and … [we] really want to show that there’s a lot of life, and a lot of creativity within our city.”
