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Oregon Art Beat

@opbartbeat

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27+ years celebrating the creative spirit of the PNW—sharing the stories of artists. Watch on OPB-TV and online. ✨Show us your art! #opbartbeat @opb
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An Ashland wood sculptor has just won an international award in Venice! Christian Burchard took home the Visitor’s Choice Award and a €10,000 prize at Homo Faber — a prestigious craft exhibition that drew 65,000 visitors and showcased 700 art pieces from around the world. His haunting wood sculpture, “Never Again,” explores the danger of book bans and book burnings. "Books are powerful symbols and holders of knowledge, history, and imagination," says Burchard. He hopes his work will "stimulate thought and wonder." Meet Burchard on Oregon Art Beat in November. Story by Geneva Chin Photo by Kristy Kún #homofaber #ashland #southernoregon #woodworking #oregon #opb by @opbartbeat
1
19 minutes ago
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Here's a sneak peek at our brand-new episode featuring the National Neon Sign Museum, puppeteer Yosmel López, and a story of transformation in Spray, Oregon. Join us tonight at 8 on OPB TV, or see it online anywhere you watch Art Beat! @nationalneonsignmuseum @yosmel.lopez.376 @spraygeneralstore #neon #puppeteer #pupettheatre @milagrotheatre Danika Sandoz by @opbartbeat
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4 days ago
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Ready to step into the neon-drenched boulevards of yesteryear? Then The Dalles is the place for you. The National Neon Sign Museum holds a treasure trove of vintage neon history, from the first-ever patented neon tube to the prolific, colorful signs that graced America’s landscape during neon’s mid-century heyday. We met owners David and Kristen Benko for a tour of the museum to learn about neon's place in the cultural development of our cities. Plus, we got a peek at the newest piece in the museum's collection - and it's not neon! 📹 Cameron Nielsen, Jacob Pander 📸 Zan Lapp ✂️ Danika Sandoz @nationalneonsignmuseum #neon @thedallesartcenter #thedallesoregon #jantzenbeachcarousel by @opbartbeat
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5 days ago
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The new season of Oregon Art Beat begins! We've spent all summer traveling the state meeting incredible artists who shared their stories about everything from the origins of the National Neon Sign Museum in The Dalles, to how to make a block of wood open like a flower in Ashland, to why a rural general store became a brand new kind of community hub in Spray. We can't wait to share these stories with you! Video edited by Cameron Neilsen @nationalneonsignmuseum @spraygeneralstore @yosmel.lopez.376 #kiteballet @jantzenbeachcarousel @graziano_and_gutierrez #beachamsclockcompany @kristy_kun_ @chburchard by @opbartbeat
7
7 days ago
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Portland is known for coffee, beer, food carts, and breathtaking scenery. But hidden among all that creativity is another Portland institution: independent comics. From @darkhorsecomics to @OniPress to @crucialcomix and countless creators in between, Portland has become a major force in the comics industry. But how did it happen? Find out with our new documentary Indie Comics City. Stream the full documentary for free on watch.opb.org, PBS app and YouTube. #PortlandComics #IndieComics #DocumentaryFilm #ComicBooks #oregonartbeat by @opbartbeat
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10 days ago
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Comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick moved to Portland in 2009 in search of an artistic community. Since then, she wrote for Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse Comics, receiving an Eisner award for Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons in 2024. Her latest book FML from Dark Horse was nominated for a 2025 Eisner Award. She reimagined the character Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel in 2014, inspiring the 2019 film of the same name. One of the greatest highlights of her career, women and girls still visit DeConnick at comic conventions to share the joy of Carol Danvers. The most meaningful moments, said DeConnick, are seeing young boys in Captain Marvel costumes – the first time she’d seen boys dress as a female superhero. Want to learn more about Portland’s comics history? Oregon Art Beat’s brand new special, Indie Comics City is out now on PBS Passport! Check out the special on streaming, or watch it live on OPB tonight at 8PM PDT. Story by Steven Tonthat/OPB Edited by Zan Lapp/OPB Filmed by Cameron Nielsen/OPB Music courtesy of Audio Network Captain Marvel cover and artwork source: Marvel Comics Captain Marvel (2019) source: Marvel Studios #oregonartbeat #comics #comiccon #portland #rosecitycomiccon by @opbartbeat
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11 days ago
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Fifty years after creating the first African-American queer superheroes, Rupert Kinnard looks back on how he brought the Brown Bomber and Diva Touché Flambé to life. Kinnard moved to Portland in 1979 and helped start the queer newspaper Just Out. His superhero strip Cathartic Comics ran in newspapers in Portland and San Francisco, using humor and wit to explore homophobia, racism, accessibility, and sexism. Kinnard’s latest book “Ooops, I Just Catharted! Fifty Years of Cathartic Comics” chronicles the adventures of Diva and the Brown Bomber and was recently nominated for an Eisner Award. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards honor Will Eisner, one of the earliest American comic artists and a World War II Veteran. Announced at San Diego Comic Con each year, receiving an Eisner award is considered one of the highest achievements in the comics industry. Want to learn more about comics in Portland? Oregon Art Beat’s brand new special, Indie Comics City, is out now on PBS Passport! Check out the special on streaming, or watch it live on OPB Thursday Sept. 24 at 8PM PDT. Story by Steven Tonthat/OPB Edited/written by Zan Lapp/OPB Filmed by Cameron Nielsen/OPB Music courtesy of Audio Network 1992 newspaper article courtesy of Just Out. #oregonartbeat #comics #comiccon #portland #rosecitycomiccon by @opbartbeat
7
14 days ago
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Sarah Shay Mirk has been working as a comics journalist in Portland since 2008. They are the co-founder of Crucial Comix, an independent nonfiction comics publisher funded by artists teaching comic-making classes. Their 2020 book Guantanamo Voices: True Accounts from the World's Most Infamous Prison chronicles the oral history of people who were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay and who worked there as guards. The book is taught at Stanford University every semester. Mirk’s newest book Making Nonfiction Comics: A Field Guide to Graphic Journalism hit the shelves last November and was recently nominated for an Eisner Award. The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards honor Will Eisner, one of the earliest American comic artists and a World War II Veteran. Announced at San Diego Comic Con each year, receiving an Eisner award is considered one of the highest achievements in the comics industry. Want to learn more about Portland’s comics history? Oregon Art Beat’s brand new special, Indie Comics City comes to PBS Passport in one week! Check out the special on streaming, or watch it live on OPB Thursday, September 24th at 8PM PST. Story by Steven Tonthat Edited/written by Zan Lapp/OPB Filmed by Cameron Nielsen/OPB Music courtesy of Audio Network #oregonartbeat #zine #comics #nonfiction #portland @mirkdrop by @opbartbeat
17
18 days ago
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"Oregon Art Beat's own Steven Tonthat spoke to @katutv's AM Northwest (@amnorthwest) this morning about all things comics! Art Beat's latest documentary, "Indie Comics City: How Portland Built Its Own Comics Universe," follows the origin story of Oregon's indie comics culture and explores why Portland has become a hub for the artform The documentary will premiere this Saturday, 9/12, at Rose City Comic Con (@rosecitycc) and will be online at opb.org !" Photo: Amy Hunter / Weinstein PR Illustration: Jonathan Hill (@oneofthejohns) by @opbartbeat
1
24 days ago
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Do you have a favorite comic book or graphic novel? Oregon Art Beat producer Steven Tonthat shares three of his favorite comic books from Pacific Northwest authors and why he recommends them. Dive into the rich history and legacy of comic creation in Portland in the upcoming documentary “Indie Comics City,” premiering Saturday, Sept. 12 at Rose City Comic Con. Filmed by Joey Lovato/OPB Edited by Jennifer Ng/OPB Music courtesy of Audio Network by @opbartbeat
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25 days ago
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Every summer, downtown Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square (@thesquarepdx) becomes a buzzing hot spot for music across genres. And this year was no different. As part of the 2026 edition of PDX Live (@pdx.live), musicians including Oregon’s own Modest Mouse (@modestmouse), Jesse Welles (@wellesmusic) and Suki Waterhouse (@sukiwaterhouse) among many more performed at the square. In fact, fans travelled from across Oregon and beyond and lined up for hours to catch performances by bands like MUNA (@whereismuna). Swipe across to check out photos from this year annual music festival. Photos by Prakruti Bhatt/OPB (@prakrutib) #PDX #downtownportland #portland by @opbartbeat
1
a month ago
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After witnessing the struggles of indie artists working for larger publishers, Mike Richardson founded Dark Horse Comics in 1987 with a mission: allowing creators to publish original work while maintaining ownership of their stories and characters. Since then, Dark Horse has become the third largest comics publisher in the US, with hits like Hellboy. Richardson moved artists from around the world to Portland in the early days of Dark Horse, transforming the city into a hotbed of independent comics by championing creators’ rights. In 2022, Richardson sold Dark Horse to Swedish video game company Embracer Group. In March 2026, Embracer ousted Richardson as CEO. The company’s staff formed Dark Horse Workers United in late May in response to layoffs and changes to operations. The company’s future is in transition during this new era of leadership. Visit our website for the latest about Dark Horse. To learn more about Portland’s comics history, keep an eye out for Oregon Art Beat’s upcoming special, Indie Comics City, premiering at Rose City Comic Con (@rosecitycc) on September 12th, 2026. Story by Steven Tonthat/OPB Edited/written by Zan Lapp/OPB Filmed by Cameron Nielsen/Chris Nolan/OPB Music Audio Network 1987 newspaper article courtesy of The Oregonian. Image courtesy of Ken Lynn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. #oregonartbeat #darkhorse #comics #comiccon #portland #rosecitycomiccon @darkhorsecomics #rosecitycc by @opbartbeat
4
a month ago
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